As a G20 event gets underway in Kashmir, one can’t help but notice the Narendra Modi government’s urgency to market it as an ‘event of normalcy’. While other states in India have also been hosting delegates from the G20 countries, it’s only in Kashmir where extreme steps like arbitrary arrests, random frisking and a massive crackdown on people are being taken. Bear in mind that Jammu & Kashmir is already one of the most militarised regions in the world. Yet the past month, in the run up to the G20 event, we have witnessed an increase in an already unprecedented security presence. In the guise of ensuring an incident-free event , hundreds of young men have been detained.
Part of the plan also involves creating an impression of rapid development. Every road through Srinagar has been dug up for a facelift. The authorities care little that these excavations are causing grave inconvenience to the people here. Our traditional sense of aesthetics has been completely upended . Only to be replaced by hideous substitutes. Beautiful devar stones that line the pavements running through the city are being removed. They have been substituted by tacky tiles that belong ideally in public toilets. The historic Ghanta Ghar, a political epicentre of Kashmir’s history where the Indian flag stood proud for the first time in Nehru’s presence amongst a sea of Kashmiris, stands dismantled today, pending ‘renovation’. It’s clear that in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s misplaced efforts to give the city a sudden facelift for their own PR blitz, our sense of history and culture is being destroyed.
Development diktats haven’t been confined to Srinagar. On the road leading up to Gulmarg, shop owners have been told to renovate their shops on war footing at their own expense. As if the Israeli inspired surveillance tools weren’t enough, additional CCTV cameras monitoring the movement of locals have only worsened the sense of suffocation.
The basic right to live a normal life stands suspended owing to the siege imposed here since 2019. The pre-existing atmosphere of suppression has been further intensified. This has had a debilitating effect on the psyche of people.
Every event like the G20 that hosts foreign dignitaries doesn’t only exclude the inhabitants of a city that is put on display like a treasured trophy. It comes at a heavy cost that they are expected to pay.
I understand the relevance of such events. G20 may well serve as a cosmetic image building exercise for an ultra zealous right-wing government. But only the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation can establish India’s role as a leader of the subcontinent. Sadly, SAARC it is being held hostage to the continuing animosity between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Therefore, to catch the bull by its horns, India needs to push for resumption of SAARC summits to address the common problems ailing South Asia. This will not only help in bringing lasting peace but is what will truly make India a “Vishwaguru”.
Mehbooba Mufti is president of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples’ Democratic Party and a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
