We live in an era of multidimensional warfare. What started as a clash of stone clubs a few millennia ago has now transformed into an array of warfare methodologies, including non-kinetic ones. In fact, with every passing day, it is becoming clearer that some of the non-kinetic techniques of fighting wars are more lethal than, say, a missile or a bomb.
The war of narratives that targets the human mind and psyche is an ongoing phenomenon fast replacing the conventional wars that are now fought with an increasing rarity. Ukraine and West Asia conflicts, despite all the explosives and blasts, have also been seeing propaganda campaigns that have left this world disillusioned and divided. Unfortunately, the seemingly non-kinetic war of narrative does eventually end in a situation where innocents get killed by the ignorant.
Kashmir, a land blessed by nature and cursed by human ploys, has seen it all. What happened in the mid-1920s and thereafter till the mid-1970s were the events driven by certain narratives largely originating from within the Valley. But what happened after that and what is happening today is nothing but a war of narratives that has its masters or aces both inside and outside the geographical boundaries of India. Such wars, as can be seen across the globe, target unsuspecting, gullible minds who, incidentally, are also ignorant. After all, a well-read, well-aware mind will seldom devour whatever is served on a platter.
It is invariably an ignorant mind that offers a fertile ground for unfounded, untrue and twisted narratives to flourish enough to turn into beliefs that the victim sees as gospel. What such a targeted mind then does is decided by the aces whose profile varies from politicians with vested interests to hostile agencies of enemy countries like Pakistan and China and many more in between. And then the hell breaks loose when such doctored ignorant minds start creating havoc that sees a multitude of innocents getting killed or maimed.
In simpler words, ignorant minds turn terrorists, and those getting killed in the crossfire or through targeted killings, more often than not, are simple, innocent civilians who may be out to earn that day’s bread. Once they start flying, bullets and splinters don’t distinguish between people of different classes.
This is how wars of narratives are fought. In the explanation given above, the most important cog in this wheel is aces, i.e., a category of people who look for every opportunity to exploit the situation to their advantage. Inside India, most such elements have political ambitions, while those who do it sitting abroad are simply doing it to weaken our country.
While there are systems and processes in place to sort out outside enemies of the state, it is the pest inside that needs to be identified by everyone to ensure that we, the commoners, neither remain ignorant nor become innocent targets of their games. This category of people doesn’t necessarily wield guns or go for training in Pakistan; they create narratives to create situations that compel the ignorant to go for training to return to kill the innocent. This bunch of people, therefore, is more dangerous than our westerly neighbour.
With the benefit of hindsight, one can see how numerous lives were lost when a narrative of independence was thrown in, and a big chunk of the population that had nothing to do with it got annihilated. All that happened when Kashmir was as prosperous as could have been under Kashmir-based governments. Rigged elections and loss of faith belong to that era when the most sought-after travel destination became a no-go region.
Kashmiri Pandits, as well as Muslims, were targeted, and what was once considered a paradise suddenly turned into a hell hole. Soon, however, the ‘Azadi’ narrative was hijacked by a ‘merger with Pakistan’ narrative and hundreds more were eliminated when pro-Pakistan groups cleansed the Valley of pro-independence groups. Then, groups started fighting amongst themselves, and a chunk broke off and started working for the security agencies. In the campaign that followed, many more were killed.
Not satisfied with the blood already painting the streets in Kashmir red, an inspiration from West Asia was used to trigger a long spell of stone-pelting that saw education being adversely affected, ignorant ones getting booked, and innocents getting blinded. All this while, the aces sat comfortably inside their houses, watching with glee while their sons and daughters studied in institutions across the globe.
They became richer by the day as counterfeit currency from Pakistan flowed in and entered the banks in Jammu & Kashmir. The aces, however, were delivered a blow on 05 August 2019 when a couple of articles that benefitted only the aces were consigned to history. Aces tried to mobilise the mobs, but this time, the playing field had been turned upside down, and they could do no more than sulk.
A breather came in for the aces when the elections were held earlier this year. Many aces who had lost hope saw another opportunity, and soon, the assembly that was supposed to address the issues of the masses became a battleground. Focus suddenly turned to articles already abrogated rather than policies that would benefit the masses. So, the drugs are flowing in, unemployment is on the rise, and discrimination with the region to the south of Pir Panjal continues while aces are preparing a ground for the ignorant to throw the gauntlet and hit the streets once again.
Surprisingly, the aces used an event like the recently concluded Kashmir Literature Fest to push their agenda. With more than two dozen speakers coming from outside and various segments from within Kashmir, the aces chose two–one an army veteran and another a local girl–to claim, and quite shamelessly, that it was an event by the army and/or by the Sangh.
Fortunately, the exuberance exhibited by the youth who not only came in to listen to intellectuals but also volunteered to contribute must have delivered a slap across the faces of such aces who had created many social media handles overnight to target an event that was meant to revisit the literary heritage of the Valley and reach out to youth that has its own aspirations that make aces uncomfortable.
After all, those who still sell the narrative to the ignorant that the Dogra rulers were cruel and unjust will be uncomfortable if the youth of the Valley gets to read the actual history to understand who banned ‘Begaar’ started by the Afghan rulers, who made primary education for girls in Kashmir compulsory, who constructed and founded landmark institutions like SP and Amar Singh College, who encouraged widow remarriages while banning the female trafficking and whose army kept the Pakistani invaders away between 22 October and 27 October 1947!
The time has come when the youth of the Valley, in particular, and of the UT, in general, must decide between staying ignorant (and becoming expendable tools in the hands of the aces) and discovering the truth (and making meaningful decisions for themselves, their families, and society).
(The Author is a military historian and founder trustee of the Military History Research Foundation ®, India. He has authored 28 books, mostly centred on J&K)
