THE OPTIONS AHEAD (HURRIYAT)

There is nothing new about those fighting for a cause getting disheartened in the middle of a battle to the extent of deciding to abandon it. History is replete with such instances. Even prophets were not an exception to this phenomenon. King Ashoka’s volt face in the battle of Kalinga and his conversion to Buddhism was the result of this syndrome. On such occasions it is recourse to some mystical inspiration which helps one to get out of such a syndrome. As the ongoing movement of Kashmir is getting prolonged, it is but natural that Kashmiri leadership develops similar tendencies and gets inclined towards finding a half baked solution. In fact we are witnessing this phenomenon for past several years. Heros of yesteryears are becoming zeros of today. Some shifted loyalties to the rival camp while others entered into an unending truce with the oppressor. There are still others who shifted their attention from the Kashmir problem to the problems of Kashmir. They are now talking about pollution of our water bodies. No one is worried to discuss anything about such people because the ongoing movement continues to survive irrespective of their escapist attitude. One bothers about those who still profess to be leading the movement but are suffering from this syndrome. They are disheartened by prolongation of the struggle and are leading it in a half-hearted manner. They do not want to dissociate from the movement nor are ready to be seen in the rival camp. Symptoms of their exhaustion however can be seen in their lukewarm attempts to mobolise the public. Such attempts were even witnessed during the Kargil conflict. Calls of hartal were given at the eleventh hour. Mirwaiz did not bother to come out of his Harem. Jamma’at Ameer distanced from the militants while his counterpart in Pak Administered Kashmir was collecting donations for them and Syed Ali Geelani leading processions in their support. This exploded the myth of unity of vision and action among Islamists. Processions organized by others were too small to attract the attention of the international media focusing on Kashmir.
 It is shameful that those who should have become source of inspiration for masses have become causes of their indifference. This indifference may be an indicator of alienation of Kashmiris from their leadership but it in no way symbolizes lack of their commitment to the ongoing movement. Masses are unlikely to tolerate this lukewarm approach for long. For the past ten years, they have shown that no one is indispensable for their struggle. If leaders want to maintain their association with the masses, they have to do something to regenerate their commitment to the Kashmir cause. The only way to get out of such syndrome is to resort to some metaphysical source for inspiration. Being Muslims, the automatic suggestion one would consider for them would be to have recourse to Qur’an for imbibing the confidence required for leading a long drawn battle. But Qur’an in its very first detailed chapter, mentions the pre-requisites among those who want to benefit from it. The pre-requisites mentioned in the first verse of Sura Al-Baqra are a firm belief in the unseen, establishment of prayers and quality of spending out of the bounties that have been bestowed upon by God. So far as the first two qualities are concerned no judgment can be passed by anyone regarding our leaders. All of them profess to be Muslims and also pray. The last quality of spending out of what has been bestowed upon them by God however is seldom noticed. Had this quality been there it would have been impossible for them to have huge mansions to revel in, while houses of the ordinary people were being set on fire and razed to the ground. Nor would have there been a shift to a luxurious life style among them when thousands were sacrificing their lives or languishing in jails. Being bereft of these qualities it is unlikely that Qur’an can be of any help to them.
 In such a situation the only alternative for our leaders is to have recourse to Bagwat Geeta. Geeta is a discourse delivered by Krishna to Arjun when in the middle of Mahabarata, he was suffering from the syndrome of escapism. He was a brave solider and a commander with many qualities. His problem was similar to the one from which our leaders seem to be suffering. He, on seeing hundreds and thousands getting killed, relatives and brothers fighting each other was on the verge of abandoning the battlefield. He was scared of seeing the massacre of so many people going on around him. It was at this juncture that his chariot driver Krishna delivered a discourse in order to get him out of this syndrome and enabled him to remain steadfast in the battle. Because of Geeta, Arjun regained his confidence and decided to continue the battle. Finally he emerged out victorious against a strong enemy, the Kuravas. Being incapable of benefiting from Qur’an, may be our leadership gets some lesson from Bagwad Geeta and remain committed to this long drawn battle. They should be receptive to this proposal, as wisdom is our heritage from whichever source it comes.