Gowhar Geelani
There was a time when it was alleged that all the “uneducated, unemployed, disgruntled and even drug addicts” —- on the payrolls of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba [LeT] —- were fanning trouble by resorting to stone pelting with an aim to disrupt the ‘peaceful and tranquil atmosphere’ in the Kashmir Valley.
And now the time has arrived when it is being alleged that these “burger-fed pseudo Facebook revolutionaries” – educated and elite, expatriates and rich – are hell bent upon instigating violence by lecturing the “poor and illiterate” to offer sacrifices for a cause while enjoying luxurious and comfortable lifestyles for themselves abroad.
Initially, they had problems with the gun. Post 2007-08, they had problems with the stone pelting. They had problems with the peaceful protest demonstrations. And now, they have problems with the Facebook status updates too. Well, it can’t get more ludicrous than this.
It seems that the state machinery – no matter how much crafty and manipulative – has been struggling to find saner arguments to counter sanity. But then, expecting the State to be saner is in itself a form of insanity. Having already lost the battles on the historical, political and moral front, the State seems to be in a state of shock. A Facebook friend argues that a State which is scared of status updates is already a “Failed State”.
By cordoning off the entire Valley with more than half a million troops, the trumpet of peace is being blown at a pitch like that of the Formula One. That is peace at the gun point.
Teenagers are being “counseled” at various police stations where they are informed about the risks involved in updating their status on the social networking sites. Natives who speak English should be thankful to the men in uniform in Kashmir for discovering three more synonyms for the word counsel: intimidate, threaten and warn. That is peace at the social networking site.
Only chicken hearts are scared of status updates. On the one hand, the State’s boss claims he is tolerant and that he will run out of prison spaces if he reacted to this. But, on the other hand, the men in uniform intimidate kids, warn and threaten them of dire consequences if they did not “behave well” and perhaps sang Sonia songs.
Kashmiri leaders are either languishing in jails or put under house arrest. And those who are not in jails or placed under house arrest aren’t allowed free movement to propagate their viewpoint. The population is kept under constant vigil and strict surveillance. Troops continue to patrol the streets of Kashmir. That is peace at the battleground of ideas.
A place where a lecturer is put behind the bars for setting a question paper, asking: “Are stone pelters the real heroes? Discuss.”, teenagers arrested for status updates, leaders prohibited from entering mosques and saying mandatory prayers, opponents not allowed free movement and the local populace controlled by the gun must be the most peaceful place on this planet.
(Author is a Kashmiri media professional based in Germany. Ideas expressed are his own.)
