Religious intolerance : Fundamentalist’s new Jihad weapon in Kashmir?

The insurgency might be dying a slow death in Kashmir, but, religious intolerance may be the new Jihad weapon to keep the Kashmir cauldron boiling and baking. Kashmiri Islamic fundamentalist are now targeting Christians in the valley. They have already driven the Kashmiri Pandits, the Hindu Brahmin community, off from the valley, which is now in exile since early 1990.

The Kashmir Valley has faced severe existential problems after the Pakistan backed Islamic religious fundamentalists in the Kashmir valley took to armed subversion and terrorism in 1980′s. Armed, funded and/or protected by Islamic entities like organisation of Islamic conference (OIC), The Arab league and the states like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc, the Kashmiri Fundamentalist have a free run in the valley. The only instrument of resistance to these fundamentalist, the Indian Army, has been deliberately maligned and has been the target of scrutiny by human rights organisation, which were once funded by cold war realities.

The new global realities after 9/11, the Indian Army and the Indian government have managed to contain the armed subversion to a major extent. Army’s healing touch to the valley residents through operation Sadbhavana, aiding the civilians during the natural calamities and a host of people contact programs, have put a lot of pressure on the fundamentalist to explore another way to keep the fires burning in the valley. Another fact that is now visible is that persecution in Kashmir Valley not by hands of Indian army but Muslim who are in majority now. Muslims majority in Kashmir Valley has been created by pushing out other religious communities after independence.

The writ of the Islamic Militants has been replaced by “Supreme Court of Islamic Shariet”, an extra-constitutional authority with no official legal sanction. The state police, the law and the administration of Kashmir are being seen as in effective. On contrary, the Kashmiri Pandits and Christians, exhibit belief in the Indian Democracy and secularism.

Armed insurgency in Kashmir may be low, however, the root problem of fundamentalism remains. It is time that India takes a major initiative to restore secularism in the valley.