YouTube generation defines new struggle in IHK
*Facebook, YouTube have provided Kashmiri youth with a platform to convey their aspirations, frustrations to the world
* Former militant commander Mir warns that New Delhis hardline response could turn todays frustrated stone-throwers into new recruits for severely weakened insurgency
SRINAGAR: For six weeks, hundreds of young Kashmiris like 17-year-old Amjad Khan have taken to the streets to pelt stones at Indian security forces.
I have taken to stone-throwing to show my anger, my hatred at the present state of affairs, says the softly spoken Khan (name changed), as he stands in one of Srinagars narrow back streets.
The son of a government employee father, who disapproves of his behaviour, Khan is dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt and has his hair gelled in a style familiar from Bollywood films.
He says he is not a particularly devout Muslim and attends Friday prayers only to be able to join the regular protests that take place afterwards, denouncing Indian rule in the territory.
Born during the insurgency like most of the under-20 protestors tech-savvy Internet users who are harnessing Facebook and YouTube to highlight their struggle he has known nothing but violence and turmoil in Kashmir.
Why should this problem linger on if so many other problems have been resolved? he asks.
Platform: So far, the young men on the streets are gun-less. Their weapons of choice are stones and the Internet, with Facebook and YouTube key parts of their struggle.
Facebook and YouTube have provided us a platform to convey our aspirations and frustrations to the world, says Showket Ahmed, 24, who captures events on his mobile phone camera and later uploads them on Facebook.
Warns: But former militant commander Javed Mir warns that New Delhis hardline response could turn todays frustrated stone-throwers into new recruits for the severely weakened insurgency.
Before the launch of the insurgency, I and my friends used to indulge in stone-pelting with the aim of highlighting the Kashmir issue, but we failed, said Mir, now a separatist campaigner.
Finally we took to guns and succeeded in bringing Kashmir out of the cold storage. If present protests are ignored, these young men may be forced to follow our path, he added.
The government in New Delhi has tried to paint the protests as the work of shadowy Pakistani extremists, but many local leaders believe the underlying reason is despair among the young generation about their prospects.
There are over 400,000 unemployed young people across the state and decades of on-off political dialogue about the status of the disputed territory have yielded few rewards and no end to the deadlock.
The single largest factor today is that people dont see the light at the end of the dark tunnel they were hoping to see, Indian-held Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, admitted on Indian news channel NDTV earlier this month.
Until we resolve it politically, we will always have problems, he said.
Indian Army chief General VK Singh said last month that the battle against anti-India insurgents had been more or less won, but people needed to feel that progress was being made to improve their lives.
In New Delhi, Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has pushed the notion that the protests are being orchestrated by militant groups and Pakistan.
Others have suggested the protesters are being paid by hardline separatists, a theory that has been widely challenged, even among pro-India politicians in Kashmir.
Linking the genuine anger and anguish among people with terrorism is nothing short of an assault on their self respect and dignity, said former chief minister Mufti Sayeed of the pro-India Peoples Democratic Party.
Mehboob Beigh, who is close to chief minister Abdullah and advocates autonomy in the region, agrees.
Political alienation of Kashmiris is the larger issue, he said. Our youth want to be heard. New Delhi should listen to them with compassion and sincerity or we may soon see another cycle of violence. afp
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan