Omar: An honest politician

Its been a painful month for the people of Kashmir who all of sudden find themselves at the cross roads again as "vested elements" have snatched their livelihood yet again. Now who is responsible for this is a million dollar question for "intellectuals" who call themselves as "Kashmir experts" but for me, I would simply blame Pakistan, PDP, Syed Ali Shah Geelani as these three parties have merged together and are injecting venom in the veins of our Generation Next. For them killing of a few innocents is nothing as has been found from the taped conversations. 

Now the interesting aspect of the present turmoil is the growing presence of "I Protest" bandwagons on social websites like facebook. Makes me laugh and cry at the same time that how can a person, who can afford to sit on Internet and spread venom, be sympathetic to a poor Shikarawala of a taxi driver on the roads, whose business had come to standstill. On one hand these people carrying out activities on Internet while sitting on their cosy bedrooms and drawing rooms and on the other, a poor boatman is praying in his boat for things to get better so that he could earn for his children and save something for rainy days. No but these self-styled contractors of religion will never agree to this. They have to inject venom and so they will do.

And for Omar Abdullah, the young chief minister who came with dreams in his eyes of a better and developed Kashmir, it is a situation where he does not only have to battle some of his own party leaders but also the divided Congress camp and Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

I suddenly found him in the middle of crisis where he is receiving flak from all sides for calling out Army. He has been accused of mismanagement of law and order situation in the state. But is he??? Now this is a million dollar question. A Chief Minister is bothered that his people should not die on roads -- Is this inefficiency? A Chief Minister requests political parties not to play divisive politics -- Is this inept handling? A Chief Minister is firm on his security personnel and asks them for restraint -- Is this an immature approach??? The poor man came with his dreams of bringing in Information Technology into the state, bringing in industries in the state, lift Kashmir to heights on global tourism map -- I guess that was enough to unnerve the people across the border and "vested interests" in the state. Why do processions take place??? Not because of inept handling or lack of governance, its because others are over working. Why cant people like an honest politician??? Is being honest and clean hearted a crime in politics these days??? I guess it is. Had Omar been like his predecessors, things would have been on a better side today. Had he not bothered about the killings of innocents, many more would have died. Crucify him if he is wrong...but Kashmiris privately admit that he is a wonderful CM who is being wronged for no fault of his. And when I asked them to speak it in open, they would chicken away as the "big brother" (read Pakistan and its stooges) is listening.

I jumped out of my seat during a discussion when I was told that Kashmir has never seen so much of violence before. Says who, was a impromptu question from my side because I remembered the figures of violence which I will share in the next paragraph. This was enough to silence the critics. Write against him if he does any wrong but why penalise him for no fault of his. At least this is what a journalist is supposed to do.

According to National Crime Records Bureau of the Union Home Ministry, in 2003, the year the People's Democratic Party-Congress alliance government took office, six people were killed in 47 incidents involving the use of force by police. Thirteen civilians were killed in 2004 when the then Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed completed his first year in office. Besides this, Police is recorded to have opened fire on 123 occasions.

In 2005, fatalities in police firing rose sharply to 50 and the State government withdrew BSF committed to counter-insurgency operations in Srinagar and replaced them with the CRPF in an effort to contain killings of civilians.

In 2006, the year Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad took office, there were no civilian fatalities caused by police. Even though Srinagar saw some violence that summer, in the course of protests against a prostitution racket in which politicians were implicated, there was little bloodshed. But in 2007, eight civilians were killed in 47 instances of police firing.

Civilian deaths rose sharply in 2008 — during the Amarnath agitation, and the State government reported 43 deaths and 317 injuries in 379 incidents involving use of force by police. 

Any comments now???? I guess none will come....