The most debated question in the world at present is this highly intractable and knotty problem. A number of bloody wars have been fought between the two neighbouring countries. The unending conflict has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris. It has been observed that every time a solution seems round the corner something untoward happens and we are back to square one. No one can explain the mystery which prevents solution of this problem. Is it the misfortune of the poor Kashmiris? Are they destined to suffer till the end of time? No doubt there are political, geographical, and strategic considerations of the various parties to the conflict, yet the most compelling reasons for the prolongation of this dispute escape most of the analysts. A thorough study of our history and a psychological analysis of the people reveal that the problem is within us. It is our enigmatic attitude which is responsible for prolonging of our miseries and sufferings. We are not able to decide our options! Firstly we seem to be confused about what we are looking for? A place of honour and dignity as declared by our leaders of all hues and shades. But what does honour and dignity mean for an ordinary Kashmiri? As Walter Lawrence has stated in his “Valley of Kashmir”, “A man who can be beaten and robbed by any one with a vestige of authority soon ceases to respect himself and his fellow-men, and it is useless to look for the virtues of a free people among the Kashmiris, and unfair to twit them with absence of such virtues. The Kashmiri is what his rulers have made him, but I believe and hope that two generations of a just and strong rule will transform him into a useful, intelligent, and fairly honest man”. Unfortunately, till date we have not got those two generations of free rule! Kashmiri has been smarting continuously for last four centuries under an unshakeable yoke of slavery. Only the names and the ferocity of his masters have changed. The greatest misfortune of a Kashmiri is the failure of outsiders to fully understand him. In fact, no one is really able to know what is in his heart? It has been said that a kind word and a joke can get the best out of a Kashmiri. In the heart of his hearts a Kashmiri cherishes the goal of total and complete emancipation which he very fondly and lovingly calls, “AZADI”. However, he is also intelligent enough to know that the quagmire, in which he is stuck for no fault of his, makes it virtually impossible to achieve that goal. But he is in no case prepared to give it up altogether and keeps on hoping that someday he will attain it. He has been living on this hope for centuries and will continue to do that. Off and on there comes an opportunity to break these shackles. He makes all out efforts to break loose but gets pulled down again and again by the lack of character of his own fellow countrymen. He puts everything on stake to achieve “AZADI” but his own kith and kin claiming to lead him to this cherished goal stab him in the back forcing him to again lie low. He does so but only for a while or till he gets the next opportunity to rise. He knows that his opponent is a massive and powerful country and he is too week to take it head on. The only option to him is to cheat his opponent. Outwardly he praises the opponent but inside he hates him and seethes with anger and bids his time. It is a typical guerrilla approach. If you can’t beat them, join them! Sometimes he feels down and out. Totally depressed and disappointed and is ready to compromise and resigns himself to his fate. This gives an impression that he is satisfied with his status quo. But then all of a sudden he wakes up and is ready for another bout. This enigmatic attitude resultant from an extraordinarily long spell of slavery has prevented the formation of national character and pride in a Kashmiri. Truth has been the first casualty. This is especially true of our leadership right from the start of the first movement for freedom in 1931. Leaders have never remained on one single stand and have been changing stances as per their convenience. This typical behaviour has been exploited by the outsiders to their advantage. They have pampered all the weaknesses in the character of a Kashmiri. It is the typical philosophy of survival of the weak against the tyranny of a strong and ruthless outsider. Because of this attitude, the outsider is totally confused about the real intentions of a Kashmiri. India knew that the majority of Kashmiris were against it in 1947 and that they would blindly follow their charismatic leader thinking he will guide them to the correct path. So they latched on to this leader. However, when he realised his mistake and turned against India, a massive campaign of character assassination was unleashed on Kashmiris. Since that time India has patronised and supported only the worst members of the Kashmir society whom it could purchase with lure of money and power. The most trusted have been only the non-Muslims. All Muslims irrespective of their views and status were suspect even if they sided with them. On the other hand Pakistan encouraged and patronised only those who would toe their line. Unfortunately, this very behaviour has additionally been totally compounded by these outsiders during last 17 years. The situation became very ugly once militancy started in Kashmir. The youth took up arms only when they were totally frustrated by the so called democratic political process in 1987. They had opted for elections but were beaten and tortured and thrown into prison. In a way the arms were raised in self-defence. It was an idealistic struggle emulating similar armed resistance movements for national liberation which had taken place all over the world. The first upsurge was truly nationalist for total independence of Kashmir. However, Pakistan hijacked the same by introducing their own brand of fighters committed for merging Kashmir with their country. This made nationalists get totally marginalised. Indians reacted by eliminating both groups in a phased manner. They made use of the Pakistan’s attempt to give a religious colour to the movement and projected it as an extremist, fanatic, terrorist movement of religious extremists. The word “Cross Border Terrorism” became the most commonly used phrase of their vocabulary. The foreign elements from both the sides totally brutalised the movement going beyond the brief of Kashmiris. Finally, after having taken them to the peak of an armed struggle, the Pakistanis dumped them by the roadside. On the other hand, instead of trying to wean away the people from the violent movement by real and true democratic means, the Indians adopted the policy of a diamond cutting a diamond. They turned around the people who were in the movement without any basic convictions and had joined it for extraneous considerations. These were called “Friendlies” or “Ikhwanis”. These were utilised by the security forces as hit groups to terrorise people into submission. The militants who had started with the fiery and idealistic zeal of national liberation are not to be blamed. Any national liberation movement caught in the vortex of conflicting ideologies with rival parties having their own axes to grind is bound to get hijacked, criminalised, and brutalised. Thus the real Kashmir problem is that the honest and genuine Kashmiris aspiring for their basic rights are caught in a bind, between the devil and the deep sea and are being used as canon fodder by both the sides. They have absolutely no chance to get out of their enigmatic attitude and build their national character. This leaves them only one option, to ask both India and Pakistan to leave them alone to their fate. A new slogan of “Quit Kashmir” against both the adversaries who have given them nothing but suffering and miseries for last more than half a century! Unless all Kashmiris sink their mutual differences, which are primarily because of ego and personality clash, and opt for one combined approach in unison for “Kashmir First” or in other words, “A Kashmir for Kashmiris” regardless of so called geo-strategic and all other considerations presented by one and all from time to time, they have no escape from this bloody vortex and are doomed! This would only be possible if we build our national character and for that to begin with, for a change, we have to speak the truth, the real truth in our hearts, and stand by it!