B L Saraf
The humongous floods have inundated the state of Jammu & Kashmir in general and the Valley in particular ; bringing heaps of misery, of varied kinds, to the helpless residents. The destruction caused by the floods in Kashmir is a tragedy of a great magnitude. The devastation brought about is unbelievable and , in most cases , immeasurable . Hundreds of precious lives have perished in the furry- a loss which can never be recompensed.
It is a human problem. The state government is missing from the scene. The Indian Army has made a commendable effort in saving precious lives and providing much needed succour to the needy. Soldiers are working day and night. Situation is, indeed, disastrous. But, as said, every disaster throws up an opportunity. The job done by the armed forces has created an ideal situation to bridge the psychological and emotional divide between the people of state and the rest of the country. Besides, it may allow Army regain the confidence of Kashmiris which, till 1990, it enjoyed a great deal , by helping them sail through the trying times, as and when situation demanded. Be it the fury of fire which engulfed the towns of Anantnag in early 1960’s and Shopian in late 1970’s , it was the same Army which came to the rescue of the sufferers, thereby earning a gratitude of the residents. It is the same Army which was looked up to for the help when ”goons ” of the ruling party, in early 1960, were on prowl to devour young Kashmiri girls . Illustrations galore. Space, however, does not permit elaboration.
Everything, after all, cannot be left to the Army. It is the moral duty of us all to rescue the people facing gravest situation. Some positives have also been thrown up which if properly en cashed would go a long way to foster inter-regional and inter-community relations. The Herculean tasks undertaken by the Army will surely yield gains which must be consolidated by supplementing the effort. This will create understanding and a rapport between the two regions and the communities, restore mutual trust, hopefully, remove sense of aloofness and alienation among the Kashmiri masses. There is a silver lining to this dark period. Floods have evoked a Indo-Pak determination to help each other in the unprecedented crisis. Indo-Pak talks seem to be underway. PM Modi’s offer of help and assistance to PM Sharif, to mitigate sufferings of POK people caused by the floods – has been duly acknowledged and reciprocated by the latter. In Kashmir, one prays floods will change the discourse from “alienation ” “self rule ” ” abrogation of AFSPA” “Human rights violations” etc to the real issues; issues of good Governance and accountability. Over emphasis on these divisive issues has rendered Government dysfunctional and hostage to the corrupt forces both within the system and outside .
Social media is playing a role. It is heartening to note that general refrain of the comments posted is for reaching out to each other in this moment of trial. The unfortunate events of last two and half decades did not allow us share moments of joy. Let us now, at least, share each other’s grief . We pray that the floods will wash away our sorrows and entrenched prejudices . However, the Kashmir politics – both mainstream and the out of stream – is inherently fickle and changeable. Therefore` it is next to impossible to predict what shape the events will take after waters recede. Though, in the start of stone pelting exercise, at some places, we get the inkling of it. But then we live on hope . And hope opens up avenues of reconciliation and harmony.
( The author is former Principal , District & Sessions Judge)
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