AN entire cricket club team in India-held Kashmir detained for wearing the uniform of the Pakistani cricket team and standing up as Pakistan’s national anthem was played.… Kashmiris do have a knack for showing their defiance in bold ways. No talk of peace between Pakistan and India can disregard the plight of the Kashmiris across the LoC. The issue will dominate the agenda of Pakistan-India engagement at any level. In fact, in the past, Kashmiris in the held territory have employed even more innovative tactics than donning the Pakistan team’s green jersey. But this method was also effective. IHK has been seething with anger in the aftermath of the killing of Burhan Wani last July. The emphasis on the BJP-driven Hindu nationalism has been asphyxiating — and not just for Kashmiri Muslims, whose feelings must have been compounded by the sense of insecurity that is being experienced by minorities all over India. Against this background, the statement made by the young cricketers in held Kashmir provides a useful insight into the high level of disillusionment that prevails. The gesture was reflective of the people’s desperation — a sentiment that is also echoed in the official step to detain the cricket team for the unforgivable folly of creating a Pakistani island on the disputed land. It is improbable that any government would have ignored it. Letting it pass without condemnation and without cracking down on dissenters would have been an unlikely scenario, especially considering the harsh tone that the BJP, which is a coalition partner in IHK, has repeatedly adopted on the issue.

From another perspective, the latest show of defiance by the Kashmiris may also give the practitioners of the politics of divisiveness and hate an opportunity to cite the incident as ‘proof’ that the Kashmiri uprising, before and after the Wani killing, has not been as indigenous as many describe it. The Kashmiris will not mind this at all. The display of reverence towards the Pakistani colours and national anthem — whatever the original intention may be — does convey a strong message far and wide. That this show of defiance did not involve any violence on the part of the Kashmiris may be a sign that it is in the interest of all parties to seek solutions without resorting to violence. This is what should set the tone for the dialogue with India which Pakistan has once more said it is ready for.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2017