Jamat-e-Islami ban will not help to improve the situation in Kashmir
Bhat Zaieem
There have been an ocean of voices which have been stripped off, numerous dazzling stars which have been cut short in the Valley and eventually put under a thick muffler of trumped up tales.
Recently a similar move has been slipped into the already wailing Kashmir valley in the shape of unconstitutional ban on Jamaat e Islami. Is it a solution or complication of the Kashmir issue, will be answered at the end. But initiating it significantly indicates that desperation is lingering in power corridors to seize the genuine voice of the valley.
The Jamaat e Islami was put on the frame in Kashmir to usher the better understanding of Islam and human values. It never was framed with any subversive agenda, except the renewal of Islam in Kashmir. The doors of Jamaat e Islami were always vivid and clear in its agenda. Its prime and prior objective has been to foster unity, love and brotherhood among humans indiscriminately through eternal teachings of Islam.
It always worked under the limits of the constitution of India, which has never put an impediment to anyone’s way to preach and spread one’s religion. One of the India’s basic and fundamental article is its secular being which has been inked big in the Preamble of Constitution.
JeI is not appended with any armed groups in Kashmir, instead it always put thrust on education and development of Kashmir Valley. It has never indulged in hate mongering and other divisive policies. Instead it always focused on polishing the humans with real human ethos and brotherhood.
Jamat e Islami from its initial has been serving humanity through physical, social and intellectual resources irrespective of religion, caste, creed and colour. It has been a cadre based and disciplined organisation with a devoted, dedicated and down to earth human resource.
Jamat has played a key and dominant role in enlightening the society with education and ethics with nominal material resources at its disposal.
Jamat e Islami came into being in Kashmir when it was filled with illiteracy and ignorance. Who played the pivotal role in changing the picture was none other than Jamat e Islami. They established schools in Valley with affordable fee structure. A culture of discipline and human manners picked up the prime place in those schools. It can’t be denied that Jamat always held its hands open to underprivileged people who wanted to seek knowledge, rather it inflicted in common people the passion and craze for education.
The one lakh students, ten thousand teachers and three hundred schools which are run by it can take the eye of anyone to declare it as a pro-educational organisation. It had rather bound itself to empower youth with knowledge.
Jamat e Islami has played prominent role in helping the poor and the downtrodden. It has worked for the sake of humanity even at times of most rigorous and devastating calamities. The role is evident from the 2014 floods in Kashmir, when Jamat played an active role in rescuing and rehabilitating the affected ones.
Now banning such type of organisation is quite a ridiculous task. It has been a blot on the secular structure of the India. There are several reasons on which it has been made unlawful, the major reason would be that it is seeming to security establishment as a root cause of uprising in valley. One more aim of victimizing Jamat is to drag it to electoral politics as the elections are nearing.
Declaring Jamat e Islami unconstitutional will not help in resolving the Kashmir issue. But will definitely act as a fodder for more uprising in Kashmir. It is akin to a case that if you bar a river it will deluge you. Jamat e Islami is a running caravan in Kashmir for social reconstruction and it cannot be dealt with being declared as unconstitutional.
(The writer is a teacher and a freelance columnist. He can be reached at [email protected])
KV Network
