Kashmiri youth must step back, think

The news of young people getting killed, for whatever reasons, in whatever circumstances, always rips our hearts apart. As the Central Kashmir Lok Sabha constituency, spread across three districts including the capital Srinagar, went to polls Sunday, eight persons have died in violent clashes between civilian protesters and security forces. All have fallen to the bullets of security forces. These deaths took place as rampaging mobs took to streets in scores of places across the Lok Sabha constituency straddling Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts, perpetrating wanton violence and arson, even setting ablaze a polling station and attempting to set on fire two others, amid a boycott called by the separatists. At the editorial desk we are tempted to lash out at the State for not holding dialogues with alienated sections of society and for using firepower to muzzle the dissent. This has happened more often than not but States have limitations and beyond that options other than using power are limited. There are endless channels and ways for criticizing the State but this latest batch of death and destruction is yet another opportunity for the young people in Kashmir for the kind of future they see for themselves. If polling stations are attacked and people are forcibly kept away from casting votes, the retaliation by the organs and agents of the State will have to be a normal and legitimate process. A cop conditioned and trained to keep the mob away is less likely to enter into a dialogue as vociferously and fashionably demanded by all and sundry of the political shades which keep on changing positions and colours along the contours of power. He will press the trigger after threshold is cross by the mob. This is crude truth of a phenomenon which young people are not taking note of. Due to the early morning violence, the voter percentage has been recorded lowest ever as 7.14, as expected. The seat had recorded 26 per cent polling in the 2014 general elections. In the 1989 election, National Conference’s Mohammad Shafi Bhat had won the seat uncontested. The previous lowest turnout in the prestigious seat was 11.93 per cent in 1999 when Omar Abdullah had defeated Mehbooba Mufti in a straight contest. There is another crude truth which the young Kashmiris need to take note of –whatever number of people is killed in poll-day violence and howsoever smaller number of people turn up for casting vote –as separatists and militants want the voters to keep away –one of the contestants will definitely make it to the Parliament of India. When no amount of violence, lawlessness, militancy, terrorism and separatist politics has been able to change the status quota by an iota, the young people must step back and think what is it that is in the achievable limits.