By RSN Singh
14 Nov , 2015
Before the advent of democracy in India, and more so the system of nation-states, the people of the country; as in most parts of the world; had no choice with regard to their rulers. India had its own share of enlightened and despotic rulers.
Not one activist supporting the Maoists has condemned the terrorism, extortion, child recruitment and narcotics trade in the name of revolution.
There were many savage invaders, who brutalized India. The most brutalized land of this country till independence was arguably Kashmir. Delving in Kashmir’s history, the fact that from 1947 to this day has been the most benign period cannot be disputed. The elderly separatist leaders have only to introspect honestly on Kashmir’s past and the ubiquitous ‘One Book Wonder’ has to read about the reign of blood and terror of Sikandar Butshikan (1389-1413), who destroyed the religious and secular fabric of the culturally rich Kashmir Valley.
One of the essential attributes of human civilization is conflict. Before the advent of the nation-state, it was the duty of the king to protect his people from invaders. The failure to do so had disastrous and at times epoch making consequences because it involved loss of life, liberty, honour, women, culture and even the freedom of worship. The Indian security forces have ensured that Pakistan did not succeed in doing the same in Kashmir, as it did in 1947 and now in the POK of which Northern Areas is part.
The internal discourse of the kingdom was solely predicated on the wisdom or whims of the king. The invader invariably targeted the enemy’s wealth and women. It was considered legitimate. Even a relatively enlightened ruler like Akbar had his harem and so had Shahjahan despite his professed love for Mumtaz. The Mughals never married their daughters. Women were no better than slave in the non-nation-state era.
The fate of the people could wildly oscillate depending on the personality and character of the ruler. Had Dara Shikoh, the extreme opposite of Aurangzeb, were to ascend the throne the course of history and the fate of the people would have been much more secular, benign and progressive. But India was destined to suffer Aurangzeb for 49 years (1658-1707).
The Indian security forces have ensured that Pakistan did not succeed in doing the same in Kashmir, as it did in 1947 and now in the POK of which Northern Areas is part.
IMPERATIVES OF NATION-STATE
The modern system of nation-state seeks to protect and insulate its people from such vicissitudes by a constitutional mandate. In a democracy, the people have the chance to replace rulers every four or five years. A democratically elected ruler functions under constraints imposed by the constitution. In the journey of any constitutional democratic state, there will indeed be aberrations, shortcomings, and convulsions. The very process of assimilation and fusion will have its fallouts, which need to be managed by governance. All state-institutions exist to contribute to the process of nation-building. Towards this, there is also the inescapable imperative of impartial and nationalistic media.
Every constitution bestows on its people certain rights and liberties. These rights and liberties are enshrined for the honour and security of the citizens, who in turn are expected to contribute to the integrity and well-being of the nation-state.
It automatically follows that citizens have their constitutional privileges because there is a state. These privileges therefore cannot be allowed to challenge or erode the very concept on which a particular nation-state came into being. It is for this purpose, that laws exist, enacted, modified and repealed.
The law of the land is expected to be non-discriminatory in its application. The stature of a person or the number of people involved in violation of laws cannot be an extenuating factor.
The Price of Civil Liberties
In the early 1950s, when Sardar Patel was the home minister, some 2,000 communists accused of indulging violence were released by various High Courts. Sardar Patel ensured that they did not get away by enacting a necessarily law through the parliament. He contended that “Our fight is not with Communism or with those who believe in the theory of Communism… The criminal liberties of a few have to be curtailed to preserve the civil liberties of many.”
As per a survey: more than 60 percent people expressed that they wanted to remain with India, 33 percent were undecided and only 6 percent were for Pakistan.
But in Kashmir and the Red Corridor, it is the criminals and anti-nationals, who in the name of azadi (freedom) and revolution respectively are destroying the lives of conscientious and law abiding citizens.
PREVENTING GROWTH IS SEDITION
The nation-state is an evolutionary organism, which dies if not allowed to grow. Therefore, any individual or groups who prevent the growth of the people and the country should have no right to breathe the air of freedom. Responding to a question in a recent interview in ‘India Today’ on whether Kashmiris were prepared for an Islamic state, Geelani said “… the Delhi Public Schools and Army Schools are making up young minds and Indianizing them”.
Similarly, the Maoists including their leaders and sympathizers have no qualms about destroying hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, communication towers etc. Not one activist supporting the Maoists has condemned the terrorism, extortion, child recruitment and narcotics trade in the name of revolution.
In a nation-state, anybody who resists its progressive nature is its enemy. In a democracy there can be debate and demonstrations over the level, pace and methods of development, but certainly the plea cannot be tolerated that ‘development is an antidote’ to revolution as maintained by the Maoists or ‘talk of development is an insult to the azadi movement’ as reiterated by the separatist leadership in Kashmir.
