THE MUSLIM ISSUE WITH THE RSS-BJP AND KASHMIR

 

A video displaying  dry-fruit providers from Kashmir being thrashed through a collection of hooligans from Vishwa Hindu Dal in Lucknow has long gone viral. While this turned into shameful to mention the least,  properly matters additionally befell, in step with numerous newspaper reports. One, the locals intervened to prevent the daytime mayhem. Two, the Lucknow police have arrested one of the ruffians withinside the video and are searching for some other person.

This assault at the human beings from Jammu & Kashmir befell no matter a clean message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 23. Modi stated human beings wished to differentiate among the “0fight for Kashmir and combat in opposition to the Kashmiris". The Prime Minister stepped in after masses of Kashmiri college students confronted physical, verbal, or even administrative harassment throughout India, mainly severe in Uttarakhand in which academic institutes gave in to the protestors’ call for that no Kashmiri scholar be admitted to the subsequent instructional session.

Modi’s observe of warning in this situation has, like his intervention after incidents of lynching and assault on Muslims and Dalits through cow-vigilantes, got here a bit too late. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister likely sensed that the valid state-huge uproar over the Pulwama terror assault turned into efficaciously constructing a nationalistic narrative across the Kashmir hassle and that those incidences of harassment of the Kashmiri human beings outdoor their country, might assist expand a counter-narrative.

To be sure, the Vishwa Hindu Dal isn't always affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or the BJP. But from the video, it sincerely appears and conducts itself like one of these loony clothes which have mushroomed below the huge and indistinct umbrella of political Hindutva and which draw their power, amongst different matters, from the weather of rampant Muslim-bashing wherein a few participants of the RSS and the Modi management are energetic participants. It is that this weather in addition to the RSS-BJP’s long-status pain with Muslims in India that might decide how the BJP addresses the Kashmir issue.

For the RSS-BJP with the intention to even apprehend the Kashmir hassle in its entirety, it's far vital that they pick out the Kashmiri human beings, withinside the stricken country in addition to somewhere else withinside the country, as a separate entity and do now no longer examine the Kashmir hassle from the simplistic Hindu-Muslim binary. This simplistic binary, glaring withinside the generalized communal remarks and innuendoes a number of RSS-BJP leaders preserve making approximately Muslims, is itself a incorrect template to use to the Hindu-Muslim hassle in India. But post-Pulwama and the Balakot air moves, the overall othering of the Muslim network that many withinside the RSS-BJP now no longer most effective consider in however additionally exercise may want to create severe limitations for the BJP in information the Kashmir hassle and orienting the political birthday birthday celebration toward a probable decision of the impasse. This turns into essential additionally due to the fact in contrast to the BJP of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L.K. Advani technology, the BJP of the Modi-Amit Shah technology has great and direct political stakes in Kashmir. It turned into a part of the ruling coalition until currently and it nonetheless wields tremendous political energy and have an impact on withinside the besieged country thru the company of the Governor’s workplace. Also, a BJP-led dispensation, and maximum in all likelihood Modi-led as well, has the exceptional risk of returning to energy in 2019 and as such the RSS-BJP might once more be controlling the levers of energy and patronage in Kashmir.

On February 26, the Indian Air Force performed air moves on Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba terror camps interior Pakistan. The air moves, whilst their effect in phrases of the quantity of terrorists killed is being fiercely debated, really finished key strategic, diplomatic, and protection goals which can have an tremendous bearing at the Kashmir hassle. As numerous commentators on protection and global family members have pointed out, the air moves have set a brand new everyday withinside the India-Pakistan protection equation. By going deep interior Pakistan, India has tested for the primary time that it won’t be deterred through the danger of a nuclear escalation with Pakistan if terror agencies working from the Pakistan soil challenged India. India additionally deftly deployed its diplomatic capital to isolate Pakistan as a minimum withinside the post-Pulwama state of affairs and get an extraordinary crystal-clean backing even from the US to punish Pakistan. Finally, the Balakot air moves are great in phrases in their feasible effect at the Kashmir hassle and might become the paradigm shift for any Indian authorities that is eager to make a development on Kashmir.

Immediately after the Pulwama assault, the Modi authorities, thru the workplace of the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, and the National Investigation Agency and the Income Tax Department, released a large crackdown at the separatist leaders. The NIA and IT branch performed numerous raids on separatist leaders related to the Hurriyat. The authorities has additionally banned the Jamat-e-Islami for suspected hyperlinks with terror agencies and are available down closely on its activists. Except for the PDP and the National Conference, no political birthday birthday celebration has spoken out in opposition to the ban.

The crackdown on separatists, Hurriyat leaders, and the suspected cohorts of the phobia agencies will be a justified line of motion withinside the post-Pulwama state of affairs which triggered a political dispensation recognized for its hardline role on Kashmir to release the air moves. The forthcoming elections additionally made a robust reaction to Pulwama a political necessity that Modi appears to have fulfilled through taking the political name to release air moves interior Pakistan. Led through Modi himself, the BJP and the bigger Sangh surroundings are exploiting the air moves to construct momentum for a presidential kind of parliamentary election in 2019. If Modi returns to energy, the post-Pulwama state of affairs has treasured training for the RSS-BJP that they should now no longer forget about in the event that they need to use their minds and energies to the decision of the Kashmir hassle.

The maximum great lesson might be to observe and apprehend the state-huge reaction to the Pulwama terror assault itself. Pakistan-subsidized terrorism in Kashmir isn't always a brand new hassle however the state-huge uproar and the huge-unfold and beneficiant sentiment of unity with the safety forces after Pulwama turned into really unprecedented. Rarely earlier than has the whole state stood so unitedly in opposition to a fear assault in Kashmir. Apart from the protests through political events and organisations, even regular human beings throughout the epic swathe of this state got here out at the streets to mourn the useless and condemn terrorism. What the RSS-BJP want to be aware is that Muslims throughout India, thru a few organised efforts or through manner of extempore reaction, additionally joined the protest. The easy purpose for this turned into that a majority of Muslims in different components of India aren't invested withinside the Kashmir hassle from the communal factor of view. The trendy weather of Muslim-bashing and assaults in opposition to the Kashmiris outdoor their country, however, threatens to communalise the Kashmir hassle past its political and geographical epicenter. This is some thing the RSS-BJP want to defend in opposition to.

While Pakistan’s efforts to internationalize the Kashmir hassle have in large part failed, the Pulwama assault did reap an unintentional objective. It genuinely nationalized terrorism in Kashmir and through extension the Kashmir hassle itself. This is an essential takeaway the RSS-BJP want to ponder.

As commentators have observed, the air moves have created a brand new everyday. In the identical manner, the Pulwama assault and the air moves have the capacity to create new policies of engagement in Kashmir. As the crackdown at the separatists and a number of associated moves suggest, the authorities desires to method the Kashmir hassle from a role of power. While talks amongst all stakeholders consisting of a chastened Hurriyat are nonetheless the most effective manner out of the imbroglio, the diplomatic and strategic profits India has made given that Pulwama role whichever political dispensation that takes form in Delhi post-elections in a role of power that should now no longer be squandered away through the callous communal polarization and othering of the Kashmiris somewhere else in India.