Peace of the grave?

They make a desolation and call it peace that famous Tacitus line was repeated by poet Agha Shahid Ali to describe the numb pain of his homeland. After 1989,when Jammu and Kashmir was wrenched by Pakistan-instigated militancy and the security crackdown,many people,some of whom the security forces suspected of conspiring with militants,simply disappeared from their homes and villages. It is difficult to deny that this narrative has been largely whited out in Indias public discourse.

But,recently,as first reported in this newspaper,2,730 unmarked graves have been discovered by a State Human Rights Commission panel,and 574 of these bullet-riddled bodies have been found to be those of local Kashmiri villagers. Now Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has announced the state governments plans to disinter and DNA-test these remains,and respond to some long-pending questions. For the families who lost their own,who have been waiting for some news of their fate,wondering about what they went though,this process may bring some closure. For parents whose eight-year-old child simply vanished,his fate a matter of rumour and horrid conjecture,for those who are still searching for college-going sons,still making the rounds at police stations and praying for their return,this news may bring some answers,even if these are answers they dread. As Abdullah cautioned,it would be premature to jump to conclusions,or assert with certainty that all these persons have died at the hands of security forces. Equally,it would be unconscionable to look away from the tragedy that these graves uncover,or to finesse whatever they may reveal. It is,in fact,to the credit of this countrys official institutions,free media and public reaction that many of these stories came to light. It is important to build on that spirit of fair-spirited inquiry,as we exhume these graves and seek the buried truth.

The scar tissue from such episodes is still visible,and even now,the protests and clampdowns are as real as the desire to economically integrate,or the enthusiasm about elections. Dealing with the complicated reality about Kashmir that such graves represent is a test of democratic politics,which has been so instrumental in consolidating the peace process.