Dreams should have consequences

By Altaf Qadri In the last month a couple of interesting events hit the road especially about Kashmir.

The "India Today", India's most prestigious and widely read Magazine concluded a high profile event "India Today Conclave" on March 15.

The event was marked by a number of highly influential and much in the spotlight personalities like former U.S.

president Bill Clinton, Al Gore, a former Vice President and Nobel Prize laureate.

Conspicuously, the event was a delineation of an illustrious importance.

The other event was organised by an NGO Pugwash in Islamabad.

This conference was attended by many important Kashmiri leaders, activists and people from both India and Pakistan.

However, the PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti got a lucky streak to address the press persons with PPP patron Asif Ali Zardari jointly.

Surely, the leadership or representatives of APHC camped in Islamabad must be in a distressed state.

This suggests the political rollercoaster and layout has shuffled.

To be honest, currently the distinction between pro-freedom and pro-Indian leadership has blurred.

Those who participate in the elections and those who don't, parrot the same language.

Both claim that Kashmir issue must be resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris.

Parallel to this is Pakistan's new Kashmir policy.

They also satisfy their ambitions by meeting both pro-Indian and pro-freedom leaders at the same time.

The India Today function was put in order through assorted subjects of a diverse interests and concerns.

As a matter of fact, barely anything from political, cultural, economic, social or entertainment facets of the life was left over.

Everything was given a kiss of feel that a progressive country would need to do.

However, to my paramount concern and interest was the one under the title of "How can I change the world".

This discourse was an amalgamation of young politicians, industrialists, artists and revolutionaries.

Each one of them competently put over their vision for future regarding the poverty alleviation, unemployment and how to protect the rights of the poor of India.

As in the event of growing consumer and capitalistic economy the poor strata of the society invariably are grinded down to chicken feed.

How India will meet this challenge to sly the yawning gap between the rich and poor, will be a critical task for them.

On account of revolutionary aspect, Yasin Malik Chairman Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front was asked to set out his vision regarding the Kashmir problem.

Admittedly, he produced a very comprehensive paper along with its ways and means to be adopted to resolve the problem.

He justified the historical perspective, sacrifices, human rights violations and the struggle to seek the solution.

It won't be out of place to mention that he did cut a wide swath in the public.

Despite all this, the point remains that the freedom doesn't seem to be any where near, at least for few decades.

With utmost respect, I may have nerve to suggest that the fresh mode of thinking is required in order to give some meaning to the sacrifices rendered so far, rather than doling out a statement of good intentions.

But before hitting on to that prospect, let me put things in right order.

Nobody can call it a fib that Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory braced with a number of U.N.

Indeed, with these exceptional considerations like three major wars, many major intrusions, hostility and retarded progress between India and Pakistan could not hash out any convenient moment towards a solution.

Within India there are a slew of other old movements like Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, and some other social struggles on foot.

But the question is, have these imperatives brought any single benefit to the people over the last fifty years, and if not, why to hang on this failed doctrine like a grim death.

On the contrary, it accumulated jumble of complicacies like a snow ball rolling down the hill.

It is a convenient time for the leadership of these struggles to break free from the old buckle of political faculty.

A fresh, creative and realistic thinking is to be embraced.

Enormous avenues are up in the grabs in India to really promote the cause of their people.

India is a diverse society and in its different regions are different people having with different problem.

On certain places they ask for freedom and on other, they want to gain an equal socio-economic and cultural opportunity and even at places they want equal religious rights.

Surely, the newly adopted capitalism will initially add more starch to their problems.

But, overall, as certain studies reveal that in the coming three decades India will be one of the most four major economies besides U.S.

Japan and China of the world.

It implies that India will transcend further its international clout and influence.

In other words, the state arrogance would blow up without any sense of accountability.

Conditions being that, hopes for any exceptional breakthrough would be groping in the darkness.

All of us were assuming that Nagaland peace process will churn out some tangible results.

But taking a gender at their prospects, so far, it doesn't behold any assuring portents.

Similarly, the Assam situation is not different than that.

The leadership of all these movements needs to sink their head into a deep meditation.

The deep impatience, anger and exploitation of their genuine rights should not only exacerbate their minds but bring about a realistic understanding of the possibilities and channel their efforts towards creating positive hopes among their people.

In any struggle if hope and dreams would not make any consequential effect over the people then that is called the point of saturation and a decay of the purpose.

To the purpose, it stands out a mile that the somber conditions of these movements have failed to bring about a required pressure over India.

Or indeed, the ideals and expectations of these movements are far too unrealistic.

Thereby, the leadership of all these struggles must sit together and rehash the things in the prevailing context.

And in order to create an invincible impact they should line up their efforts and evolve the joint forum, joint action plan and joint chatter of demands and offer a dialogue jointly on mutually agreed demands to the government of India.

Undertaking that stake will trigger some hope to their own people and also could be helpful for the people of India as well to get the problems solved.