Elections cannot decide physical nature of state
As per a survey carried out by a UK based Kashmiri paper (www.kashmir.co.uk), more than 60 percent people expressed that they wanted to remain with India, 33 percent were undecided and only 6 percent were for Pakistan.
It is the benign, modern Indian nation-state and the Indian constitution, in which the so-called activists have thrived and gained prominence. The state has been tolerant to the extent that they graduated to become anti-nationals and anti-people.
Even if the results were to be otherwise in Kashmir or in other parts of India, the nation-state does not have the luxury to allow the alteration of the established territorial parameters of the state. It is for this reason that the borders are considered inviolate, it is for this reason that we call the Indian territory as our motherland and it is for this reason that the security forces of the country exist.
Elections and opinion polls are temperamental affairs and cannot be the decisive factor in the creation of nation-states. In this regard, the French-speaking Quebec Province of Canada is a case in point. In 1995, a referendum was held to decide whether the province should continue with its 128-year old federal status with Canada. Of the votes, 50.56 percent were against separation and 49.44 percent in favour (total vote cast 4.7 million). Thus, the fact that 1.2 percent of the votes “could turn the birth of an imagined nation into an abortion, shows how spongy are the intellectually-proffered theories about the identity elements constituting the phenomenon of nationhood in practical terms”.[1]
Nation-state is for future generations as well
There cannot be any prescribed limits, sacrifice and price to maintain the integrity of the country. The territorial inviolability of the country is considered more important than the people because a nation-state founded on certain value systems has to cater for generations to come. It is on these national value systems that our children are reared. A group of people exploited by vested interests and criminals cannot be therefore permitted to challenge the psychological parameters of the people on which the physical constants of the nation-state draws derives its strength from.
It is the benign, modern Indian nation-state and the Indian constitution, in which the so-called activists have thrived and gained prominence. The state has been tolerant to the extent that they graduated to become anti-nationals and anti-people.
The separatists feel threatened and in order to maintain their turf, they have brought these professional and subverted activists to the fore.
ANTI-NATIONAL VERSUS CONSCIENTIOUS ACTIVIST
The litmus test for differentiating between an anti-national and a well-meaning activist is that the latter will talk of reconciliation, development, will highlight weaknesses and suggest ways to overcome them, will applaud the good efforts of the state, will create institutions and will develop local talent and leadership rather than trying to garner all the publicity and media attention.
Unfortunately, most activists who have been in the news in the last few years seem to belong to the category of enemies of India, certainly at the behest of inimical agencies and countries.
They are anti-nationals because they do not believe in the liberal Indian system and are propagating the violent cause of the Maoists to turn India into a totalitarian state. They are anti-national because they are trying to push the Kashmiris into the folds of totalitarian and fundamentalist state like Pakistan. They are anti-national because there current stance on Kashmir has been designed to detract the growing Chinese occupation of Gilgit-Baltistan. They are anti-nationals because they are engaged in linking all anti-India groups, so that the leverage on each-others expertise in violence and terror. Ever since this linking has been effected a huge amount of explosives have traveled from the Red Corridor into Kashmir.
The emerging intricate linkages and coordination between the Kashmiri separatists, the Maoists, insurgent groups of Northeast, terrorist groups of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the ISI, and the crime syndicate operating from Karachi is building up into an explosive situation. Recently, some of these elements came on a common platform in Delhi. This was an outcome of at least two and half years of meetings and talks. We may soon witness the seams between these groups dissolving. The intelligence agencies have been warning on this development for very long.
The timing of the meeting is significant in the sense that the protagonists were waiting for the right international environment. As per inputs, some of the protests against this meeting were stage managed to give it wide publicity. It was find fine-tuned between the concerned characters and a segment of the media.
There are many who advise that the best course is to ignore these activists. How can one possibly ignore them when a segment of mainstream media devotes half their space for writings by such anti-nationals?
Significantly this meeting was held in the backdrop of the fact that the Center has been trying to make some headway in finding a solution to the growing violence in Kashmir through its interlocutors. The separatists feel threatened and in order to maintain their turf, they have brought these professional and subverted activists to the fore. The factor of Obama’s visit is too stark to be ignored. Their anti-national shrill is going to get more ugly and intense in the days to follow in the run-up to the visit.
ANTI-NATIONALS CANNOT BE IGNORED
The Indian establishment knows the real face of these activists. There are many who advise that the best course is to ignore these activists. How can one possibly ignore them when a segment of mainstream media devotes half their space for writings by such anti-nationals?
In the world of intelligence, this phenomenon of creating, building and buying ‘key-communicators’ and suitable media platforms is well-known. The discerning Indians I have spoken to have identified them. Will the government act?
First Published in November 2010
Note
1. Dr Azimusshan Haider, India-Pakistan Insights Basics and Cosmetics in Human Affairs, (Karachi: Royal Books Co. 2001), p-50.
© Copyright 2015 Indian Defence Review
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