by PROFESSOR (DR.) RATTAN LAL HANGLOO
We must evolve a gender discourse in Kashmir
At a time when Kashmir stands wounded with dreams of millions shattered, it is a great delight to find a new epilogue discussing to characterize the position of women in the region. Be it Insha Malik’s dissection of truth or Asha Kachru’s analysis of illusion or Professor Nyla Khans amazing clarity of expression on this issue, it is hard for the most determined dreamers to refute that the story of Kashmiri women represents untold misery. Kashmiri women are no doubt caught in between the violence committed by Indian army and by the militants.
Violence is the most hated institution whether committed with the obligation of protecting Indian might in the valley or with the intention of hailing a revolution. It is easier to chart the story of Kashmiri women by drawing misplaced analogies between British colonialism in India and the Kashmir’s linkages with the rest of India. I would be the last person to ignore the behavior of military in Kashmir (whom I have never excused in my writings) while dealing with any aspect of uprising but to equate the Indian presence in Kashmir to British colonialism is to hail the extent to which we eliminate scientific rationalist and pragmatic ideas that constitute core of any relevant debate. Let us not look like worried conservatives to disallow the scope of comprehending the women’s position in Kashmir. I realize the pain and suffering that our Kashmiri sisters and mothers have undergone particularly for the past two decades but then the rise of these attitudes which are rooted in Indian integrationist approach or resistance to that, is manifestation of minimizing the efforts to explore the truth. The glorification of resistance by shutting eyes to impact of militancy on women or displaying of ignorance about a genuine political complexity of Kashmir’s accession to India from where the violence by military stems seems to suggest that this debate like a giant wave will send showers of cold communal spray high in the air and leave nothing either to pull intellectual successes on this front or help resolve the problems of Kashmiri women.
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