K FILE 'The Conspiracy of Silence': A brave book on Kashmir

The conflict in Jammu and Kashmir is one of the biggest internal security challenges for the Indian state. 2001 saw over 4,500 terror-related deaths in the state.This figure has steadily declined in the last 18 years, making the world wrongly believe this reduction in violence is a sign that Kashmir is moving towards conflict resolution., Bashir Assad argues, there is never going to be a resolution of conflict in Kashmir and return to peace unless all stakeholders --- the Kashmiris themselves, the Indian state and the political parties in Kashmir get together and negotiate peace with the militants.The ideology of holy Jihad and the aspiration for the kingdom of God has now coopted women and teenagers as their strongest campaigner in Kashmir, turning paradise into hell. The change from a political problem to a religious matter needs to be understood and strategically challenged, the activist-journalist says in his brave book, K File - The Conspiracy of Silence.

About the Author

A brilliant student, the favourite of his teachers in the village high school, Bashir Assad fell to the extremist Jamaat-e-Islami ideology soon after passing Class X with distinction. The boy who had charmed his entire hamlet with his keen intellect was seen giving sermons in mosques, preaching Maududi Islam. His clan, the village folk – all had great expectations from him. Some hoped he would join the administrative services. Others wanted him to take up medicine and be a doctor. Many others saw a future political leader in the making, on account of his impressive oratory skills. Some would even tease him to go to Bollywood, given his Kashmiri good looks and charm. Influenced by the Jamaat leaders of Anantnag district, at the age of 17 Bashir was a completely changed young man. Deeply indoctrinated, his sole objective was living a pious Islamic life, and continue giving sermons in mosques. In 1989, Kashmir valley slipped into the hands of armed militia. This jolted Bashir out of the religious stupor. He saw indoctrinated young men of south Kashmir march into militancy with bravado, taking up a life of ghastly violence. As they were killed, more followed them. Bashir was shaken. He realised how dangerous the Jamaat ideology was for the blossoming youth of Kashmir. He disassociated with the Jamaat and raised his voice against the newly-imported culture of Kalashnikovs. Bashir had lived the ideology of Maududi Islam for about three years. When he came out of the daze of indoctrination, he realised that he had lost several very valuable years of his young life. He was aware that while he was able to escape the grip of extreme religious thought, thousands of youth of his generation had not been so fortunate. They had thrown away their youth and shattered the happy dreams of their parents by choosing the gun. This searing pain never left Bashir. Drawn to journalism, Bashir studied Mass Communication in New Delhi. Back home, he joined a local vernacular newspaper and also started making documentaries for Doordarshan. Bashir started writing and speaking out against the killings perpetrated by both security forces and militants. He became a journalist, activist and motivational orator. He had experienced the consequences of indoctrination at an early age. Through his writings, workshops, conferences and seminars, Bashir constantly reached out to the youth. Presenting himself as a test case, he would caution the youth not to fall prey to this deadly ideology. For his writings against the excesses of militants and also the security forces, Bashir was targeted by both. He was falsely implicated by the Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police and was given third degree torture for 35 days in an investigation cell. Targeted by militants, Bashir survived five attempts on his life. He was kidnapped four times by militants at the behest of local Jamaatis. Twice, he escaped from the custody of militants. On one occasion, Bashir escaped with the help of a woman from a village who covered him with her hijab and provided him an escape route. These attempts on his life did not deter Bashir from his chosen path. He continued to work to strengthen the ideology of reconciliation and not confrontation for addressing the problems Kashmir faced socially and politically. Bashir worked closely with late J&K chief minister Mufti Sayeed for a couple of years. He left active politics disillusioned, realising that political leaders in Kashmir were doing politics on human blood. In 2011, Bashir launched a platform for the youth under the banner of Lehar (an NGO). Since then, he has been involved in interactions between members of the Indian civil society and students in Kashmir. His objective has been to rationalise the political ambitions of Kashmiri youth, and give them platforms to channelise their energy in a constructive manner.