As I write this piece, the sham over BJP's proposed Flag Hoisting at Lal Chowk on the occasion of Republic Day continues unabated. A sham it is for neither the party which is ostensibly exercising its Constitutional right on Indian Land nor those, who profess that their concerns lie with maintaining of law and order and providing the 'healing touch' to the 'oppressed' masses of Kashmir are in any ways bothered with their professed interests.
The arguments in favour of allowing the BJP to hoist the tricolour seem quite strong for no one in his mind can deny that the Constitution and Courts allow any Indian Citizen to carry the National Flag and Jammu & Kashmir, for all its insurgency, is still governed as Indian territory. That said, it is the BJP's championing of the cause of the National Flag that leaves one with feelings of unease. After all, it is that party which did not hesitate to jettison the very cause which brought it to the forefront of Indian politics and more importantly, nothing which it did in Jammu & Kashmir, during its reign at the centre can be remotely said to be a symbol of muscular Nationalism that it proclaims to uphold. It is a party which seems bereft of any ideology and any commitment to anything save a naked pursuit of power, with leaders who are more worried about the opinions being peddled by Marxists-Leninists in television studios. While what exactly is the motive behind BJP's march may be left open to question, what seems to be beyond doubt is the unlikeliness of they being driven by Shyama Prasad Mookherjee's ultimate sacrifice in 1953.
But before descending to a wholesale condemnation of the BJP's yatra, let us for a moment pause and evaluate the arguments against allowing the flag hoisting at Srinagar. The most commonly repeated ones are:
• BJP should force RSS to hoist the National Flag at Nagpur - RSS is a social organization and not owned by the Government of India. Their Nagpur premises are not owned by the Government nor is that land a public land. How can then the organization, even if they don't desire to hoist the tricolour be forced to do so? Moreover, the RSS does hoist the flag on select occasions and most importantly, what is the connection in between Lal Chowk and Keshav Kunj?
• Kashmir's fragile peace will shatter - Firstly, Kashmir's fragile peace was brought about more by the advent of winters, fatigue of the common agitationist and some success of security forces to intercept key leaders of the summer agitation and not because a dim-witted panel of some deadwood started doing rounds of the state. Kashmir valley doesn't really require sound reason to start bloody agitations - think 1990 Pandit cleansing, 2008 Amarnath Yatra opposition, 2009 Shopian supposed rape and 2010 (God alone knows the reason). Further, the last yatra was successfully conducted way back in 1991 when terrorism was at its peak. When that flag hoisting did not simmer the cauldron further, where is the reason to think that this flag hoisting will trigger events which will lead to unforeseen consequences for all involved.
• BJP is playing politics with the National flag - Of course yes. Its a political party isn't it? And except for extremely rare instances in world history, when have change movements been distinct from political parties or leaders who lead them? If the Congress's pandering to minority appeasement through a Sachar committee is fine, what is wrong with the BJP using more constitutional means to appeal to its constituency?
• Flag hoisting will hurt minority sentiments - Please note. By contending thus, the 'secular' lobby itself is simply reinforcing the suspicion that even 64 years after getting their 'Land of the Pure', the largest minority is not Indian cenough and that their the tricolour hoisting is an insult to them. Do these 'seculars' even realise the import of what they are saying? First it was Vande Ma Taram which insulted minorities, now it is the tricolour which insults minorities. What next? Being called Indians insults minorities??
• Nothing will come out of the flag hoisting - Maybe. But what certainly will come out if the flag hoisting is disallowed is the naked symbolic proof of Kashmir's de facto secession from India. Lal Chowk is the flag where the Pakistani flag is usually hosted by separatists of all hues. Here, we have a procession of patriotic Indians, comprising of the quintessential common man, armed with nothing but tricolours, prepared to risk bullets, stones and arrests, being held back by the very forces who are supposedly committed to maintaining the territorial integrity of our Nation! How much more ironic could it get?
• The common man in Kashmir has nothing to do with the flag hoisting - Yet again, Kashmir valley is being substituted for the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir. Moreover, how do we know if all the people are really against the flag hoisting? At one end, the Central and State Governments would like us to believe that it is only a handful of people who are instigating those who happen to love India in their heart of hearts. If it is indeed so, let the yatra proceed and let such people join the event. What more potent answer could the separatists get in their own backyards?
In a nutshell, while the BJP's intent behind the Rashitriya Ekta Yatra may certainly reek of ignoble intentions, that by itself is not sufficient a cause to disallow hoisting of the flag. By its actions, both the governments is only strengthening Kashmir's separatism at the cost of National pride.
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