Over 70 percent of people living in the Kashmir valley are under 30 years of age. And they do not know what ‘normalcy’ is, said
David Devadas
, author of ‘In Search of a Future: The story of Kashmir’, at the Times Lit Fest on Saturday.
In a session on the future of Jammu & Kashmir, Devadas spoke about the rage among Kashmiris that he categorised into two generations — those born in the early 90s and those born after 2000. “Kashmiris born in the Valley in the 90s were at the peak of their rage in 2005-06. The millennials, however, have a much powerful tool with them — social media,” said Devadas.
Rajat Pandit, senior TOI journalist who shared the stage with Devadas, said Kashmiris born after 2000 grew up hearing about the 9/11 attack and accounts of Muslims under siege. “They connected the Kashmir issue with Palestine and everything wrong that was happening to Muslims around the world,” said Pandit.
Devadas felt the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) needs to be amended. “There is no point having AFSPA in the entire state. Ladakh is a peaceful place, it doesn’t need AFSPA,” he said.
The fourth estate also came in for scrutiny. “Media hasn’t played the investigative role it was supposed to play in the fake encounters that have taken place in Kashmir,” said Devadas.
Singh and Devadas both felt that the Centre’s vested interests in Kashmir were the reason why the Valley is still plagued with insurgency. “Militancy was over by 2006, but the forces stayed on in the Valley. The government doesn’t want to declare things normal because it won’t have any agenda left after that,” said Pandit.
Devadas said autonomy had different meanings for different people. For a Kashmiri, it was never autonomy from the Centre. It was autonomy of people. “It was always autonomy of Kashmiris,” he said.
When the conversation turned to Burhan Wani, Devadas felt the Hizbul Mujahideen operative was just a pawn in the game whose killing had been predicted by many. “One must remember Wani hadn’t killed any armyman but was rather involved in the murder of another militant. In fact, the agitation in the Valley increased exponentially after Wani’s death,” said Devadas.
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