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“Harud or autumn is a beautiful season in Kashmir. It has inspired much excellent prose, poetry and even a film,” said Namita Gokhale, explaining why the literary festival her group will organise in Kashmir this September was called Harud.
“The idea arose from an educationist and arts enthusiasts who wanted to create a platform similar to those that have been created in other festivals. There was also special interest and enthusiasm from some Kashmiri writers who wanted to emulate the spirit of sharing and discourse in the sessions at the Jaipur Literature Festival this year. This was followed by a desire to seek an open and democratic space for poetry, readings and dialogue in Kashmir, as had been happening in other recent literary events in locations as diverse as Karachi, Bhutan, Kerala and, soon, Kathmandu.” Gokhale is also the founder director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, the much successful literary event that’s been held over the last few years in Rajasthan’s Jaipur city to huge international recognition.
But in Kashmir, the Harud somehow seems to have brought a gloom of winter too soon. Some of Kashmir’s major literary figures, though invited, have refused to attend the event. News related to the event spread by sections of the Indian media seems to have spoilt the party before it even began. And statements coming out from the organisers themselves haven’t helped either.
While international news agency AFP described the event as “another sign of easing tensions in the revolt-hit Himalayan territory,” The Independent of London described it as a “cultural rebirth” of Kashmir and “an attempt to aid the area’s cultural renaissance.” The Times of India wrote that the “valley had turned a page” and related the event to the fact that Germany had lifted the travel advisory for its citizens against visiting Kashmir. It now expected other western countries to “follow suit.” The description hasn’t gone down well with many in Kashmir.
New York-based Basharat Peer was quoted by The Guardian: “The mainstream Indian press has made it sound like the festival is part of bringing civilisation to Kashmir.” Peer is the author of Curfewed Night. He is also one of the major Kashmiri writers who have refused to attend the festival. “It's a fine idea but the framing of the event in the media has been extremely problematic and condescending.”
There are indeed writers willing to attend the event. Rahul Pandita, a Delhi-based writer originally from Kashmir, said, “The festival would not make the CRPF disappear from the streets. And the fundamental issue regarding Kashmir will not change. But we need to have festivals like this in Kashmir.” He said: “We need to give youngsters a chance to mingle and interact with other writers. Something like this should not be politicised. Who are we to decide whether a young boy or a girl should meet Chetan Bhagat or not? Or Omair Ahmed? Or Javed Akhtar? If they don’t want to, they won’t attend the festival.”
But then, has “everybody” been invited in the first place? “In Jaipur et al, we have had discussions on Kashmir and Maoism. Will this event have a session on occupation and azadi? Will the likes of Arundhati Roy be called? Who else is more suitable or entitled to attend a literature festival in Kashmir,” asked a Facebook user on the social networking site. To a part of that question, sadly, the Harud organisers have a rather uncomplicated answer: “Arundhati Roy is not on our list of invitees.” A reason given was that Roy had in the past declined to attend various festivals to which she had been invited by them. But it does vindicate in a sense those who were invited but have chosen to stay away from the event. Moreover, there are others too who have been kept out of the event. Film maker Sanjay Kak, who recently edited Penguin’s Kashmir anthology Until my freedom has come: The new Intifada in Kashmir, a book released at a crucial juncture in the very recent times, is just one of them.
Mirza Waheed, the author of The Collaborator, a novel set in the midst of Kashmir conflict and released to international fame earlier this year, is another major writer from the valley who has refused to attend. The Guardian quoted him as saying: “The organisers have said the event will be apolitical. So what would I do if I was there? What would I read? Every page I have written is political.” He was referring a statement Gokhale has been quoted by the media as saying, that the event “will be an apolitical dialogue concerning literature.”
“‘Apolitical’ describes the spirit in which we, the organisers, are approaching the festival,” Gokhale told this writer, “as we do all our festivals. That surely is not controversial.” Indeed it is essential, she added. “We create democratic platforms for debate, discussion and freedom of expression, and facilitate an atmosphere whereby we hope our speakers and audiences will allow for mutual respect for each others viewpoints, both political and otherwise. The festival provides a literary platform for all shades of opinion.” Apolitical, however, has turned to be a word more loaded than political could ever be.
Pandita said: “I feel that the festival being ‘apolitical’ has been blown out of proportion. Of course in sessions there will be politics. I for one will talk about what I call the ‘pain and politics’ of Kashmir – of young boys killed by police bullet, an old man made to frog jump in front of his son, the untruth about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, of the hypocrisy of mainstream national press while reporting about Kashmir. Who will stop me from talking? Nobody. Even if it was happening in Papa 2, I would still talk about the same things.”
Papa 2 was described by historian William Dalrymple as a detention centre “into which large numbers of local people, as well as the occasional captured foreign jihadi, would ‘disappear.’ Their bodies would later be found, if at all, floating down rivers, bruised, covered in cigarette burns, missing fingers or even whole limbs.” The centre was shut down in 1996 and was later turned into official residence for high profile ministers in the state.
The venues for the event have raised eye brows too. Delhi Public School, the main venue, recently hosted a cricket tournament organised by the Indian army. Talking about the larger goal of the army, Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain, the Indian army’s chief in Kashmir, had told the media, “What we are trying to do is to make extra efforts to reach out to the people… To use the heart as a weapon, this is the doctrine.” The security establishment has been proactively trying to “engage” the youth in different activities in order to keep them away from protests and demonstrations.
“DPS has many appropriate auditoriums and backup facilities. It has hosted several successful book and other events, including the recent Bookaroo festival for young readers. The excellent record of the school in setting standards speaks for itself, and Mr Vijay Dhar [DPS chairman] has been most encouraging of our initiative to create an inclusive and democratic space for literary voices,” said Gokhale.
Kashmir University, which isn’t known for allowing freedom of speech, and certainly not political expression, is the other part of the venue. Is it a matter of concern for those behind this event to select venues that could take care of such political sensitivities? Gokhale said in reply to this question: “We hope and believe that the University readings will be stimulating and draw engaged audiences from different streams and disciplines.”
Talking about freedom of speech can indeed be complicated in a region where SMSes have mostly remained banned over the last few years. Very recently, a programme run by a local FM station during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan has been taken off air amid controversy. The programme featured Kashmir’s religious head and pro-resistance leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. According to a report in a leading local daily, Mirwaiz was told by the radio team that a “ban has been put in place on the socio religious series.” Mirwaiz said, “It shows to what extent surveillance and censorship is enforced and implemented on the people of the valley by the state and central ruling agencies.”
Among other statements from the organisers was the one by Sanjoy Roy, producer of the Harud Festival. He said, “The Harud festival will be a great addition to our existing literary and arts festivals in India. It is a privilege to be creating this program with the backdrop of Kashmir and its legacy of literature, which has a history of over 2,500 years. We strongly believe that India’s multi cultural ethos needs to resonate across the world.” Invoking “India’s multi cultural ethos” has expectedly raised eye brows in the valley where hundreds of young unarmed protesters have been killed by Indian security forces and local police during the last three years. Recent years have seen some of the most powerful anti-India protests of the last two decades in the valley.
Nawaz Gul Qanungo is a Srinagar-based writer and independent journalist. He was formerly based in New Delhi with the financial daily Business Standard. His work has appeared in some of India’s major publications including Business Standard, Tehelka, Down to Earth, the Tamil Dinamalar and Kashmir Times.
