1/ One thing we have to clearly understand is that India’s primary problem with us is not with our regional identity in its’s entirety. Rather it is with a particular aspect of it. And that particular aspect is the Islamic component within it. By this I don’t mean a particular

2/ level of our religiousity rather every thing they see within us that they consider as Islamic. It can be a simple word within our languages. Take for example the word Aab in Kashmiri we use for water that is a result of Persian influence on us. For us this word has little

3/ to do with our religiousity. It is just a word. But they see it as a part of our Islamic heritage. Another example would be their insistence on imposition of Hindi based on the fact that we already use a non-native language i.e Urdu as our secondary language so it doesn’t

4/ matter. But what is it that makes makes Urdu such a problem for them? Linguistically Urdu is more related to Indian languages than say even Kashmiri is. Urdu was rather born in the northern hinterlands of the Indian subcontinent. In a way it belongs to them more than it

5/ even belongs to us. So why so much hate for it? It is because they it see as a part of Islamic heritage. And that is their true problem. The concern for our local languages by them and other narratives are just temporary ploys to gradually erode any sense of identity that

6/ is based on our own narratives. If so aren’t there hundreds of languages in India that are threatened more than our’s? When I show concern for my language, it is genuine but their concern is just a cover with real aim being the total annihilation of our Islamic identity or

7/ anything associated with it. Even if tomorrow we start speaking Sanskrit, they will still come at us the same way they are right now. Because that is not their real concern. The problem would be now we would be Sanskrit speaking Muslims to them. What is constant in all this?

8/ Being Muslim. And the problem isn’t the level of religiousity. It is rather with every bit of it no matter how much or how less religious we are. You can be an alcoholic and they might pat you on back but that would be for a temporary goal. In the back of their mind you

9/ still are carrying a Muslim name and they want the total annihilation of everything associated with it. This thing should be particularly understood by collaborators who often do their bidding in Kashmir and believe if they act a certain way they would be safe. They might

10/ be the last but not safe. After they are finished with us, they will come after them. Their aim is not to leave it halfway. It is total annihilation of anything within us that they see as Islamic. Since that is the case thus our resistance to it should be in that respect

11/ and based on that. We can’t fight for something different while their aim is something else. But while doing that we should be careful not to discard anything that they don’t have a problem with. Just because they are okay with something doesn’t mean we hate it. Their

12/ acceptance of those is because they want to achieve something sinister. Our acceptance of them is because they are part of our reality and our history. We don’t aim to achieve anything from them. Thus the reason for their acceptance and our acceptance are vastly different.

13/ Thus Sharda or Sanskrit is a part of our history as is Persian language or Arabic script. We should see them as languages and influences that have been a part of us. Just because they see them through the lens of achieving a sinister goal and a certain political end doesn’t

14/ mean we see them as such. We don’t need to define ourselves based on how they see us or how they want to see us. But we do need to defend and resist on the basis of what they are attacking us. And that is our Islamic identity. Make no mistake about it.

The topic is long and has it’s own naunces. Perhaps this isn’t the best platform to discuss it. But I hope the idea has been conveyed atleast to a basic level
Plus right now at this stage we shouldn’t look for details. There is a threat looming. That should take all our concern.