Jammu, September 01: The growing separatism in Jammu and Kashmir particularly in Kashmir valley is a serious cause of concern and the rise of radical youth getting attracted to the barbaric Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is not only worrisome but also dangerous if neglected for long.
The assertion of the security agencies and the political class that these kinds of flag waving is nothing but over enthusiasm of the youth does not hold much water in the context of Jammu and Kashmir where similar situation was allowed to continue by the then political dispensation which later manifested itself into the full-fledged proxy war.
The security agencies must remember that in late eighties a blast here or there in empty vehicles was treated as just the over enthusiasm of the local disgruntled youth which however turned a total miscalculation resulting into a mass insurgency forcing the mass exodus of aborigines like Kashmiri Pandits to flee from the valley which till date has not been reversed.
Thus the indications at present are that the disgruntled youth are again showing similar over-enthusiasm by displaying ISIS flags and threatening IS type insurgency which might take the present insurgency to higher scales of barbarism like Syria and other places.
The governments central or state need to take immediate steps to curb this growing new found separatism intelligently as any arbitrary step without applying mind might worsen the situation further and spoil the work done by the security agencies over the years.
At the same time we must also not forget that the display of separatism and new found love for ISIS may not have the support of majority of the people in the Valley or elsewhere which is reflected from the statements of army commanders who have given full credit to the silent majority for keeping Indian-ness alive in the Valley.
This statement indicates that state and central governments must use proper political and intelligence approach intelligently to convert that silent majority into the vocal majority to turn the tide in the separatism hit Kashmir valley.
If one goes by the recent statement of an army commander Major General S Narain, General officer commanding (GoC), Tiger Division majority of the people of the valley are for India and only “a few” speak about Pakistan.
This statement is of great significance as it comes from the person who is dealing with the security of the state and obviously has much more deeper knowledge about that silent majority than the common man who can only see the flag waving ISIS supporters.
It is this silent majority that has to be taken into confidence by adopting some intelligent policy in Kashmir to woo this section and encourage them to be vocal rather than silent so that we can see tricolor in much larger scale than a display or two of the dreaded ISIS flags.
Talking about how Kashmiris fought against Pakistan during the war whose 50th anniversary is being commemorated Gen Narain said Pakistan initially wanted to give it the color of “uprising” in Kashmir as it had pushed in a large number of intruders but its plans failed.
“…there are a few ‘noisy’ people who speak about Pakistan, but a silent majority is with India,” he said at a function organized jointly by Jammu University and Army.
With these encouraging words from a responsible officer one would conclude that everything has not been lost yet and in fact it is the propaganda of the local media to highlight the anti-India elements in abundance while ignoring the nationalist forces in the valley and reflecting their own sentiment through their media houses at national and international levels for which they work.
It is also imperative for the government agencies to check the anti-national attitude of the media persons within the valley and counter their false propaganda by using their own machineries to highlight that silent majority which is still by the side of India.