World gives us credit for having developed a consistent habit of changing loyalties as well as ideologies to suit our convenience.
Street Talk
Expert Opinion
Some time back, two ‘high-profile’ persons having allegiance to a powerful political group entered into my office. It was an unscheduled visit, and surprised me. Both the persons were unknown to me. But when they divulged their identities, I could gather that the persons are no ordinary as I was consistently coming across their statements in the media talking about Kashmir and its political affairs.
They were in my office with a purpose – to get one of their issues resolved. Though I was in no way involved with their issue, which they discussed with me, they wanted to use my friendly association with another organization to their benefit. While discussing the complexities of the issues leading to serious situation and benefits of resolving it, I could get that they were carrying a wrong impression that my influence in the operations of that organization was paramount. In a way they were blaming me as one of the architects of the issue which was against their interests.
With this mindset, they wanted my intervention to get the decision of the organization reversed which had hurt them. However, I tried to convince them that I had no locus standi in the decisions of that organization. During the discussion, they advised me not to go against the wind. “Look at us. Why we joined the party? The party has been making a clean sweep across the country. It’s a huge political force creating waves in Kashmir. We immediately realized that if we have to survive and prosper, wisdom demands not to go against the wind and join the party despite all odds. So we are here representing the party at the highest level in our region, enjoying all facilities, power and money, which were otherwise not possible.”
I endorsed their ‘wind-theory’, but assured them that neither the resolution of their issue was in my hands nor I was in a position to interfere in the administrative decision of that organization. I told them that my relationship with the organization was purely professional in nature.
This small, but significant incident reminds me about the nature of a Kashmiri in general. Actually, the ‘wind-theory’ is a common trait of Kashmiris. Believe it or not! Kashmir in the backdrop of extensive use of ‘wind-theory’ has failed even best analysts, political commentators and neutral observers. When we peep into our own state of affairs, we find our personality behavior is not wedded to any ideology, and it’s absolute materialism that makes things happen here.
While listening to true stories from our elders, it becomes evident that Kashmiris have reacted differently at different times and that too en-masse. Their total alienation from one situation or the other has always been periodic.
Let me pick a leaf from history. There is a famous saying of Ghulam Mohammad Bakshi, which still holds true describing a common Kashmiri trait. Once at a press conference in 1958, addressed by Bakshi, a foreign newsman shot a straight question, “Mr. Bakshi, how many people are with you?” Without batting an eyelid, Bakshi replied, “Forty lakhs.” The newsman retorted, “But that is the total population of the State.” “Yes, I know,” said Bakshi. “Do you mean that the Sheikh does not have any following at all in the State?” asked the newsman. “No, I did not say so,” was the cool reply from Bakshi who added, “Sheikh sahib commands a following of forty lakhs.” “But how?” the newsman threw up his arms. Eruditely, Bakshi calmed the newsman down and said, “Even Sadiq sahib has a following of forty lakhs.”
The newsman was at a loss to understand this jugglery of figures and his confusion was worse confounded. He was not aware of the trait in the character of the Kashmiri who does not believe in annoying anyone, particularly those who are in power or are waiting.
So we have inherited a ‘special breed’ of people who resort to a discourse on religious and political happenings just to try to keep themselves in the limelight. They breathe brimstone and fire in their discourses but have different tones at different places. They speak anti-establishment locally, but leave no stone unturned to project themselves as patriots when they move out of their home territory.
True, we cannot generalize a particular community or class of people as far as the traits in their character are concerned, but Kashmiris by and large, are fond of mongering gossip, exaggeration and sycophancy. An overview of history reveals that Kashmiris, most of them, have been and continue to be skillful in speaking with two voices. They know when to act as secular and communal, democratic and dictatorial.
Generally speaking, unity in diversity is a distant dream in this part of the globe. Even in case of uniform social order, harmony, most of the time, is a casualty and that too for vested interests. Irony is that most of the people want to have prosperity at the cost of others discomfort and it is the sincerity factor, which gets marred in-between.
Let me share a unique kind of mentality, best described by the phrase “if I can’t have it, neither can you.” Precisely, it’s known as crab mentality – an act of short-sighted and non-constructive thinking which ultimately leads to collective demise. The narrative is that the crabs in a pot could easily escape from the pot, but instead, they grab at each other which prevents any from escaping.
The crab mentality has resemblance in human behavior. It’s a routine to come across such innumerable incidents where members of a group leave no stone unturned to pull down any member who scales the ladder of success beyond the others.
Even as it has mainly remained a precedent in politics, over a period of time this kind of crab feature has been widespread in our socio-economic sector.
Let us (Kashmiris) ask a few important questions. Should we carry forward these traits? Should we pass on this personality behaviour to our next generation? Are these traits going to do any good to us in the present as well as future world order?
(The author is Editor-in-Chief, Straight Talk Communications)