Avoid Political Confrontation

‘A WISE MAN is one who knows the relative value of things.’

Judging by this saying, it appears that the Kashmiris do not even have a single wise leader who is aware of the dire consequences of taking to the path of militancy for the people of Kashmir themselves. This issue can be understood in the light of a verse in the Quran that explains that when the Prophet Solomon sent a letter to the Queen of Sheba, demanding that she submit, she sought the advice of her courtiers, who told her that because they had considerable military strength, there was no need for them to submit to anyone. The Queen replied thus: “Surely, when mighty kings invade a country, they despoil it and humiliate its noblest inhabitants – these men will do the same.”

Here the Quran stresses to a very important fact, and that is that when one confronts a powerful ruler, one must think carefully of the consequences of doing so. If the consequences would prove counter-productive, then confrontation must be avoided. Experience proves that confronting a very powerful ruler is almost always counter-productive. It causes death and destruction on a massive scale, and the honourable are humiliated. That is why confronting a powerful ruler must be avoided as far as possible, even if the ruler is just and virtuous. But if certain people choose to ignore this advice or principle, and seek to directly confront a powerful ruler, it is pointless for them to complain later on about the loss of life and property. They ought to know that the destruction that they suffer is the price they have to pay for their confrontation with an established ruler. Those who adopt the path of militancy in order to fight existing governments have necessarily to pay such a price. It is simply impossible for a certain group to make a mistake and then expect another group to pay the price.

I have come across numerous articles and books by Kashmiris and Pakistanis with such titles as The Wounded Kashmir or The Wounded Valley and so on. These writings talk about the oppression being heaped on the Kashmiris by the Indian army. Such writings are quickly disseminated across the world. Yet, in practical terms, they have had no positive result at all. All they represent is screaming and berating, and have no positive impact. I am of the view that the blame for the fact that all this complaining and protesting has had no positive result must be placed on the shoulders of the Kashmiris themselves. The Kashmiris can learn a valuable lesson from the words of the Queen of Sheba as recorded in the Quran, to which I referred above. The Queen adopted a wise policy that avoided the possibility of destruction and oppression by the army. On the contrary, due to their foolishness, the Kashmiris have actually invited the Indian army to trample on them and to make them the target of their oppression.

The beginnings of a solution to the vexed conflict over Kashmir is for the Kashmiris themselves to recognize their mistakes and learn a lesson from the example of the Queen of Sheba as described in the Quran. This will greatly assist them in planning afresh the course of their life as a people. There is simply no other possible solution.