Why Kashmiris are losing?

Dr. Omar Akhtar
"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to East or West, but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (and suffering), and adversity, and throughout periods of panic; such are people of the truth, the Allah-fearing." Holy Qur'an, II:177 (translation by Dr Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1936) In confused, directionless, rudderless, and dying Kashmir, exactly how many commandments are followed in letter and spirit, and in entirety?
In 1987, the Kashmiri nation set itself along a path of change. It was the culmination of over 40 years of off and on conflict, civil unrest, and sometimes, armed resistance, that led to the formation of a pro-Islamic front, to contest the elections under the ambit of the Indian constitution, and bring about profound change. Looking back, it was a difficult proposition, but for a subdued nation of four million at the time, it was a grand ambition. In the 'revolutionary' late 1980s, with President Reagan's famous quip, 'Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall,' at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in 1987, a symbol of the rise of people against oppressive regimes, it was easy to imagine a few hundred people leading their nation to victory. It was easy to imagine, but it has turned out to be very hard to realise that ambition. Following the footsteps of the 'Unknown Rebel' in Tiananmen Square in Beijing was never going to be an easy task. Which is one reason why that task is not over yet.
The Kashmiri nation of the late 1980s and early 1990s sought to bring about the establishment of an Islamic state, free from the suppressive interference of the Indian state. It rose in unison against a perceived 'non-Muslim,' 'unbeliever,' threat, where Kashmiris chanted, 'Unbelievers and Oppressors, Leave Kashmir.' Many Kashmiris chose the violent route to get the establishment to listen, and many paid for the peaceful protests with their own lives. It was only in the mid-1990s that the armed and popular resistance movement, under the nefarious designs of the Indian intelligence—their greatest hour since 1971—broke down, and split into hundreds and hundreds of small groups, many switching allegiance overnight, and joining the Indian side. It marked the end of the armed resistance in Kashmir.
One part of the answer to 'why we lost' lies in the grave of a certain person who was buried in his own house in north Kashmir, who fought and killed his own countrymen, and was rewarded a year later with a seat in the state Assembly, and seven years later, with his death. Had he and his followers stuck to the commandments of the above Ayah, who knows what turn the armed resistance would have taken? Had the other armed fighters not resorted to mass surrenders, and joined the 'Task Force,' had they listened to the words of Allah, had they sought Allah's goodwill, and not the goodwill of the powers in Delhi, had they sought the Hereafter, and not the Here, had they not left prayers, and fasts, and their beliefs, who knows maybe we would have become a strong, proud nation right now, and not a weak, broken, and directionless bunch of educated individuals that we are. Another part of the answer to 'why' lies in the attempts after the 9/11 attacks in the US, of the leaders of the Kashmiri movement, to distance themselves from the Islamic fighters of Afghanistan and the rest of the world. "We are not a religious struggle, we are a political struggle," claimed a leader once in 2001. Political struggle: Tens of thousands of Kashmiris are dead, thousands orphaned, thousands widowed, and you call this a political struggle? How many non-Muslims joined the armed resistance? Which non-Muslim screamed that he wanted the establishment of an Islamic State? Yes, there were Kashmiri Pandits who saw the oppression on Muslims, and who were unfortunate victims of a tactical blunder, and they spoke for the end to all oppression by India in Kashmir, but how many? How can any Muslim fight politics without an Islamic influence? If Islam is to have an influence over all daily affairs of the Muslim, then how can Islam be left out of a just, and legitimate struggle for self-determination by seven million Muslims? No Kashmiri ever supported the evil acts of al-Qaeda, and no Kashmiri ever launched bombs on Indian civilians in India, and no Kashmiri ever thought it a part of his struggle to kill unarmed and innocent civilians. But most Kashmiris fought and spoke and protested on the streets against Indian rule, so that they can work for the establishment of an Islamic state, and co-exist peacefully in the neighbourhood. There is no shame in claiming that, and there should be no guilt in the efforts to establish Allah's rule over our nation.
That is, after all, the ultimate ambition of all Muslim nations. We are losing this battle, because we forget that this battle is not only about removing the Indian Army from Kashmir, and the Indian flag from the Secretariat, it is also about removing the un-Islamic practices that Indian agencies have brought to our Valley; it is about fighting the need to be dishonest in a society that makes honesty suffer; it is about fighting the doubt in our Faith that tells us, if we are not corrupt, if we are not dishonest, if we do not have truckloads of money, we will not survive… "Shaytaan threatens you with poverty, and bids you to conduct unseemly. Allah promises you his forgiveness, and bounties, and Allah cares for all, and He knows all things."' Qur'an, II:268.
Do you now know why we are not winning?
In the light of our initial goals, that of the removal of vice from our land, we have failed. Kashmiris are more morally corrupt than ever before, they are more dishonest than ever before, they are more unseemly in their conduct than ever before. As a nation, we are divided on more lines than can ever be possible to divide such a small nation. In our struggle, a key to our success, was keeping a united front, something which has not been possible. As Muslims, we are Muslims first, last, and all between, and we search for common grounds amongst ourselves, not lines to divide. We are 'losing' because 'Freedom' no longer means the same thing to everyone, it is just a word, that can mean anything to anyone.
As victims of an unjust and oppressive regime, we chose to rise up against injustice, and chose to do so with violence and civil unrest.
But we lacked the gumption, will and determination, to take this battle to its logical conclusion. Because political ideals remain 'ideals' for a generation or two, for a decade or so, but Islamic ideals are ever-lasting and permanent. As a nation, we have failed to stick to the ideals of Islam, and we are losing this struggle. We have allowed the fear of failure, the fear of want, the fear of hunger, to allow to pervade our hearts and minds… And we have thrown the fear of Allah from our hearts, and with it, we have thrown this struggle to the winds…
"Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in Allah's cause, with their goods and persons, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah, they are the people who will achieve salvation." Qur'an, IX: 20.
omarsalimakhtar@rediffmail.com