The violence owing to terrorism in ‘Kashmir Valley’ can instigate any rational mind to delve upon the cause behind it. Apart from the very few hardliners operating out of five Sunni dominated districts of Kashmir valley, who are actively waging war against India, there is also a soft power behind these terror operatives which is fuelling them by their words, ideological support or by extending some proxy or covert help and always portrays them as a victim of Indian state so that a sympathy can be garnered for them around world.
Finding the source of this nefarious soft power leads us to inquisition of the powerful stalwarts supporting such fissiparous and obnoxious tendencies and spaces. The infiltrators of trust, compassion and tranquillity have deeply embroiled us to ponder over the conflict through which we are going on for decades in which we have always been a victim. The inescapable nemesis has seriously curtailed down our hopes and aspirations. They are the real trajectories of hate. Our enemies are not just those who take guns and weapons in hands but those who with their words, actions and efforts make them thrive, survive and eulogize.
Before going into the aspects of ‘Soft Power Centres’ for these terrorists, first of all we have to ascertain what is the actual nature of the terrorism in Kashmir Valley? If we generalise the issue of terrorism in Kashmir Valley by simply labelling it as ‘Jihad’ or ‘Islamic Terrorism’ then this generalisation will inadvertently support and fulfil the purpose of those who are creating such havocs by suicide bombing and attack on common civilian establishment and army camps.
Terrorism in Kashmir Valley has three simultaneous characteristics. Firstly, the Terror groups that are active in Kashmir receive political and financial support from Pakistan. Secondly, they receive ideological support from the ‘Wahhabi school of Islam’ which is against any kind of possible deviation from the practiced Islam of Saudi Arabia. Thirdly and most importantly, manpower and logistic support from the Sunni clergy of the Kashmir Valley. They all have their own separate interest in India for supporting terrorism which has now taken a form of poisonous cocktail in the Valley. In the politically calibrated motive for revenge of what happened during independence and 1970s, Pakistan has had been relentlessly endeavouring towards debilitating India by attacking its frontiers across borders. The Wahhabis fuelled by petro- dollars want to eliminate all different forms of practiced Islam in India and thereafter accomplishing their century old dream of ‘Gazhwa-e-Hind’, which can only be possible after subjugating Indic semantics. In addition to them, Sunni clergies of Kashmir valley including separatist leadership want to obtain political sovereignty over the entire Jammu and Kashmir region. Interestingly all of these three players are using the other two players for their own purpose. So, on stake is not only political interest of India and her sovereignty but also the safety of people of other faiths that are not following ‘Wahhabi Sunnism’ and most importantly democratic practices and values which we revere most.
Now let us come back to the point of backdoor support to these terror groups or their soft powers to which we may term as ‘Soft Terrorism’. All those who provide intellectual, moral, logistic and economic support to these terrorists indirectly pray for their upliftment and burgeon them to cater their mercenary motives. They, by their political language and nugatory reasons defend them and their actions in the name of secularism, self-determination, political freedom and some other concocted forms of liberal dictums. They appease them, their community, by becoming peace messiahs and concoct flamboyant stories of love, amity, and cooperation. By reducing them from stone- pelters to misguided- youths, they indirectly imitate the language of reasoned psychopaths. Not only this, they don’t even beep a bit for the patriotic sons who lose their lives fighting for the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. They even start to support terrorist actions in the name of unfulfilled demands, bestow support against nation’s security and ridicule nation’s taxpayers!
They are the deliberate vigilant supporters of disparaging interests, dissecting vices and dubious traits inhabiting our motherland. They are the real agents deviating youth through Academics, Journalism and Political fervors. They are not only the misrepresentators of our history, writings and remains but also the concocters of the same. They write, read and revise their own version of everything and maliciously tarnish the magnanimous true eloquence that our own history holds and cherish.
By selectively targeting communities, beliefs, practices and youth, they sow the seeds of repugnancy against majority and their beliefs. They think themselves to be smart enough to subdue everything they think they are due of but in the whole process of lamenting Indic values and virtues they are forgetting that these values are not too loosened to get rusted by them! But their efforts at creating cleavages, more or less is getting successful in oxidizing masses. The afflictions that they seek to incise against our culture are required to be addressed stringently and we the Indians with due diligence must participate in uprooting such germinations collectively.
Today, the external enemies cannot make a country of 3 Trillion USD GDP, 1.3 billion people and 2nd largest army look so feeble and vulnerable. They are making us bleed by a thousand cuts because our internal enemies are much bigger and substantial in number. We need to identify and find a solution for them immediately. This might sound unceremonious, politically incorrect but this is the need of the hour and must be redressed firmly. This is altogether a different kind of War game which is distinct from the armed conflict and terrorism. This ‘Soft Terrorism’ which provides ideological and emotional support to the ‘Wahhabi Terrorism’ is much more perilous than the actual terrorism itself. This is a new kind of psychological and soft warfare, waged against us by our enemies via these paid proxies, who not only spew venom against our native values, civilization and culture but at the same time indirectly support the cause of the terrorists.
Our brave armed soldiers can only fight such armed terrorists, which they are already doing bravely and with indomitable courage. But, at the same time, the ideological proxies of these terrorists in Media, Entertainment Industry, Politics, Academics, Business and Civil Society also need to be countered by those who love this country and want it to thrive forever. We have to fight it vigorously and bravely through our pen, intelligence and by using our own cultural soft power in their counter. Only then we can reach a logical conclusion of this unfortunate proxy war waged against us by our global rivals. We need to eliminate all such launching pads of perversion.
In the end, Truth shall prevail! Only those will come out victorious through this malicious blot of unholy jihad who can sustain themselves with their values and perseverance. Its high time for us, we have to assert our cultural soft power in the valley and in other areas where these toxic-proxies of terror groups are operating. We have to challenge them and defeat them in whatever means they adopt. We need to mold a better India where the person with the right choice and right vision must reside. Wake up India and take your responsibility!
All Hail Bharat, Our Motherland!
Authors: Ayush Anand and Vishal Kumar
(Ayush Anand is a practicing Advocate at Supreme Court of India and Vishal Kumar is a student of Law at Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.)
