Indian journalists expose their government’s lies

ISLAMABAD: Three independent Indian journalists have opined that the only solution to Kashmir issue is independence of Kashmir. This came after Santosh Bhartiya, Abhey Kumar Dubey and Ashok Kumar Wankhede’s visit to the valley as they have exposed the Indian government’s lies on Kashmir. 

According to these top Indian journalists while talking to an Indian TV channel, killing of innocent Kashmiri people is not the solution of this issue as the presence of Indian forces and their oppression have taken out the fear of death from the hearts and minds of Kashmiris. Therefore, all the stakeholders, including Pakistan, Indian government, political parties of Kashmir including All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the political parties of India should sit together and derive a formula for the independence of Kashmir. 

There are already seven to eight formulas for Kashmir’s independence which have been discussed at some level in past. What all these stakeholders need is to discuss these formulas and agree on one mutual one. This is the only solution to this turmoil in the valley otherwise it will remain the same even for centuries, believe the visiting journalists. 

Santosh Bhartiya, a leading Indian journalist who was also elected to the 9th Lok Sabha of Indian Parliament in 1989 from the Farrukhabad Constituency of Uttar Pradesh, says Indian media is not presenting the true picture of Kashmir.

“There is an impression in India that Pakistan is supporting Kashmiri people in the current freedom movement of Kashmir and even the stones which are being pelted on the Indian forces are being provided by Pakistan. People of Kashmir are being labeled Pakistani agent and everything is being reported in Indian media without visiting Kashmir”, commented Mr Bhartiya. 

“A few weeks ago, a delegation returned empty handed to Delhi as the major stakeholders of present Kashmir freedom movement refused to meet them. But on the other hand, everyone including the

‘Huriyat leadership’, civil society members and youths not only met us but also told us the reality. On the basis of our tour to Kashmir, I can say with confidence that Kashmir which is being shown on India media is something else whereas the ground reality is totally different. I have seen six-year-old kids to 80-year-old Kashmiris and all of them are voicing for freedom from India,” said Mr Bhartiya.

Earlier the Kashmiris talked about autonomy but this time everyone was talking about freedom which was quite unusual, he said adding that all the delegations which had visited Kashmir in present and past, no body knew the outcome of their visit. The Kashmiris believe they have always been betrayed but not for this time.

Abhay Kumar Dubey is a social science scholar and editor who was part of this delegation says they have seen freedom movements in Kashmir in past but they hardly lasted for a few weeks. However despite passage of more than 80 days, the situation is the same and this has compelled them to go and visit the valley to see the ground realities.

“The Indian media is giving an impression that Wahabiism is being promoted in the valley. However when we visited the valley we have seen Kashmiri women and it came to know that they are more educated than the other Muslim women in India. Wahabiism discourages the women education but we found Kashmiri women more educated than other Indian Muslim women. Seeing is believing, it has always been propagated that Kashmiri Pundits have been forced to leave Kashmir but the question is why they haven’t asked Sikhs to leave Kashmir”, commented Mr Dubey.

Ashoke Kumar Wankhede, another leading Indian journalist, says it seems the Indian government doesn’t want peace in the valley. He said the solution to Kashmir issue was not in Pakistan but it lay in the hands of Delhi.

“We have to see what steps the Indian government has taken to improve the condition in Kashmir. We never thought or asked what the people of Kashmir wanted. We need to understand the Kashmiris have been maltreated since 1947. But now they won’t listen to anybody as all the cabinet ministers of Kashmir valley have lost their credibility. This movement is not in the hands of any one leader and this is the uniqueness of the movement which can become the reason of a prolonged movement”, says Mr Wankhede.

He says previously whenever any freedom movement was launched the traders did not support it as they were doing now. They (traders) wanted to resolve this matter once and for all and they were actively participating in the movement.

“Bullets and pellets are not the solution. You can kill a thousand or even hundred thousand but not the six million people. Therefore the ultimate solution is dialogue and Prime Minister Modi should take initiative to hold dialogue with all the stakeholders and resolve this issue forever, if he wants to get his name written in history,” he said.