Karl Marx in his “Das Kapital” had stated that to be free man must first be fed! The most basic freedom for a man is his economic freedom. The sophistication of abstract freedom can be imagined by a person only when he is free of other wants. People can be moved by emotions and sentiments but these movements can be sustained only when a person has the strength to stand up against oppression. In the alternative, a person totally deprived of all worldly things has nothing more to lose and can bring about a revolution! “Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains!” Kashmir’s initial movement started in 1931 was truly a revolution. The oppressed had risen against the oppressors.

However, after 1947 and especially after 1953 the movements have more or less remained confined to emotional and sentimental goals. These did not have any appreciable economic content. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad unleashed an economic flood for Kashmiris to make them forget the sophisticated emotional and sentimental attributes of freedom. Since that time the Central Governments in Delhi have virtually opened the flood gates of funds for economic development of the State. There has been tremendous development compared to the situation in 1947. It would have been much more but for the turmoil of 1990 which has pushed Kashmir back by almost 50 years in overall development compared to similar areas in different parts of the sub-continent on both sides of the divide.

Kashmiris were in deep slumber after 1975. Two things have happened which have shaken them out of this artificially induced sedation. First was the brazen exposure of the brute and ugly face of the Indian might immediately after the upheaval of nineties. The state terror unleashed to counter the insurgency made Kashmiris wiser about their helplessness in the face of a mighty super power. They could not think of standing against the mighty forces. So they decided to adopt the age old philosophy of survival of the weak against the mighty. But they did not also give in. They continue to harbour their inner sentiments and aspirations and wait for every opportunity to show these. The second wake up call has been given by the controversy surrounding the holy pilgrimage of Amarnath.

The controversy regarding the possession of the land which has been a very sensitive issue for a Kashmiri gave him a jolt and he rose up with vengeance. The proverbial last straw has been the economic blockade. Stoppage of movement of traffic on the National Highway linking Kashmir with Jammu and rest of India sent panic signals throughout Kashmir. There were numerous incidents of attacks on passenger and goods vehicles moving both ways on the highway. One may not call it “economic blockade” in the literal sense of the phrase but there are no two opinions that the valley’s only life line is under threat. Even though the highway was handed over to the Army yet it was impossible to control the hostile population all along the route in different towns and villages both in Jammu and Punjab bent upon disrupting supplies to Kashmir. The BJP Minister in Punjab was also alleged to have taken active part in the blockade. In one case, the railway track between Pathankot and Jammu was also damaged.

These senseless acts created a blockade even for Jammu. Kashmiris have experienced blockades of the only lifeline in the past also. These blockades have been due to vagaries of weather which close the highway during winter for days on end. Due to problems of access in winter there had been a tradition of drying vegetables for use during periods of shortage. However, with the improvement in the access road over the years people had become used to fresh vegetables and all other commodities in winter also. In the psyche of Kashmiris there must be inherent memories of famines suffered in the history due to drought and floods. A number of migrations have taken place in the past during these natural calamities. After getting used to the luxuries of modern times making one totally dependent on outside supplies it is but natural for the people to become panicky and desperate if these supplies are threatened.

This is more so because of a manmade blockade which has very sharply hit the common man making him aware probably for the first time about his total vulnerability on outside supplies from the Indian mainland. Over the years Kashmiris have been slowly giving up their traditional occupation of paddy farmers and large tracts of land have been converted into cash crops of Apples and Vegetables. The other most popular activity has been the real estate. The valley is dotted with orchards, vegetable farms and hundreds upon hundreds of houses, shops, and shopping complexes. The export of items related to cash crops is in hundreds of crores but by nature all these items unlike handicrafts are perishable and have to be exported well in time. The blockade has sent alarming signals among the fruit and vegetable growers whose produce is going waste.

A human being can put up with slights to his sentiments and emotions but it is impossible to suppress a hurt to the means of his basic survival. All these years there have only been attempts at suppressing the aspirations of Kashmiris both emotional and sentimental. There have been no deliberate attempts at strangulating and choking him economically. As stated by one of the local leaders, Kashmiri Movement is going beyond Amarnath now. Kashmiris in addition to political freedom want economic freedom also. The recent events have woken them up from the decades of slumber. The fear of first losing the land and now getting starved by economic blockade has given a totally new dimension to the popular movement. It may be easy for authorities to temporarily suppress the emotions and sentiments of the common people as they continue to live and survive. However, it is virtually impossible to suppress a revolution which comes up because of economic reasons especially as it can find willing adherents among hundreds of thousands of educated unemployed youth.

The situation is more dangerous and desperate as the traditional leaders on all sides have become irrelevant. It is the common people who are moving on their own. The leaders have no choice but to follow the common masses which are totally worked up. Unfortunately the highest authorities all over seem to be lacking the political will and continue to dither. The situation demands certain drastic ground level actions. It may be advisable to formally postpone the election as it has been the vote bank politics which has been the main motivation for creating this mess. The present lifeline for Kashmir has to be fully restored at all costs. The alternate access across LOC for trade and commerce as already agreed to by both the countries needs to be expedited to end the psychological siege of the valley. To avoid excessive use of force, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act needs to be immediately revoked and all Paramilitary Forces that had been deployed in civilian areas to counter militant threat which according to official statements has been greatly reduced, need to be relocated.

To restore confidence among the populations of two regions, interactions between the Civil Society both at intellectual and grass roots level need to be arranged at the earliest. It is the politicians who have initially created the mess and fuelled it. They have to be sent on a holiday for the time being. Kashmir has once again become a “Flashpoint” after a couple of decades. This is evident from the massive global coverage events in Kashmir are receiving as also the reactions in our neighbourhood. There is urgent need to defuse the situation before it spirals totally out of control and engulfs the entire South Asia.