1990 constitutes a turning point for many things in Kashmir. It is the year in which the present turmoil erupted with full force and turned every thing upside down. The decades of seventies and eighties had seen some of the best times in Kashmir. Apparently everything seemed to be going smoothly. Tourism reached an all time high with the arrival of more than seven hundred thousand tourists in 1988-89 including about 70 thousand foreigners. However, no one could judge that a revolt was simmering beneath the calm surface. No doubt people had been aspiring right from the July 1931 uprising for fulfilment of the desire for total freedom or “Azadi” but the events of 1947 had put everything into utter chaos and confusion. The popular leaders of that time had themselves got confused and divided in loyalties between the two conflicting ideologies. Repeated ideological somersaults of the leadership resulted in its being superseded by popular uprisings from time to time and its ultimate and final rejection in 1990. The first big uprising came in 1953 with the unceremonious removal and caging of the “Lion of Kashmir” who very unfortunately in the end stopped roaring and got totally tamed by Mrs. Gandhi. Most probably he got fatigued and confused. He would still be remembered as the tallest leader Kashmir has so far produced due to the revolutionary land reforms, which the rest of the sub-continent has yet to see. Incidentally there are no lions in Kashmir. It has Leopards, Cheetahs and Panthers only. The second uprising came in 1963 with the disappearance of the holy relic of the Prophet, PBUH, from the Hazratbal mosque. Again there was a shaking in the leadership and a group of youth came up to challenge the traditional stockholders. But the events of 1965 during which the movement was hijacked by outside forces, completely scuttled the emergence of a totally new leadership. Revolutions cannot be exported. These grow in situ over a period of time and start in the minds of people. Sometimes one feels that both the claimants of the State by their actions seem to virtually join hands in eliminating the genuine and honest local leadership. The same process has started repeating itself after the final uprising of 1990. This event too completely removed the traditional leadership and a new generation of youth took over but in a very violent and aggressive mood. They were practically forced into this situation by their failure to plead their cause in a democratic and liberal way. A large number of Muslim youth had come together under the umbrella of MUF (Muslim United Front). It was a conglomerate of various parties agitating for establishment of Islamic Rule with realisation of a free Kashmir. Probably they had been convinced that it would be better for them to enter the State Assembly and project their cause to the world from this forum. To achieve this, for the first time persons with declared goal of absolute freedom decided to fight the elections being held under the supervision of the Central Election Commission of India. Unfortunately seeing the tremendous enthusiasm of people for this election, the rulers both in Delhi as well as Srinagar got panicky and rigged these elections, which could have been a turning point in favour of India. The selfish and greedy behaviour of a few so called “mainstream” politicians, turned this event into the beginning of total and final alienation of the people of Kashmir from India! The candidates, the polling agents and all the young workers of MUF became militant leaders. Quite a few of these were arrested and put behind bars under various preventive detention laws. A single incident of the kidnapping and subsequent release of Rubiya Sayed, the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayed, the then Home Minister of India, in exchange for the release of some top militant leaders opened the floodgates of a turmoil, which is still continuing. A National Liberation Movement started under the aegis of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front received a colossal and massive popular response. People from all walks of life came on roads in hundreds of thousands demanding “Azadi” or Freedom. Such a massive movement for total and absolute “Azadi” unnerved both the Governments at Delhi as well as in Islamabad and it got hijacked, as both never wanted the local people to pursue an Independent and Sovereign outlook. The confusion and chaos created by external intervention from both sides has resulted in an absolutely messy situation with no solution in sight. The years of turmoil completely shattered the day-to-day normal life of the people. The Social fabric got twisted and distorted. Kashmiri Pandits left en masse in panic to save their lives. The Environment faced the worst degradation in such a short span of time, which it had not experienced in centuries. The human loss was massive. Almost a generation got wiped out. Worse than that is the psychological trauma experienced by one and all. In spite of all that it is still claimed that Kashmir is “normal”. Yes it is normal for tourists visiting for a short period. No one molests or hurts them in the true traditions of our hospitality for outside guests. But how many people laugh and smile. Tension is writ on the faces of people everywhere. Because of our adaptability to the ravages of time we never show it. Our patience borders on passivity.

There is also a dark other side of the turmoil. The intelligence agencies of both the countries pumped in huge amounts of money to counter each other’s moves. The weakest spots of our character have been encouraged, groomed and fully exploited with this money, which has found many takers. This process has given rise to the “nouveau riche” in the society. If there has been a total shattering of the economy, then how come Palatial Houses, Shopping Complexes and other Real Estate units have come up during these years in abnormally large numbers? What is the real source of these funds? These have either come from Delhi directly or from across through Dubai, Kathmandu or Dacca. Funds have also been coming from Kashmiris living and working in various foreign countries as reportedly collections are made in the name of “Suffering Kashmiris” in all parts of the world. It is a moot point as to what percentage of these funds practically reaches the really “Suffering Kashmiris”? Probably a major portion of these gets invested in Real Estate and rest is used in extravagance? The easy money of the nouveau riche has resulted in a mad competition in many of our social customs such as marriages and other ceremonies. Apart from the unfortunate practice of dowry, the feasts given on these occasions have assumed such frightening proportions that a poor man cannot think of marrying away his daughter in a decent way. The venue decorators and beauticians are flown in from Delhi and other metros. Even a sombre event of a death in families has become an occasion for competing in presenting massive fruit baskets! The number of cars of all makes and types on Srinagar streets has grown exponentially resulting in terrible traffic jams. The pop culture of the “High Society” has introduced the drug menace to our youth. Centuries old traditions and culture is heading for a slow death. Even the Kashmiri language is disappearing from the homes and parents talk to their children in Urdu or English rather than in Kashmiri. Modernisation is welcome but that does not mean multiplying of social evils. Someone needs to put a stop to these mad competitions in social customs. Let the elders and intellectuals ponder about this and suggest a solution. It is also food for thought to the younger generation. A movement for the highest ideals of freedom is a pious and honourable struggle. We need very urgently to reform our society to maintain the sanctity of the goals as well as the means to achieve these lest the dark other side of turmoil overtakes it.