Why ‘The Kashmir Files’ Must Lead To ‘The Kashmir Consensus’

The film “The Kashmir Files”, already a blockbuster, has sparked a revolution of sorts in India. Even those who have not watched the film (this writer, for instance) find reactions to the film, whether in cinema halls, or on social media, or in popular media and Op-Ed columns, as unprecedented. Not many films have jolted India’s conscience as this Vivek Agnihotri-directed film has.

The film captures unimaginable and unspeakable crimes against Kashmiri Hindus -- genocide and ethnic cleansing are two expressions that have been used often. On April 11, the film completes a month’s run in theatres. In a month’s time, the nation’s collective resolve to see that displaced Kashmiri Hindus return to their homes in Kashmir Valley, with pride, respect and honour, has only got strengthened.

The Kashmiri Hindus were driven away from the Valley at height of Islamic terrorism, with Pak-sponsored Islamic terrorists and jihadis bent on ethnic cleansing. Many spin doctors sought to invent reasons to “justify” the genocide. Claims and counterclaims on the number of those killed is not the issue. 

That the displaced community members sought shelter in refugee camps in their own motherland should have made national headlines long ago. An enterprising community that Kashmiri Hindus are, most of them began their lives from scratch and did extremely well for themselves.

Their return to Kashmir Valley, with respect and pride, will complete the project that was initiated by scrapping Article 370 -- one of the most important episodes of Independent India.

That Article 370 created a psychological barrier and acted as an artificial roadblock between the Valley and the Union was aptly captured by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh resolution of 1966, titled “Abrogate Article 370”. It read: “…Article 370 has created a psychological barrier between the people of the State and their counterparts in the rest of India which has been exploited all these years by anti-national elements and Pakistani agents, to the detriment of India’s vital interests. Its abrogation and application of the Indian Constitution in full to Jammu & Kashmir is an essential pre-requisite for the normalization of the situation within the State”.

Earlier, at the Kanpur conclave of BJS in 1952, Syama Prasad Mookerjee said: “It is our firm belief that (complete) integration of Jammu & Kashmir with India will be in accordance with national will and wish, and an important step regarding India’s security too”. 

Clearly, for Kashmiri Hindus’ return to their homes in the Valley, with pride and honour, the abrogation of Article 370 was a pre-requisite.

There is enough anecdotal evidence on ground that the film “The Kashmir Files” resonates with most Indians. The call for justice, closure has got louder, and the resolve that no one should ever be subjected to this kind of humiliation and misery has got strengthened. Many are, however, also surprised by somewhat angry reactions by a section of columnists, intelligentsia, and a section of the political class. 

Jammu & Kashmir is integral to the very idea of India. The Kashmir Valley is incomplete without Kashmiri Hindus. Both Hindus and Muslims are proud stakeholders as Kashmir is celebrated and showcased as India’s pride.

Sardar Patel brought about integration of princely states. Syama Prasad Mookerjee took the idea forward by fighting for full integration of J&K with the Indian Union. In 1953, when Mookerjee was arrested in Jammu & Kashmir, he is said to have asked Atal Bihari Vajpayee “to tell the world that he had entered Jammu & Kashmir without permit”. Article 370 was finally scrapped by the Narendra Modi government.

Like the primacy that ideas like India’s Freedom Struggle, or the age-old relevance of India’s civilizational values, or India’s commitment to larger global good have in India’s Collective Consciousness, there is a near-unanimous support for the move to scrap of Article 370 in the country as well. 

True, some usual suspects continue to oppose the move, but anyone with even an iota of understanding of People’s Pulse and national, political and social issues, wasted no time in supporting the move after Article 370 was scrapped in 2019. Such people included many from Opposition parties – including from Congress. Those who claim in closed-room chats that “they will bring back Article 370” remain in a minuscule minority.

Students of Politics and Society who view a given situation from the prism of the Consensus theory, believe in harmony, peaceful coexistence, unity and integration. Conflict theorists, who are inspired by Marxist ideals, on the other hand, often see conflict of interest between communities, between different states, between states and the Union, between Hindus and Muslims, between Jammu & Kashmir and the Indian Union, between the Valley and Jammu, and so on. 

The process of forging a Consensus is a culmination of a long-drawn process, involving multiple historical, political, social, cultural and other factors. It is through socio-political-cultural processes like “Persuasion”, “Accommodation”, “Negotiation”, “Integration”, that a Consensus is often reached. It is then acknowledged as a Social Fact. It then becomes part of Collective Consciousness. Jammu & Kashmir’s full integration with the Indian Union, after scrapping of Article 370, today, is a dominant part of India’s Collective Consciousness. The process of “Persuasion” that Mookerjee initiated, leading to a movement and a long-drawn struggle, saw its logical culmination when the Narendra Modi government scrapped Article 370 in 2019.

Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha on Aug 6, 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said: “For the past 70 years, every person in this country has been claiming that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Surprisingly, none of us has ever made this claim in respect of Uttar Pradesh or Bengal or Tamil Nadu etc. It is because Article 370 had raised a suspicion in the minds of our citizens and the people living abroad about the real status of Jammu & Kashmir. I would like to congratulate Hon’ble Prime Minister that this blot on the face of our country is going to be erased today”.

After the abrogation of Article 370, J&K has taken giant strides in Good Governance. Infiltration has come down. Health infrastructure is top-notch. Investments, promising jobs, are pouring in. If there are some instances of targeted killings, it only shows terror factory’s frustration. It, however, also strengthens the country’s resolve to foil all such nefarious designs.

The move to scrap Article 370, however, will achieve all its objectives, and nation-building will get a boost, when displaced Kashmiri Hindus get back to their homes and habitations in the Valley. The process is underway.

In the post-1990 era, what many mainline political parties did to Kashmiri Hindus in their own homeland can only be described as “shameful”. Attempts were made to give legitimacy to hardened killers and murderers like Yasin Malik at the highest levels. A section of academics from respected institutions like JNU mainstreamed elements like Malik in National Capital’s seminar circuit. Some from the same University even questioned J&K’s integration with India. Such elements are no longer relevant today. With Article 370 gone, Kashmir’s future can only get better and brighter.

If “The Kashmir Files” has reminded India of one of the darkest chapters in its history, it has also begun a conversation on why atrocities and injustices should lead to the right to justice, why pseudo secularism must always be met with an inclusive Nation-first philosophy.

The film will help build a consensus that no one or no community is ever subjected to such humiliation and such atrocities, in future. The process of consensus building must also factor a number of related issues. One, if some sections in the Valley continue to have apprehensions about scrapping of Article 370, these must be addressed politically. An elaborate political process is already underway in the Valley. Two, Kashmiri Hindus’ return, with pride and respect, is integral to Kashmir’s glorious future. Kashmir’s glorious future is at the core of India’s existence and future. Three, Hindus and Muslims, with amity and peaceful coexistence defining their ties, are proud stakeholders in J&K’s future. Four, while Kashmiri Hindus’ return to the Valley is expedited, children of Kashmir Valley, whether Muslims or Hindus, must always be welcomed with open arms in the entire country. Five, the conversation should also shift to the unanimous 1994 Parliament resolution on J&K now.

“The Kashmir Files” must lead to “The Kashmir Consensus”. The Kashmir Consensus will boost Nation-building, strengthen the Nation and bring the people together.

(The author, a JNU alumnus, is a political analyst. Views are personal)