Bonus on ‘anti-India’ slogan?

TALES OF TRAVESTY

 DR. JITENDRA SINGH

Unique of its kind, this is a phenomenon seen only in this part of the country. Particularly so, among certain sections in the Kashmir Valley.

At the drop of hat, you raise an anti-India or a pro-Pakistan slogan and you can get your work instantly done. The work could be anything….ranging from as minor as seeking release of a delayed salary to as major as seeking release of a detenue convicted for a proven offence. In addition, anti-India sloganeering also comes handy to express resentment against state establishment or sometimes even a certain individual official like, for example,  many a time, as witnessed particularly in the summer capital of Srinagar, if there happens to be a case of  grudge or grievance against the office boss, the subordinate staff may readily come out on the office lawns and start shouting “Pakistan Zindabad.”

This is perhaps the only example in the world where one can abuse the sovereignity of republic state and get away with it. While in any other nation-state of the world, such a conduct could invite severe reprimand, here it not only goes scot-free but often carries the prospect of being rewarded by one means or the other. In other words, does it suffice to say that in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, there is an official premium on anti-India rhetoric, anti-India slogan and anti-India activism.

The liberals may however argue it out in a different vein citing Plato’s adage that when legitimate outlets of democracy are stifled, the illegitimate outlets open up and this anti-India activism could also partly if not wholly be justified as a voice of dissent borne out of failure to find gratification through democratic channels. But then, the question is, if that be so, why this phenomenon typical only to the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir and not witnessed in other Indian States like Bihar and Orissa which suffer from worst plight and in certain  ways…worst exploitation of the lower strata.

Another interesting feature of this anti-India rhetoric culture  in the State of Jammu and Kashmir is that over the years it has got institutionalised as a viable “school of politics.” If you are an anti-India politician active in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, there is every likelihood that the State Government as well as the union Home Ministry would recommend for you a ‘Z’ security cover, arrange a free official accomodation for you, pay for your medical treatment expenses in the best hospitals of Delhi or Mumbai, issue you a senior citizen’s concessional air travel card if you happen to fall in that age group and deliver your monthly pension on time at your doorstep if ever in the past you had been a legislator..by design or default.

Last but not the least…since the word ‘rhetoric” in English language carries the cannotation of a discourse which is often less real than being absolutely real, the question is, what is the evidence of conviction behind this anti-India rhetoric? For example, will those who hurl the slogan of “Pakistan Zindabad” at the drop of hat be ready to leave India and make Pakistan their home? Will  those who call themselves “freedom fighters” for liberation of Kashmir be ready to refuse personal security cover and financial largesses from Govt. of India and thus follow the example of Mahatma Gandhi, the world’s most successful freedom fighter in recent centuries?

In a nutshell, be that as it be, the common man has begun to increasingly realise that this politics of anti-India slogan may bring a fortune for its protagonists but will hardly change the fortunes of an “Aam” Kashmiri. Umapathy poetically hits out at the futility of such rhetoric “Bahut Sunee Hain Aapki Takreeren Maulana, Badli Nahin Hai Apni Taqdeer Maulana!”

June 2, 2013 DailyExcelsior