Arundhati Roy: Goddess of Big Controversies!

Arundhati Roy has travelled a great distance since 1997, the year which saw her winning one of the most coveted awards in literature, the Booker Prize for her amazing ‘The God of Small Things’. She instantly shot to international fame and along with helped expanding the Indian literary sphere beyond the Indian borders. Today she is hardly a novelist; at best she is an occasional essayist; but she is certainly a big time activist.

And I have big problems with self-styled activists. These activists are almost always sympathizers of evil mongers, be it Maoists or Kashmiri separatists - an occupation in vogue nowadays. They stylishly call themselves as Human Rights Activists.

I agree that Arundhati Roy is an intellectual and is blessed with extraordinary talents but I do not approve of her indulgence into misguided sedition in guise of social activism. Many a times I feel she does what she does to attract attention. She could have got adequate notice by being an author too but why did she choose the path of controversies is beyond my comprehension. Otherwise, to think that she does not understand the meaning of humans or rights or sedition or freedom - azadi - would be absolutely naïve.

“Kashmir should get azadi from bhukhe-nange Hindustan!” advocated Arundhati Roy at the recently held seminar in Delhi on “Azadi – The only way”. Of course, she and other splitists got massively booed by the crowd as expected. Her misdemeanor would have got brushed away under the garb of oft repeated democracy-thus-freedom-of-speech theory but the Indian media took it up seriously and forced the government of India to react – at least issue a statement – against the seditionist brigade. However, the fact that she and her fellow secessionists are still freely roaming the surface of the Indian earth is enormously disappointing and might set a wrong precedent.

Arundhati Roy should get her facts right before articulating her skewed views on the subject of an Azaad Kashmir. I am sure she knows that Kashmir is an integral part of India by all standards of legitimacy. And I am also sure that she knows she too is an Indian. And, just by being a citizen of a democratic country – India – does not make her eligible for speaking in seditious language, howsoever strongly she may feel for her Kashmiri separatist brethren. Her conduct is unlawful. And it is punishable under the Constitution of India. (So what if the state of Jammu & Kashmir has its own constitution? Have you ever heard of a bizarre situation like this anywhere else in this world? ‘Double citizenship’ is a common occurrence but dual constitution? It happens only in India!)

What perplexes me the most is the logic proffered by these so-called activists is their definition of human rights because they are seldom right in their explanation of humans or their rights. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be seeing them fight for Separatists and Maoists rights! Can any person in his/her right senses describe people belonging to either or both of these sections as ‘humans’? For God’s sake, they are terrorists! And murderers cannot be granted the same rights as that of ‘normal’ humans whom they kill at will.

Kashmir became a “problem” – not a mere ‘dispute’ as defined by current interlocutors - because of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s idealistic posturing about the UNO – as it was called in those days – and its ability to bring about the necessary changes while dealing with global conflicts. If our first prime minister had shown political acumen and courage, the whole controversy would have got resolved in 1948 itself. Indian military was quite capable of defending its territory and securing its borders and not letting Pakistan forcefully annex Kashmir and create POK; the most absurd post war happening was Pakistan “gifting” a large swathe of illegally occupied land in Kashmir to China!

Kashmir is a flashpoint and will remain so for many more decades to come. Today, even if India demonstrates strong political will, Kashmir issue cannot be solved which is anyway a remote possibility. Because, today stakeholders are numerous in the beautiful land of Kashmir. A burning Kashmir keeps the South Asian geopolitical aspirations of many nations warm. Then there are the commercial compulsions of global arms trade. A peaceful world - region - is certainly not conducive for the desired growth of this dangerous business which is lobbied hard at the highest levels for its continued existence. Then, the never-ending Kashmir conflict also serves as a legitimate excuse for the government of Pakistan to use it as a deflective device to keep the focus away from its grave internal problems. And Indian establishment is also not far behind in using Kashmir as a tool to suit its political purposes.

Hopefully all those Indian Kashmiris - and I firmly believe they are in absolute minority – who want to be a part of Pakistan or want a ‘separate’ state for themselves, will soon realize Kashmir is an Indian state and no force on this earth can divide India further. Their King who happened to be a Hindu by religious practice had decided the inclusion of his kingdom in the Indian state in all his senses and within his legal rights to do so. And that included his citizens as well. Moreover, almost a failed state by any yardstick, Pakistan should also get over its ambition of acquiring Kashmir, remembering that British’s “divide-and-rule” policy is not applicable anymore in a democratic and secular Independent India. Therefore, even the thought of an “Azaad” Kashmir is insane! Same advice is for Arundhati Roy.

Arundhati Roy could call her Hindustan “bhookha-nanga” but she should thank her stars for being a born Hindustani; for speaking in seditious language in Pakistan, she could have been languishing in jail on a non-bailable warrant forever for “treason”. Because, it is only in a democratic India that she could take refuge in her enormously flawed ideologies and philosophies to justify her separatist tendencies and still be out as a free citizen.

India is tired of Arundhati Roy’s KBC: Kashmir Bachao Conundrum! Hopefully she will resume her writings and stop being the Goddess of Big Controversies!