Why would ISIS go to Kashmir?

By pushing Kashmiris into the lap of the Islamic State, the Indian media are not doing their country a service

Why would ISIS go to Kashmir?
After the devastating floods last month, Kashmir is on the media radar again, particularly the TV channels. This time the discussions revolve round the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) also known now as Islamic State (IS) and its “potential” connection with Kashmir. Their coverage in floods was lopsided and in this case also the argument is full of belligerence. As if the analysts have rightly dissected the real cause of disenchantment in Kashmir, they try to be looked at as the final word on this subject as well.

No doubt some isolated incidents of IS flags being seen in Srinagar have taken place and may even repeat in future, but that does not in any way indicate the situation that is being projected by the media. IS is an ideology that is rooted in the one espoused by Al Qaeda. Their slow march in Syria and Iraq stunned every one and the prowess with which they “conquered” the areas and vowed to “cleanse” them of whom they think were infidels is surely something that concerns all of us. But the moot question is, why would the IS head to Kashmir? And how can an international terror network mobilize itself in a place that is highly militarized and according to government claims “free from militancy”.

In the past 25 years of insurgency, there is not a shred of evidence that would suggest that any international terror network has a direct connection in Kashmir. Except that the organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad are ideologically close to Al Qaeda and Taliban, they have operated independently in Kashmir. Those noise about IS in Kashmir is akin to that of the “concerns” flagged by top commanders of Army a year and a half back. Suggesting that the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan will have an impact on Kashmir, they failed to cement the argument as to how Taliban would be interested in Kashmir as the next battle-field. How come Afghanistan would remain stable after the withdrawal and then the Taliban cadres would find some other destination as a sporting field. And what could be the objective of Taliban in engaging with the Indian Army in Kashmir. This was perhaps done to legitimize the disproportionate presence of Army in Kashmir and the continuation of controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Similarly the clamour over the possible threat of IS in Kashmir is an over estimated issue. The flag display needs to be simply seen in the backdrop of the anger that runs deep in the blood of Kashmiri youth. This is a manifestation of the alienation they harbour towards India for long, and the same TV channels have been ignoring that as “subversion”. It is mischievous on part of the TV channels to repeatedly re-energise the debate around ISIS and show the flags that have originally been seen fluttering in Syria and Iraq. By way of giving it a hype, the TV channels are not doing any good to the Indian nation or their pseudo-nationalistic, rather jingoistic, agenda. Like what they did during the recent floods by terming the Army and Air Force as “angels” dropping from air to rescue marooned Kashmiris, this will also result in provoking the youth to do something, which they may in reality not be wanting to do. One can easily conclude that this may be a working mechanism to engage or push the Kashmiri youth towards this ideology by repeatedly branding them as part of the same. By all standards of media discourse that has shaped so far it is not difficult to smear a conspiracy to push Kashmir towards yet another phase of trouble and putting the real issue under the carpet.

[quote]The sense of political disempowerment is deep-rooted[/quote]

The army, NDRF and the Air Force did rescue thousands of people (though we are now told that they are going to charge us) but the way media projected it as a grace (ehsaan) on people of Kashmir created problems for them on the ground. Even during floods we have seen that how the Army faced resistance in the rescue operations as the locals did not identify them as “their own Army”. A deep sense of political alienation surfaces every now and then. From 2008 to 2010, the public unrest stands testimony to that. More than 120 people were killed in Police and CRPF firing but the people, especially the youth, have not given up, and they could challenge the Armed Force without caring about the vulnerabilities they were caught in. Kashmiris showing their solidarity with Palestinians or even mourn Saddam Hussain’s execution, without knowing as to who they are, only brings to the fore the political dissatisfaction they have. They can easily fall prey to alignments based on religion, without necessarily getting actively involved in any such network. When they resorted to an armed rebellion, this was the reason. The insurgency was taken over by foreigners, they slowly side-stepped, only to get their struggle out of any “foreign color’.

Today when we see IS flags, we rant here and there. But this is result of the decades old policy of ignoring political aspirations that people have on the ground. This kind of an activity does not in any case reflect the Kashmiri political standpoint but it surely tells a lot about the anger against the system and the alienation towards the Indian mainstream. They want to articulate this through any means available. Even the demand for water and power ultimately lead to pro-Azadi sloganeering. That means the sense of political disempowerment is deep-rooted and no packages have helped in the past to change that. Discrimination, even at the time of a natural calamity, also strengthens the hatred a commoner harbours in Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 1,000 crore in relief, but where is that? He announced that it was a national disaster but where is the official circular? The policy of the Government of India has towards Kashmir is not known, and the picture is becoming grim with each passing day. The solution is in addressing the political problem rather than bracketing this with one ideology or the other. The IS can have no place in Kashmir if the genuine and rightful aspirations are understood in the right context. By pushing Kashmiris into yet another lap, the Indian media is not doing any good to its country.