Dark cloud over Kashmir and its silver lining
Prof. AC Bose
Kashmiris alone know what they have suffered in the last twenty years they have lived under a very dark cloud dripping blood. What a celebrated poet had said centuries ago, "Agar Firdous borruye zaminast, Haminastau haminastau haminaat" was certainly true of the valley till the outbreak of violence twenty years ago. It is not only one of the most scenic spots in the world-with its snow capped mountains, sweet-water lakes, fast-flowing rivers, grassy meadows, green paddy fields and yellow patches of saffron-it was also a picture of peace and warm human relations. Nature has not yet been defiled by human hand as in the better-known tourist spots of the West. Nor have its people yet lost that old world human touch-still exhibited through their traditional hospitality and helpfulness-which is the true essence of culture. Isn't Kashmir, after all, the homeland of the world's oldest continuous culture, and that culture is reflected in the conduct of even the illiterates and the poorest among them. If the nature there is charming, so are its people and their matchless manual products.
If these had been their heritage from history and geography they have made enormous progress toward modernity since independence. Leaving aside a few tiny dots in the nap of eastern India our state has always been the least-taxed and most heavily subsidised among them. Here education up to the P.G level is totally free, and the planned per capita grants for J&K apart from huge non-plan grants is nearly five times that normally sanctioned for most other states, including the poor Bimaru ones. Although, as usual, between only 10 to 15% of the developmental funds sanctioned directly reached the targetted population the filtration effect from the affluent top as well as the number of jobs created-5% of the population area in government jobs, which means that 31% are dependent on these-have ensured that only 3.5% of her population are in the BPL bracket. Kashmiris, with their well-known natural gifts were on the fast track to progress in every sense.
Then, however, happened the Big Bang in the Kashmir's chequered history. All of a sudden the sweet sound of birds and of the rippling rivers gave place to those of bullets and bombs, and the green grass came to be covered not with dew but human blood. Few can keep count of the schools burnt down, wooden bridges destroyed, and of the bright young men forced to leave their homes for peaceful pastures elsewhere. Kashmir's loss was their gain. It is difficult to counter the number of people killed-estimates vary between forty to seventy thousand and tortured during the on-going struggle, apart for nearly a couple of lakhs of Pundits who were virtually forced to emigrate. If so many have been killed, tortured, or forced to emigrate then one can easily imagine the number of those whose studies were disturbed and future blasted, not to speak of those thousands who have widowed and orphaned with anything or any one to fall back upon, except the traditional helpfulness of their community. For nearly one full generation the future of the Kashmiris has been rent as under by bombs and bullets used at will by the militants and the military. Any one who had been to Kashmir in the 70's and 80's can easily imagine how progressive and prosperous Kashmiris, and how beautiful their valley would have been only if this on-going violence had not erupted like a volcano to darken their present and future. Of course, none actively involved in this on-going tragedy should be held responsible in isolation for what has happened and happening with these hapless people. It is a cursed conspiracy of compulsions and constraints, apparently, beyond the understanding, far less control, of the heroes and villians of this tragic drama.
However, like most dark clouds, this one too overshadowing the valley has developed a few silver-linings, though at a very high social cost. The most important gain for the Kashmiris in their twenty years of struggle is that their bloody sacrifice has stripped them of their centuries old notoriety of being a proverbially cowardly people. Though in the state force of the former Maharajas some units were named Kashmir Regiment No 1 or 2, and so on hardly any one from the Valley was ever recruited into their ranks. Muslims, of course, were there, but they used to be almost exclusively from Poonch-Rajouri region and what is presently known as P.O.K virtually from the day after I had landed in J&K in 1970 I was bombarded with, obviously apocryphal, stories about Kashmiri cowardice, e.g when in the past a unit of Kashmiri soldiers were asked to move to a disturbed zone they asked for the presence of the Dogra policemen for their safety. But, now how many in this world can dare accuse the Kashmiris of cowardice? Through hundreds of daring acts and suicide attacks they have proved, like the Tamils of Sri Lanks, that they deserve to be counted among the bravest of the braves.
Then, there is the issue of community for any cause. A cultured people concerned with their daily search for a living seldom stirs itself against any act of injustice against any member of their community, beyond criticising the concerned authorities in their shelter of their houses. But, now in the heat of a holocaust, the Kashmiri community has been united for action. They come out in the streets and lanes, and block roads protesting against any perceived injustice done, and demanding punishment for its perpetrators. In short, their social bonding has been considerably strengthened and activised. This too is no small a gain for the future of any community.
Finally, the present turmoil has created another Kashmiri (read Kashmiri Muslims) diaspora, both within India and abroad. Formerly, hardly any of them could be seen outside the J&K state, even in the metroes, like Mumbai or Kolkata. And, there too they used to be very few in number living in their own ghettoes of shwal and carpet dealers. But, now the economic pressure and disturbances created by the on-going turmoil have forced thousands of them to fork out of their home in search of both a living and better educational and professional opportunities. Formerly, Pandits were the national and international face of the Kashmiris. But, now the Kashmiri Muslims too have come to be counted and recognised. In the last twenty years the Kashmiris have suffered much, but have also achieved some thing, though not what they have been fighting for.
*(The writer is a retired Professor and HOD of History of Jammu University and Presently based at Kolkata).

Straight or Gay..!
Robert Clements
".More and more city brides are hiring detectives to find out if their man is straight or gay."
-Times of India, 30th June
"Hiya!" I said as I saw my friend Mohan entering the park, and got ready to give him the usual mandatory bear hug.
"Don't touch me!"
"What do you mean don't touch me?"
"That's what I meant don't touch me!"
"You becoming touchy about touching?"
"I'm getting married! Don't want her to think I'm gay!"
"Okay," I said, offering to shake his hand instead.
"Oh no! No touching, no handshake, no talking also!"
"You going to keep silent?"
"With men, I don't want her to."
"Think you're gay!" I completed for him.
"Yeah, yeah Bob, don't want to start on the wrong note, you know what I mean?"
"No!" I said and watched Mohan for the next few days as he skipped talking to any of his men friends and moved instead onto the fairer sex with whom he was soon seen to be into very animated conversations everyday. "Nothing to straighten out any suspicions than showing you are straight to the core!" he chuckled to me as he chatted up a woman who had just entered the park.
It was a few days later that I saw her, quite a pretty young thing and wondered what she was doing as she searched the length and breath of the garden looking for someone. "Looking for anyone?" I asked politely.
"Yes, Mohan! I'm his fianc‚e!"
Now who was I to tell her that the over zealous Mohan in his attempt to project his ungayness was at this very moment in close conversation with a bevy of young walkers who were of another gender than mine.
"Where is he?" she asked worriedly, "I thought I'd come and meet his friends! Are you one of his close friends?"
"No, no," I said hurriedly, "I'm not close to him at all, nor is Jim over here, or Gopal or anyone of the men!"
"He's not close to any one of you?"
"You can rest assured he is not that kind of a man!"
"Then what kind of a man is he?" asked his fianc‚e quietly as Mohan emerged with a cluster of women round him, "So this is what you do over here is it?" she screamed to Mohan, "You come here to play around with these girls? You womanizer!"
Mohan was at the park the next morning and gave me a bear hug and shook hands with the rest of us guys, "You can't win with women!" he said, as we all nodded in agreement and then watched as his fianc‚e walked in and Mohan gave us all another bear hug each, "Does he always hug you guys like that?" she asked suspiciously as we looked skywards and shook our heads in bewilderment.
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