Opinion | Living with Violence: A Perilous Dance with Death

Articles 35A and 370, which bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, have been withdrawn, and at the same time, its Statehood got abolished too. The former state of Jammu & Kashmir was based on three provincial divisions viz Jammu, Ladakh and the valley of Kashmir. On the 5th of August,2019, the erstwhile state got bifurcated into two union territories named Jammu and Kashmir union territory and Ladakh Union Territory adding two more to the already existing six in the country.

The narrative the incumbent govt at the centre propels to justify the withdrawal of the special status along with the statehood of Jammu & Kashmir is that the terrorism in the valley for thirty long years or more is a political offshoot of the Special Status conferred on the state after 1947. In simple terms, we can put it as if the Govt of India 70 years before would not honour special status with the Jammu and Kashmir region, foes of peace would not have found a gap to enter the soil of Jammu and Kashmir. The narrative further says that terrorism in the valley of Kashmir is rooted in the corrupt regimes of the past. By dint of those corrupt regimes, the state could not progress, thus, lagging in economic prosperity. Consequently, economic backwardness in the valley provided a fertile ground to instigate terrorism.
Does ground reality at the ground in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the valley, support the narrative driven by the incumbent regime at the centre of India? Did it put the rein on the terrorism or terror-driving political people? Did it truly set things on the rail of progress? And did it genuinely put a halter in the mouth of corruption’s mischievous horse?
Isn’t it true that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been redeemed by Hartal Mania, which violence-loving politicians would impose on common masses under gun fear to cash their political interests from those whose political interests were served through violence in the region? In the last thirty years, more than seven years have gone wasted in shut-downs. Can you believe it in the 21st century? Is anybody there to calculate the economic loss inflicted upon the region? Can anybody compute and evaluate the loss region met in terms of education?
Seeing Hartals as a loss in terms of economy and education is a narrow perception, in my view. Let us see it through the prism of psychology. The people of Kashmir were not observing shutdowns out of their choice to showcase their anger or resentment against India or any ill-occurrence. But it was gun fear which would push them to go on Hartal. Thus Hartals in Kashmir were unwanted imposed acts, and the force behind them was not physical but psychological, and that was literary fear. Fear of being beaten, fear of being labelled as Mukhbir, or even fear of getting killed. Hence, Hatal was a violence of intense degree inflicted upon the people of Kashmir. Although educational and economic losses are colossal, they are repairable. But, the damage done by them in terms of our mental and physical health is irreparable.
People with scientific know-how know that stress is the cause of so many physical ailments. Researchers have revealed a profound connection between our emotional (Psychological) health and physical health. Psychological stress can affect our bodies. Some studies suggest a link between various psychological factors and an increased risk of developing cancer.
A person cannot develop cancer overnight. The deadly disease progresses steadily over a long period.  Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, has published an official report which reveals an alarming prevalence of cancer in the UT, especially in the valley.
The violence has taken a heavy toll on the people of Kashmir, besides the economy and education. A considerable increase in the number of people diagnosed with acute stress reactions, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders.
Things on the ground might not utterly support the incumbent regime’s narrative, and there could be a space for the debate over it, but what is undeniable is the non-existence of the massive psychological violence of Hartals. On the ground, because of the non-existence of Hartals, the wheel of development moves. In the non-existence of Hartals, our region can hope for prosperity and will eventually bring peace. The peace we people of Kashmir so passionately yearn for!  Because living with violence is living with death.

– The writer can be reached at vadiaekashmir@gmail.com