BASHIR ASSAD
THE Kashmir Central Conclave 2023 culminated beautifully on a positive note. It marked the participation of intellectuals, policy thinkers, scholars from within and without Jammu and Kashmir to discuss the very pressing subjects of peace and security, social deviance of the youth, pedagogies in education and tourism potential.
Though it was the second annual conclave of the weekly Kashmir Central, this year’s chapter/ edition was historical and unique in many ways. Padma Vibhushan Muzaffer Hussain Beigh, had remarked on the enthusiastic participation of scholars, teachers and civil society members in the 1st Kashmir Central Conclave in October 2022 had remarked, “The overwhelming participation of thinkers, scholars, students and civil society members reflects upon the credibility and integrity of the organisers”. And well, the Kashmir Central Conclave 2023 went even beyond the previous one.
The conclave, as per all those who participated and witnessed, was easily that of international standards as far as the set-up, discipline and format of the dialogue were concerned. Every minute detail was worked out well, thanks to our consulting editor and renowned singer Waheed Jeelani who put all his expertise and efforts into the event to ensure it matched international standards. It was quite amazing to see the discipline at the conclave. The format was wonderful and the grandeur was breathtaking. Every single individual in the marvellous conference hall of Hotel Raddison Collection was involved in the proceedings of the conclave. The cultural performances at the beginning of the conclave were delightful and the discussions that followed on vital subjects were stimulating, informative and striking. The feedback from various stakeholders, including of those who have participated in many national and international events, is that it was for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir that such a unique event was held.
The biggest takeaway of the event was that if you talk sense, there is no gag. If you are reasonable, rational and realistic, you are welcome. Your views shall be taken seriously. The Kashmir Central Conclave 2023 was an answer to all those who drive the narrative of media gag. Every single individual involved in the discussions spoke his/her heart out without questioning the rule of law. I am personally overwhelmed in my observation that Kashmir has transformed on many accounts and is witnessing a transition for all the good reasons. There is no jingoism. Behavioural change is something I have been talking about for many years. And it is remarkable. I keep arguing that Kashmir would never go back to its violent past. There is complete rejection of violence by the society. And that was what we could clearly observe during the proceedings of the Kashmir Central Conclave 2023.
The second important highlight of the event was the realisation that we could make better citizens if we adhered to the rule of law.
The half-hour lunch break at the conclave could summarise the level of discipline and the code of conduct. It was a houseful event. We had to ask the gatekeepers to close the gate as there was no space left; yet the queuing up for the buffet was heart-warming. No youngsters were seen overstepping any rules, there was total display of patience and the waste management at the venue was impressive. My publisher and daughter of the soil, Renu Koul Verma gushed, “Bashir Ji, I am witnessing an entirely different Kashmir, a Kashmir of our hopes and dreams. So much has changed for the good”. This only gives us a sense of how the new dawn has set in and how it is shaping our future generation.
The participants were mostly youngsters in the age group of 20-30 years. Yet it was a no-nonsense group. The learned speakers engaged the audience beautifully. There was a huge appreciation for themes curated for the day-long conclave. The discussion was purely academic and intellectual. No rhetoric. But at the same time, it spoke the language of every participant’s heart. What could be more fascinating than this observation that the participants were communicating, not venting out. This is something huge, which Kashmir observers sitting at a distance, should appreciate and recognise. The communications skills have really improved over the last few years. No anger, no shouting, just communication.
Another important highlight of the Kashmir Central Conclave has actually initiated the process of building new thought leadership in Kashmir. There is a feeling on ground that youngsters need to be guided by a thought process apt to the modern-day knowledge and requirements. We cannot remain alien, rather isolated from the global community on account of new thought leadership. The ideas, the knowledge, the expertise cannot come from theologists or conventional thinkers. New thought leaders alone can bring change in the society. It takes time to create a thought-leadership in any society, however, there is an urge for change which could directly help in creating an ideal thought leadership.
The problem in Kashmir was multi-dimensional. One among them was the well-frog syndrome. The exposure of the new generation to the global community and the global thought-process is answer to many questions. There is hope. The youth, the educated youth are in the process of making global citizens out of them. It has a bearing both psychological and emotional. ‘I love my earth’ – is the new thought-process acclaimed globally and the Kashmir youth have a desire to be part of the modern thought-process. There is this observation. The era of hatred and irrationality has gone. There is an urge to be better humans than anything else. And we are certainly in the process of making new thought leadership having human values as the core ideology. “Humanism is antithesis to extremism and Kashmir is really in the process of making better humans out of its citizens. We at Kashmir Central provide platform to the younger generation to discuss, deliberate and suggest measures to the challenges we face. Let’s not confuse, thought leaders are different from theologists and political leaders. It is knowledge-based intellectualism.
An important highlight was the complete blackout by the local media. We had ensured to invite all the journalists representing local, national and international media. However, few turned up. This was anticipated. We at Kashmir Central have set a precedent of breaking the single-story syndrome which most of our local media houses were espousing for decades. We have broken the ceilings. We set the precedent of bringing out the other facers and facets of truth – the inconvenient one. Glamorisation and glorification of terrorism was the trade-mark of Kashmir media.
Way back in 2015, at the Pahalgham Summit, I had observed, “Our literature and media take an orphan to the grave of his/her father and do everything to make him or her cry and stay in perpetual mourning. No body in literature or media holds the hand of this orphan, inspires him or her to leave the past behind and explore the beauty of life. I dared to change the set precedence. Not only have we unmasked the killers but inspired hundreds of sufferers to come out of the perpetual state of sadness and hopelessness. It has unsettled the ecosystem. There was complete blackout.”
Last, but not the least; the Kashmir Central Conclave is the only event being organised at the non-government level without any involvement of the administration in any capacity. There are events happening on a daily basis and quite impressive ones with the direct or indirect involvement of the administration. This is our trade-mark. The endeavour is aimed at accentuating the issues of prime concern to the society and suggesting measures for solution of each through stimulating and enriching academic discussions. We may not claim to have achieved the objective but certainly the process has begun. We articulate the ideas, make the stakeholders realise the responsibilities and work towards providing ideas based on knowledge and experience for solution.
