The government will showcase how Pakistan is responsble for the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir (File)
Political activity in Jammu and Kashmir may be fledgling once again with the release of leaders detained after the scrapping of its decades-old special status but the central government is far from giving up its handle on the narrative. On Thursday, the centre will hold a special event to showcase how Pakistani actions led to the spate of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and how the country is responsible for the suffering of the people in the erstwhile state.
October 22 will be observed as "Black Day" to mark the day of the raid in 1947 when Pakistan-backed militia invaded Jammu and Kashmir and settled down on what today is known as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the government said.
"We are organising an exhibition in which old videos, collages, photographs and documents are there which clearly establish that Kashmiris were unwilling to go with Pakistan. Even the then leader of National Conference Sheikh Abdullah was reluctant," Raghavendra Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, told NDTV.
According to him, the documents clearly established that Sheikh Abdullah negated two-nation theory which appalled Pakistan further. "Pakistan had plans of invading India like they invaded Baluchistan, but India came to its rescue," he said.
"The 'lashkars' (militia) of tribal men armed with axes, swords and guns and backed by the Pakistan Army attacked Kashmir where they butchered men, children and turned women into their slaves," said a senior government official, adding that they destroyed the culture of the valley.
The Union Culture Ministry in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir administration is organising an exhibition in which they are trying to correct the narrative which has been etched in minds of Kashmiris, he said.
Apart from the exhibition and the museum, the union government is also organising panel discussions with 20 eminent historians, former army commanders, professors, researchers, authors and journalists.
These include Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), the chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir, Prof Amitabh Mattoo of JNU, Prof Raghuvendra Tanwar of Haryana Academy of History and Culture, Maj Gen S V Thapliyal (retd) and the convener of defence think tank Surya Foundation.
"It is necessary to portray such a historic narrative to create a dialogue among the people. Such an initiative would aim to bring about awareness among the people about this phase of our history. It will help in remembering how the country fought in the very first conflict faced by India," said Culture Secretary Singh.
"Remembering the violence and atrocity of the invaders and the valour displayed in overcoming this challenge will be a tribute to the people who laid down their lives in the first battle of independent India. The said exhibition or memorial will be the first of its kind in this direction," a senior bureaucrat in the Home Ministry said.
However, not everybody is on board with the idea even in New Delhi.
"The government is just trying to divert the attention from the mess it created in Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of Article 370. Youngsters in valley feel alienated from rest of the country still," said a former bureaucrat who handled issues in Kashmir for over a decade.
According to him, now that political activity has started again, most leaders are wanting for the restoration of statehood and provisions of the Article 370 that is the why the government is trying to hard-sell this idea. "They want to change the narrative from August 5, 2019, to October 22, 1947," he said.