Both India and Pakistan recently celebrated 60 years of Independence. It is a great occasion for the people of these countries. In spite of all the short comings and failings, they still enjoy something called “Freedom”. There have been several programmes of celebration, discussion, and introspection in both these countries. At the same time, the unfortunate people of the cursed land of Kashmir have been mourning and regretting the day which had brought 60 years back Freedom and Emancipation to the people in the rest of the sub-continent. For Kashmiris these 60 years have been the worst years of slavery and subjugation faced by them in their long chequered history. Freedom for the rest has meant slavery for them. British were more kind colonists than both the Indians as well as Pakistanis when we consider two parts of Kashmir along with the Northern Areas. The worst episode in Indian Freedom Struggle has been Jalianwala Bagh. Kashmir has faced dozens of such events in last 17 years. A few days back an interesting discussion between the prominent citizens of two countries was telecast live from Dubai. The very fact that these citizens had to travel to Dubai for such an interaction vividly portrays their 60 years’ achievement-a total deficit of trust! The perpetrators of this distrust must be jubilant that they have achieved much more than they had bargained for. Both the countries are spending major chunks of their budgets to keep each other on toes and continuous boil with weapons bought from their so called “white well wishers”. Freedom in one aspect has meant covert slavery in a host of other aspects. Two days of live discussions in Dubai revealed that all Indo-Pak interactions have a tendency to finally get stuck in Kashmir. Both can’t get rid of it. There were many allegations and counter allegations levelled against each other during certain emotional and sentimental moments. As usual emotional moments have the knack of revealing the truth inadvertently. During one such moment the former Army Chief of India let out the true mindset of Indian leadership regarding Kashmir. Almost all Pakistani participants were praising the role played by the former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was credited with the revolutionary initiative of starting a peace process to bring the two sides closer. It was emphatically mentioned that Vajpayee’s efforts had been diluted and virtually nullified by the present Indian Government. Some people went to the extent of claiming that the peace between the two countries would have been achieved had Vajpayee continued. The former Indian Army Chief declared that every one had supported Vajpayee on the specific guarantee that there would be no division of “territory” in Kashmir. This guarantee was stated to have been given by him in the Indian Parliament. It was the “territory” which the Indian leaders were worried about and not the people. Kashmiris were not only expendable but totally forgotten. They just happened to be an unwanted and undesired part of the landscape in the “Paradise on Earth”. It was the “Paradise” which everyone was interested in possessing. Indians have always been claiming Kashmir as an “Integral Part” of their country. Kashmiris did not in reality figure anywhere in the scheme of things, notwithstanding the tall overt claims and declarations of the historical Indian leaders. Even now they are not being taken seriously in spite of the disastrous and bloody events of last 17 years. It does not matter for India if the “Integral Part” is a colony worst than any colony under the British, the original colonisers. The same had been the attitude of the other side till recently. Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir. Kashmiris did not matter. There were two other interesting disclosures in the Dubai debate. Pakistanis insisted that Kashmiris should have the final say. They put all their eggs in the Kashmiri basket. Probably they had not studied the recent opinion poll conducted by some newspapers and TV channels. This poll had made a dramatic revelation that 87% Kashmiris at present want total Independence. 60 years of so called “freedom” had taught them that their only emancipation was getting away from both the suitors who were in fact more interested in their beautiful land. The most sensible disclosure in the debate came from the least expected quarter. One of the leaders of the Hindutva Party unequivocally declared that the main problem in the sub-continent was the trust deficit between the two countries. According to him there cannot be peace in the sub-continent unless the two countries first develop mutual trust. It was like the proverbial hitting of the nail on the head. The basic problem is the lack of trust and Kashmir is only a symptom of the deeper disease. It is the misfortune of Kashmiris that has put them in a logjam between the two giants. The most tragic part of the whole show was that while the prominent citizens of the sub-continent were debating the fate of Kashmiris in the luxurious and elegant ambience of Dubai, they were themselves facing one of the worst sieges of last couple of decades. Almost the entire valley was under an undeclared curfew especially the areas in the close proximity of the venues fixed for holding Independence Day parades. The security drill had been started a week in advance. The Chief Minister unfurled the Indian Tricolour surrounded by a three tier security cover given by 1500 security personnel. The State flag was conspicuous by its absence. Kashmir’s so called national flag now flies on the cars of Ministers and on top of the Government Secretariat only. The joke of the day was that it ultimately turned out to be literally a “Dog’s Day”. A stray dog was able to “penetrate” the strictest ever security cover and dash all around, cheered and hooted by the hired spectators, in the stadium where the Independence Day function was being held. It gave some of the most nightmarish moments of humiliation and embarrassment to the security bosses. It is a pity that the leaders of a democratic country have to stoop so low to celebrate their national event in a territory claimed by them to be an “Integral Part” of their country, which in fact is a virtual colony, against the wishes of common people by the worst possible totalitarian methods. The still worst tragedy is that the eyes and ears of this largest democracy do not have both the conscience as well as the courage to tell the real truth to their citizens. Everyone prefers to hide behind the façade of “National Interest”. But all this does not make any difference to the suffering masses of this unfortunate land who have seen the ugliest face of the Indian democracy and only confirms the fact, that for last 60 years Kashmiris have experienced only “Slavery” and not “Freedom”!