As Protests Stops, Calendar Narrative Picks Up In The Valley

As the separatists are continuing with their protest calendar for past seven months, the state government is subtly trying to counter separatist narrative and has launched a calendar showcasing young achievers from different fields including 2010 UPSC topper, Shah Faesal.

However, days after Minister for Finance, Haseeb Drabu launched J&K Bank calendar exhibiting twelve achievers, the Association of Parents of Disappeared (APDP) launched its own calendar for 2017. The APDP calendar has a story of a missing person for each month.

 “We take a pledge that we will not allow the state to erase the memory of the disappeared persons. This calendar is an attempt to keep bitter memories alive. We feel that keeping alive the memory of our loved ones is an important part of our struggle,” the APDP in a statement.

January month of the APDP calendar starts with the story of Shabbir Ahmad Gasi, a fruit vendor, picked by Rashtriya Rifles (RR) of the army in presence of his family members. Since then his whereabouts are not known. According to the APDP, around 10,000 people have disappeared in Kashmir since the 1990, when armed insurgency erupted in the Valley.

 After killing of Hizbul Mujahedeen commander, Burhan Muzaffer Wani, on July 8, the separatist started releasing weekly protests calendars asking people to march towards towns and Srinagar city. These protest calendars also asked people to stage protests for demand of right to self-determination and against killings of civilians during protests.

 The separatists continue to issue the calendar even after seven months. However, they have now restricted the shutdown to Fridayand Saturday instead of whole week as calm has prevailed in the valley after state government arrested over 7000 people in valley wide crackdown and booked over 500 people under preventive detention law, Public Safety Act (PSA).

The prolonged shutdown by the separatists also brought fatigue among people as economic activity came to standstill in five monthlong continuous shutdown and people wanted break in the shutdown.

Last week Drabu released J&K Bank calendar having theme ‘Pride of Paradise’ showcases twelve achievers.

“This year’s calendar is sending a very powerful message out and that is about the aspirations of youth. It is really a great thing for a calendar to focus on this positive theme during these times”, he had said.

However, there are no takers of J&K Bank calendar, which otherwise used to be in high demand, especially in the Valley. The J&K Bank officials were seen distributing the calendar free of cost in old city Srinagar today.

Incidentally, the Valley’s first woman IPS officer, Ruveda Salam, refused to be part of the J&K Bank calendar. In her Facebook post, she said, “Glad that I refused to be part of a calendar that has already courted so many controversies. I am no inspiration, a upsc qualifier is just that, he becomes an icon when he really has public service to his credit (innovations included) & not merely fulfilling his routine duty as per the rule book.”