Youth dissatisfied with Politicians

Gazala Hassan
Most of us are of the opinion that Kashmir is lacking in leadership thus not able to reach any logical end. Resolution to Kashmir issue now seems like a dream as one is really disillusioned with the present Kashmir scenario. Lack of trust in both the mainstream and the separatists is something not much hidden. When elections approach what we come across are the lofty promises made by the mainstream politicians and the boycott calls announced by the separatists. In-between what strategy our separatists follow in terms of solution is again disappointing. It seems they are just ‘looking busy and doing nothing’! The common Kashmiri is the one who suffers. Our youth is equally disheartened with the situation. They see their dreams dying too young, they are deprived of a dignified life and have to wake up under the shade of guns and sleep in the lap of their occupied mother land fearing sudden checks and surveillance.
Let’s know how they feel when during pre polls they come across the slogans of development, empowerment and employment. Students of Government Degree College for women M.A Road share their views:

Sama Mushtaq:
“The German proverb best suits the kind of leaders we have in Kashmir, ’They preach water but they drink wine’. It is simply a defunct system and I won’t vote. It is evident that there is no excitement regarding the elections as it happens in other free and democratic setups. We hardly discuss politics in our family and among friends as we are fed up. People who are found in the election campaigns are simply hired ones or those who have been taken through a brain wash procedure. Election under occupation cannot be fair and free. As per my observation I see urban population least interested in such futile exercise whereas the illiteracy, unawareness and poverty make the rural population a victim of the political gimmick.
Our so called leaders are not determined to settle the Kashmir issue .What remains their focus is only power. They are power hungry. At the same time I have a feeling that the youth of Kashmir is fed up and to some extent has developed an escapist approach where we simply want to leave Kashmir and free ourselves at the cost of forgetting the real essence of freedom.”

Iqra Nazir:
“These politicians pretend to be crystal clear which they are not. They are simply exploiting the innocence of common unaware masses and at the same time they do no good to the unaware ones. I do not bind any expectations from them. Elections in Kashmir are different from other places as political uncertainty and conflict persists here. Everywhere else they do not have to vote under the trigger of the guns but here.”

Madiehasaba:
“These politicians make strong manifestos only to please people and trap their votes. Once in power they are interested in settling the dispute between the state and center politics. They are not interested in settling the Kashmir issue holistically which is based on the aspiration of Kashmiris. ”

Mudasir Roshan:
“Election in our valley is just for the sake of formality. We have been coming across the evidences where people are dragged to the polling stations. Those who vote without any compulsion are the puppets that lack the discerning eye to differentiate between the right and wrong. These so called leaders lack the essence of being the real leaders. During Pre polls they show their presence but once they are in power they forget all the promises. Right to vote is nothing more than a theoretical lesson only made for the civics books.”

Nawsheen Fatima:
“In Kashmir election is nothing more than wastage of time. I never care or bother to invest any time into the exercise of thinking on such issues. The news and election campaign wherein slogans are raised to drive people is simply a mockery of the whole issue. No doubt I follow optimistic approach, but as far as Kashmir is concerned I see no bright future. We lack a character which is the biggest tumbling block that stops us from achieving a logical end to the turmoil.  Things need to be resolved at grassroot level then only we can expect election to give at least good governance.”

Henna Manzoor:
“In a place where you are deprived of right to life how can one vote. Voting process is of great importance for a democratic setup, but in a place where we do not have any kind of democracy, voting is a bad joke.”

Shafia Qayoom:
“Elections in Kashmir are nothing more than a drama. Its script is written prior to its display before public by the center government. To me talking about roads, hospitals, and gardens is hypocrisy, the reason being quite simple? These things do not make any nation, but the people make a nation. It’s an irony to see these politicians making huge promises especially pre polls which they never fulfill because people are not their priority. Pre polls are used as important tool for the vote bank and for rest of the time government is not people friendly.
Both India and Pakistan are playing ‘spin the ball’ with Kashmir issue in which common Kashmiris suffer. It becomes clear that only the resources of Kashmir are important for them, but not the Kashmiris. Even during these pre polls common people are subjected to the continuous humiliation be it the enhanced frisking process, traffic mess due to election rallies or anything. We certainly lack leadership’’.

Shaista Parveen:
“The upcoming election is a tough time for politicians in sketching the policies to befool people and a good time for media. The Indian media will be busy in establishing the elections as free and fair and the Pakistani media doing the vice versa. In all this mess, only poor Kashmiris will suffer. As far as the separatists are concerned I would suggest them to unite if they represent Kashmir.”