Two Lockdowns

Bhat Zaieem
Since nineties Kashmir has been going through the turbulent situations which derive their origin to an old dispute and everybody is well acknowledged with that.And later on with the rise of armed rebellion in Kashmir it has became a battleground and a common Kashmiri acting as a disturbed , worried and a silent spectator watching the scene through hidden convulsions. The armed movement was in full sway till 2006 and after that started receding. From 2008 Kashmir witnessed a new way to fight for the right of self determination. Triggered with the Shrine board land dispute and Asiya Nelofar Rape case, the years of 2008 and 2009 saw a new transition, a new phase with the mass participation. The conditions were almost out of control and roads were full with vehicles and people and so were the city and towns. In 2016 and no more recently in 2019 the government of India used new tactics to handle the situations. They imposed unconditional restrictions for both the times and were perhaps the most harsh restrictions all over the globe ever faced by any region and witnessed both the first two longest internet shutdown sever in the history of mankind. We are discussing the two different faces of democratic government for the two lockdowns one imposed for suppression of Kashmiri’s struggle for right of self determination and now another for containing the spread of Covid19 in Kashmir. Both have been worn on the Kashmir land by Indian forces. But does the approach of forces towards people is same or different. Absolutely, there are differences, let us walk through the journey of these lockdowns. The 2019 lockdown was longest ever lockdown in Kashmir and was fully favored by the administration in the retrospection of article 370 abrogation.
Right of expression is one of the fundamental dogma in democracy and yet voices are bruked. Discrimination and bias is inserted to the same land for different voices. Human rights are screwed in one and in another put at top.
The lockdown saw the complete blockade of every means of communication including transport, telephone and internet services. Government couldn’t care for the citizens whether they die or live, whether they eat or die of hunger, whether they earn or beg. In no way government took care of the food for poor people, internet facility for students and businessmen . Even I remember one day I had very crucial need of internet service and I had to wait for a one complete day till dawn merged into dusk to avail it. We had to crush the agony simmering in unconditionally long wait. We couldn’t write or raise voice in support of the cause for strike. The communication blackout also closed the doors to online education, which now seems to be turning into a rage across India. Children in Kashmir resumed their schooling on February 24, after staying at home for seven months. They were now back to schools after sitting at home for seven months and another unfortunate lockdown started. In the 2019 lockdown, thousands were convicted without trail and religious organizations following law of land were banned. Media houses lost their ethics and completely showed biased news filled with extraordinary nationalistic sentiments. The lockdown imposed with adventof covid19 which is now on the ground in Kashmir has a completely different tone. Government has a different face and people too have a differentapproach. The lockdown is favored by the people. Everyone does cooperate with the administration and security forces. Internet is not blocked. It is easier to kill the time in this severe lockdown compared to the aforementioned one. Ruler and ruled are on the same boat, whirling in the same winds and paddling in the same direction. We can write and deliver in favor of this situation unlikely to previous lockdowns where we were tagged with sedition. With health emergency created by Covid19 it was imperative for authorities to remove all restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, but still we are not given access to high speed internet services even after a long gag of eight months and severe anxiety and crises caused by spread of Covid19. India claims itself to be the biggest democracy in the world and despite it shows different faces for two legal voices from same land and same people. Right of expression is one of the fundamental dogma in democracy and yet voices are bruked. Discrimination and bias is inserted to the same land for different voices. Human rights are screwed in one and in another put at top.
( The author is a teacher by profession. Views are his own, [email protected])