Yesterday, 6th August 2019 , saw lots of ups and downs. WE, the Citizens of India, woke up to great news of Article 370 being abolished in Kashmir after 70 years of Independence. And we slept yesterday with sad news of Sushma Swaraj being no longer amidst us.
A great job and bold step indeed by Modiji and his team towards the integration of Kashmir region with the rest of India. Everyone, even the most severe critics of Modiji took in this news with admiration - either overt or in secret. Everyone but the Kashmiris.
Whatever tit-bit of news that trickle in from the curfewed Kashmir say that there is a deep sense of mistrust and fear amidst the Kashmiris towards the Central Government. Especially, the Muslims in Kashmir have this misconception that this step has been taken by the Government of India to dilute their religious majority in the region of Kashmir. No doubt, the regional political parties will vent this spark of fear among the Kashmiri citizens in order to further their own agendas - and to survive.
This dangerous cocktail of fear, distrust and misplaced anger amidst the gullible masses of Kashmir is extremely potent and is almost certainly going to take a very dangerous form if not taken care of immediately.
I am forced to think of the bitter history of Afghanistan in this condition. the USA helped it's citizens to push back the Russian invasion a few decades back. However, post war, the USA didn't care enough to help the Afghanis to stand back on its feet. This led to the rise of the anti-US sentiments among the Afghanis and Talibans. We all know how their misplaced anger created more than a decade of turmoil in the USA, entire Middle East and perhaps the entire world! The movie Charlie Wilson's War starring Tom Hanks portrays this facts quite well!I hope the smart team of Modiji picks up this message and use all means - social media, mainstream media and ground forces to allay the fear and anger amidst the Kashmiris, so that this bold step towards the progress of Kashmir and hence India doesn't go to waste!
