| 10 October 2010
Eminent Social Activist A.R Hunjura & founder Islamic Relief & Research Trust (IRRT) in conversation with Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander on Social Activism, Voluntary Sector, Women, Challenges, Issues and Working in a Conflict Zone.
Given your profession as an advocate how did you step in the field of Social Activism?
The instinct of Social Service is present in every human being, but the need is to explore and utilize it for the common good. I got my first experience of Social Service during school days when we had to collect donation and bricks for expanding the school building, while in college I was associated with National Cadet Corps(NCC) which infused in me the spirit of social service and our worthy lecturers always insisted that we mustn’t give up this enthusiasm once we leave the college. After college I joined the Kashmir University as a student of Law and came in contact with late Tak Zainegari in 1980’s. He was then running the J&K Yateem Trust and he became the moving spirit and inspiration for me to join the Social Activism whole heartedly. Then ultimately his death in 1989 made me to shoulder more responsibilities of the Yateem Trust and I began to devote half of my capabilities and time to Social Service and half to practicing Law, and I can well say after three decades of association with social work that there is no good on earth that tastes better than working for the welfare of common people, the more you work the less you feel you have done and the motivation of doing more and more crops up with every passing day.
You have worked in Peace and even in turmoil which started after the initiation of the armed insurgency in the Valley, do you find any marked differences between the two periods?
There is a marked distinction between these periods, before the inception of militancy in the valley we had to toil hard to search an orphan or widow, but the position changed drastically during 1990’s as the orphans and widows cropped up in epidemic proportions and they now themselves reached out to the orphanages or schemes of relief but due to the limited resources and ignorance among the public regarding these welfare schemes and programmes not much was delivered to remedy the same, though necessity is the mother of invention and when baffled with these kinds of challenges genuine institutions came up which to a certain extent are able to cater the needs of the downtrodden.
The mushroom growth of orphanages has been a consequence of the conflict, but most of these only cater to the needs of male orphans, what about the girl orphans, widows and half widows?
I agree that not much has been done regarding the welfare of victims of the conflict especially girls and women who have been worst hit by the conflict, though there are certain schemes about widow welfare but due to the lack of awareness among the masses nothing substantial has been done in this aspect. The government, civil society and activists all are responsible for this apathy.
We day in and out hear about different schemes being announced for the welfare of the victims of the conflict by the government. Are they effective in dealing with these challenges?
The system of government isn’t effective when it comes to these programmes, e.g. we have old age pension scheme for senior citizens, but masses don’t know about the same, still if somebody applies for the same, the red Tapism makes him give up in despondency as he has to run from pillar to post to get his application sanctioned and when it is sanctioned once in a blue moon it takes months to get the funds released, till then the hope for relief and welfare dies down. The government must try t make the system of deliverance effective only then any real change can take place at grassroot level, though it is most of the time involved with law and order situation only which makes these schemes die unsung in oblivion.
You have talked about the lack of awareness among the masses regarding the government or other voluntarily welfare schemes, then what happens to the programmes, schemes and money which the government allocates for the same?
The money in most cases remains unutilized or lapses back when the period of scheme expires or is siphoned off to some other clandestine programme, bureaucracy is an impediment in its smooth functioning.
The orphanages which are functioning in the valley mostly cater the needs of the orphan till certain age, after that he is supposed to fend for himself which most of them find difficult to deal with, what is your opinion regarding the same?
Though some orphanages are there which look after them till they don’t stand on their own legs, but yes most of them cater to their needs only upto matriculation, but I think it is grave injustice to them. If someone among them wants to go in technical field or some profession the orphanage must facilitate and look after his welfare till he is able to earn.
Why do we see the Social Service sector only inclined to orphans whereas in any conflict a number of issues crop up?
In my opinion it is not proper to have more and more orphanages, as we have other serious problems like half widows, widows, drug addiction, old age marriages and environmental problems to deal with, but in kashmir unless you are not working for orphans most people will not give donation as they think that social service comprise only of orphanages, hence the whole voluntary sector revolves around it. The case of half widows is altogether miserable, they are not entitled to remarriage as the fate of their disappeared husbands isn’t known and they are not entitled to the law of succession and their children are denied the share in their father’s inheritance, grave injustice is done to them even by courts which take years together to pronounce whether their disappeared husbands or dead or alive. Hence we should have some Community Led Initiatives to deal with these problems.
