The Ground Rumbles

The lockdown and the voiding of Article 370 have drastically changed life in Kashmir. THE WEEK takes a look at the new reality in the valley and how Kashmiris are coping with it

- Tariq Bhat

For most Kashmiris, the situation has never been as depressing and hopeless as it is now. The revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status has so overwhelmed them with a sense of betrayal and loss that many believe that war is the only way out.The bottled-up emotions erupted after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan raised the Kashmir issue in his speech at the UN General Assembly in September. After Khan’s speech, protests broke out across Kashmir and people burst crackers.

Seven people have been killed in Kashmir since the Union government voided Article 370 on August 5. The lockdown has prevented large-scale protests, except at Soura in Srinagar. Security officials know well that the absence of protests should not be confused with the acquiescence of the people. As Kashmir’s history suggests, the simmering discontent could turn explosive any time.

The closure of schools and businesses after August 5 has morphed into a civil disobedience movement that the government is struggling to defuse. For the first time, supporters of mainstream parties and separatists have found common ground—they feel disempowered and vulnerable, ethnically and politically. The BJP says it has “integrated” Kashmir with the rest of India, but the reality is that the gulf between Kashmir and Delhi has only widened. The party plans to replace the “dynastic and corrupt political elite” in Kashmir with panchayat- and municipal-level leaders. But such leaders are unlikely to fill the political vacuum that exists in Kashmir now.

Most Kashmiris are not convinced by the argument that the ‘integration’ with India will usher in development and improve lives. They point out that states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand are grappling with poverty and unemployment, even as thousands of people from these states come to Kashmir for work.