There is a saying, “Chaos inspires change”. Although the period of chaos has been drearier in Kashmir than the word suggests, there seems to be a new funnel for change. Since what seems like an eternity, Kashmir has been a hot zone and the site of a horrifying unrest. But ‘some’ change seems to have arrived, at last.
Some would argue the change has come uninvited, and for some it may be welcome, but one thing is certain: a new age is dawning in Kashmir. However, a huge question mark looms over the role of the citizens of Kashmir in the planning and decision-making process leading to these developments dubbed as ‘the new era.’
Decades in the making: that is how the reopening of the cinema hall in Srinagar has been dubbed as. Two decades of planned efforts! But who called for these efforts? Who asked the advocators of change to alter the standards of religion and tradition in the Kashmiri community? Supposedly, not the local Kashmiris. Cinema halls have never been a “normal” in Kashmiri community. The local religion and traditions both reject the idea of excessive, unnecessary social mingling and have always stood distanced from the western ways. When the Hon’ble LG’s office quoted in a tweet after the inauguration of the INOX cinemas in Srinagar, “A major socio-economic revolution is sweeping through J&K in the last 3 years. It is reflection of a new dawn of hope, dreams, confidence, and aspirations of people”, many failed to understand how it is fulfilling of the aspirations of people when they never aspired for a religiously as well as culturally declared evil to enter and be promoted in their community. How can such a new, unwanted, and utterly unnecessary change be an insignia of “return” of normalcy?
Recently, an event themed “Investor Awareness Protection and Financial Literacy” was organized in SKICC by the IEPFA, Investor Awareness and Protection Fund Authority. Without a developed base for a private sector and without any considerable efforts to establish one, such an event can be looked upon as a mere publicity event without any intention to induce action. It not only further estranges the administration from the Kashmiri people but also widens the already gaping holes in the trust between the government establishments and the people.
PM Modi in his recent video conference address of the J&K Rozgar Mela hyped up the coming times as most important in Kashmir’s history. After running down the usual address shtick, he came to conclude and declare that the government is taking Kashmir to new heights. Presumably, by not asking the Kashmiris what they consider as new heights!
Introducing new, foreign elements in a very conservative society, how can it be in accord with its ways? Kashmiris are tired of being the objects of conquest for different political parties and regional powers. Kashmiris seek salvation from the unending cycle of being pulled down under the weight of grief and struggle. But is their definition of salvation in any sense similar to that of the administration? Or are the plan makers and action takers actually on the same thinking page as that of the general Kashmiri public?
Judging by the mentioned events and actions on the behalf of the administration, this new age seems to have ignored the preferences and needs of the people it will be enacted upon. Cultural reservations, trust and faith in administration, religious aspirations of the community, societal standards, and expectations of being heard by a portrayed liberator. These are just a handful of the aspirations and sentiments the government is either ignoring or in some cases hurting, and it is a ground zero notion. The sugar-coated narrative may portray this as an actual win-win situation for the administration, but the raw opinion of the streets suggests something very contrasting to the conclusions drawn by the far-standing observers.
Kashmiri people have always had this sense of alienation from the administration. Although significant efforts have been made by the current government to eradicate this notion, its roots are not being looked at. The policy makers need a revision of approach. if this is just about portrayal of normalcy to the outside world, the actions of the government are of no consequence to any person residing or concerned with Kashmir. However, if the portrayed beacon of hope, the current government, seeks to bridge the sentimental and basic differences with Kashmiri locals, they need to revise their action plans and make more ‘mutual-understanding’ oriented efforts.
The Kashmiri society has always been repulsive of sudden and extreme changes, especially if they are against their preferred order of things. Right now, the government needs to ensure the consideration of such very specific details while making any further introductions into the societal structure of Kashmir. Such consideration is pivotal and imperative to the maintenance of peace between the administrative establishment and the people, as well as to the longevity of this ‘Dawn of the New Age in Kashmir.’

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Towseef Bashir Mir