You are for Community Led Initiatives, please elaborate what do you mean by the same?
Islam has a practical code of conduct to deal with all problems that crop up from time to time. We have a system of Zakat if it is properly collected, channelized and utilized then we would have no developmental problems and being self sufficient we would be least dependent on government donation too. The institution of Bait ul Maal must be strengthened at Mohhalla and village level, as well as the institution of Auqaf and Wakf. The institution of Imam must once again be made vibrant who would educate people about the indispensability of reviving and strengthening these indigenous institutions which can then prove a boon for the whole afflicted community.
You also talked about the growing social evils like Drug Addiction among youth and the Old Age Marriages, has something been done in this context too?
In case of drug menace the youth are involved in most cases and it is the duty of the parents, teachers and community to keep a strict eye on the youth, the family members must be attentive towards the activities of their wards and children must be held accountable for their deeds before parents who in every walk of life must advise, guide and inspire them. The lack of moral education and ethics of which religion is the fountainhead is also responsible for the spread of this menace.
As far as the late marriages are concerned, the evil of dowry, extravagance and vain pomp and show are responsible for the same. Again the Islam debars us from the same and there must be a drive for public awareness to mould the public opinion against the same, but institutions can’t do much in these two cases as the people, family, religious preachers, civil society and teachers must involve themselves to nip these evils in the bud.
In every violent conflict a new generation of maimed and physically challenged grows every year, are there any initiatives for their rehabilitation and relief?
We don’t have only this problem, we now have issues have unwanted old age parents and newly born girl infants, but we are lacking funds to rehabilitate the same, now we must mobilize the whole society so that all people are in one or the other way are involved in these efforts, it must now be a Peoples Initiative.
Though it is boasted that there are more than 3,500 NGO’s working in Kashmir, but once any crises comes up most of them vanish in thin air?
Most of these are only paper work NGO’s with no factual presence on ground, hence they only work by exploiting the orphans and widows and for many of them the conflict is a source of minting money. The government hasn’t a transparent system of checks and balance to chaff out the fake NGO’s, but it rests with the public and they have the responsibility to check out who is who?
You have been working in the ravaging fires of conflict from the past two decades continuously, any impediments, difficulties and obstacles you have encountered and how it looks like to work in a conflict?
It is quite difficult to work in the conflict and we must accept this brutal fact. The impediments and obstacles are more from the government , the behaviour of security forces towards the social activist is not cooperative. Only Social Activists and members of Civil Society can reach out to people in any crises when the political leaders find it difficult to traverse on roads and address the masses but the security forces are enforcing curfews and then not honoring curfew passes, hence our relief, soothing or healing touch can’t reach to the people as we fail to reach out to them when they need us the most, thus fuelling further resentment and alienation.
Does working in Conflict Zone need some unique training for Social Activist?
Yes obviously, the new would be activists must be inducted in some refresher course of Peace and Conflict resolution so that they can better understand the dynamics of working in a conflict zone. When I went for social service the needs were different and we didn’t need specialized training then but now it is indispensable, even I benefited from working with certain foreign NGO’s when they visited the valley in the aftermath of 2005 devastating earthquake. Hence we must also strive for excellence and try to learn from other fellow workers.
So do you think that Social Activists are sufficiently trained to deal with the situation in the valley?
No, they are not sufficiently trained to deal with the overall situation prevalent in the valley, but they must now train themselves so that they are more effective in dealing with the prevalent hostile circumstances.
Is Civil Society concerned in the valley towards the plight of common man?
The Civil Society should be concerned towards the plight of common man but unfortunately they are not well organized to deal with the issues baffling the common man, though there are individual efforts by the members of the civil society but the collective joint effort is still missing.
Are you satisfied with your three decades of social activism?
No, I certainly am not satisfied and have not done complete justice with my passion of social work, as I can’t give my full 100% attention and energy to this cause as I have a family and professional life too which hinders my full commitment, still I will try to do what I can do at best.
Any message for those working in any Conflict Zone?
Those working in any conflict zone must be acquainted with the topography, background, cultural ethos, prevalent laws and the system which operates in the region in which they are working. They must be available to the people at all times and must gain the confidence of the people through their people friendly approach, which can only be possible if they are dedicated, selfless and honest to their cause and move freely and frequently in every nook and corner of the afflicted zone.