Common Kashmiris have been raising slogans of “Azadi” for a pretty long time now. However, hardly anyone has really tried to give some substantive meaning to this romantic but abstract idea. Recently some columnists have tried to do that. What does “Azadi” mean for a common Kashmiri and how is he supposed to reach this goal and continue to live in the meantime? This is the most important question during the present confused state. We have a romantic dream of Kashmir once having been an Independent Sovereign Country ruled by some famous Kings for centuries. Kalhana in Rajtarangni gives detailed description of the Kashmiri Kings right from the ancient times stretching back almost 5,000 years. Sometimes the narrative seems more mythical than real. A number of historians have pointed out that all the Kings mentioned in Rajtarangni are not of Kashmiri origin. In ancient times, Kashmiris living in the valley and its periphery had the habit of claiming everything to be of Kashmiri origin. Kashmiri Pandits had created the Ganga (Sindh) and Yamuna (Jhelum) within the valley. Even the famous confluence of these rivers near Allahabad known as Prayag was also substituted in the valley as the confluence of Jhelum and Sindh at Shadipore. Ancient Kashmiris considered the equivalent of Ganga’s traditional origin as the Harmukta Ganga, the Gangabal Lake. This tendency to create everything within the valley has not gone away even after the advent of Islam. We have created the Medinat-i-Sani or the second Medina in Hazratbal!

Surrounded by impregnable high mountain ranges the people in the valley had in the ancient times developed a strong attachment to this piece of land situated in the mighty Himalaya. The physical isolation from the rest of the world had also helped them to develop an identity of their own mostly uninfluenced by outside forces. The resilience, the adaptability, and the ultimate strength of this identity is evident from the fact that after four centuries of external rule there are no traces or remnants of those rulers anywhere in the valley. Kashmiris have assimilated all these influences within their own identity. Their own sovereign kingdom got the first jolt when Mughals annexed Kashmir to their empire in 1586. They lost their independence and sovereignty. After that they have remained under external rule for more than four centuries. During this period there were some unsuccessful attempts to regain the lost sovereignty and in a couple of cases the governors of the external rulers themselves tried to unilaterally declare independence only to be brutally suppressed by the external masters. It was only in the early part of the twentieth century when the colonialism and imperialism was universally declining and national liberation movements were gaining ground in many places that an awakening took place among the subjugated Kashmiris. This was the first attempt by them to regain the lost “Azadi”. Had the British quit India, leaving it undivided, Kashmiris might have regained their long lost freedom in late forties itself? Unfortunately, the British to keep a finger in the sub-continent’s pie divided it into two antagonistic dominions. Proverbially this made Kashmiris fall from the frying pan into the fire! They got stuck between two conflicting masters. Earlier they had only one to contend with but now they had two claimants. Kashmir became the laboratory to test the two opposite ideologies and the Kashmiris willing as well as unwilling guinea pigs. The process has been continuing for last 60 years or so with disastrous consequences for the Kashmir society. Apart from the massive human loss, destruction of property, and shattering of the daily living conditions, the very basic superb qualities of the Kashmir society have been jolted beyond redemption. Kashmir identity’s uniqueness was its composite nature. There were in the real sense no Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs but Kashmiris only. The departure of Kashmiri Pandits has left the identity distorted as it is incomplete without them. The turn of events in 1947 instead of getting Kashmiris the cherished “Azadi” which had been eluding them for centuries, have landed them in the worst logjam in their entire history. There seems no apparent escape from the muddle in which they are presently stuck! The first thing the leaders of the “Azadi” movement have to do is to educate the people about the history of Kashmir from the earliest times and not only about the history of 60 year old Kashmir dispute. Unfortunately, except a few, most other leaders themselves seem to be ignorant about the history of Kashmir. Without knowing one’s history and learning from it, one is condemned to repeat the earlier mistakes. There is a popular saying that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. The second task is to ascertain the true urges and aspirations of a common Kashmiri in the present changed times. What does a Kashmiri want now? At present his life has been reduced to worse than a dog’s life! Thanks to the animal lover Maneka Gandhi no one can dare kill a dog in Kashmir even if the dogs have become the worst menace. However, not withstanding the so called zero tolerance to human rights violations declared by no less a person than the Prime Minister of India, security forces can kill any Kashmiri any where with total impunity.

So what is a common Kashmiri looking for at the moment? Peace with dignity and honour. He wants to breathe the air of freedom. He wants to be on his own. He wants to be self-reliant to achieve the best in his life. Above all else, he wants to walk in the comity of nations with his head held high! Tragically all these things he is denied at the moment. So how and where can he get these? That is the question which has been haunting him and resulting in his confusing stances. No one has been able to explain to him in real and concrete terms the ultimate goal and the path to reach it. He is confused between the total emancipation, “Azadi” and the requirement of carrying on day to day living. The leaders have failed to convince him that all development undertaken on an uncertain piece of land is not long lasting. One cannot construct a building on quick sands. It is bound to sink. The past experience has amply demonstrated that in spite of massive funds being made available for the development, Kashmir’s entire infrastructure and social life is in shambles. The perennial situation of uncertainty does not allow sincere and honest people to flourish. Nor does it allow the institutions based on these principles to grow. With the compromise on the basic issue everything gets corrupted. Kashmiris have a very strong case based on truth and justice. They do not need to wage a war with guns or stones. They only need the strength of their character and courage of convictions. The courage to stand by the truth does not need any additional attributes! These basic qualities of character need to be exhibited in everything concerning Kashmir. One has to take a stand for preservation of everything Kashmiri, right from the basic requirement of identity that is the language to our environment in all its forms. If we fail to stand for and defend everything that is Kashmiri in origin, the urge for “Azadi” becomes meaningless.

Recently, it was a comic-tragedy to watch some of the top leaders of Kashmir’s movement debating whether stone-pelting is Islamic or Un-Islamic? Sometimes one has a feeling that the Kashmiris only “wish” for “Azadi”, and do not really “want” it! They claim their land to be occupied and desire it to be freed but at the same time they do not want to be inconvenienced in their day to day business. They are under an illusion that they can get freedom in the long run and in the meantime they desire the developmental activities to continue for their day to day living. The onus of confusion rests on the leaders who are themselves confused about the achievable and unachievable nationhood! One can quote some famous personalities on the subject of freedom, and the illusory concept of duality. “The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion”, Edmund Burke. “There is no such thing as little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free”, Walter Cronkite. “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety!” Benjamin Franklin. This is precisely what may happen in the long run. The confusion in the mind may get Kashmiris neither the long cherished “Azadi” nor the worldly development! The “leaders” of the movement should be debating this and not whether stone pelting is right or wrong in Islam!