Er. P. L. Khushu
Omar Abdullah says that the Separatists’ contesting polls vindicates NC stance that violence will not resolve issues. Probably he is feeling shy to say and accept that it is the peace in J & K now which is tempting even the separatists to contest the elections and come in the main stream of development and progression of Jammu and Kashmir. Does he feel shy to concede that abrogation of Article 370 and doing away with Article 35 A, has added enough credence to the prevalence of peace of sorts in Jammu and Kashmir. Omar Abdullah says that we have maintained it all along that whatever we can achieve will be achieved through democratic ways. But Omar Abdullah has no regrets about the forcibly displaced Kashmiri Pandits plights, who are missing their original homes and hearths for taking part in such a franchise from their own soils. KP’s have to cast their votes from migrant camps and locations, located outside Kashmir. What a tragedy, which is constantly being ignored for the last 35 years. Where are his democratic values in this regard? The present dispensation of governance both in J & K as also at the centre too have not ever bothered to address this issue of the KP’s to go to their homes and hearths back in Kashmir. The answer is simple. KP’s do not have any vote bank tag value, so why bother about them. Lip sympathies are enough systematic salt rubbings on their bleeding wounds. Well it will not be out of place to mention here that dynastic politicians of Kashmir and the so-called separatists, who are now contesting the elections never, want KP’s to return to Kashmir. This has been abetted and silently supported by the ruling central governments from time to time, with an eye to retain Kashmir somehow, even at the cost of the destruction and devastation of KP’s after their forced exodus from Kashmir. This is known as a policy of appeasement, which is very much detrimental to the norms of democratic values of good governance. BJP is equally responsible for it, when it has been accusing other main stream or regional political parties about the same. What has BJP governments done so far for the last ten years for the safe and an honorable return of KP’s back to Kashmir, while being in power for the last almost 10 years for the country? In fact, BJP has used it as a political shield in its election rallies against other mainstream political parties.
While welcoming the participation of the separatists in these elections by Omar Abdullah, should he be reminded of 1987 elections when elections were rigged brutally which led to extreme acts of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir from 1989 onwards. Who was in power then? NC did it with a resolute support from Congress from Delhi. National conference is responsible for the devastating turmoil of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir particularly Kashmir, due to its dynastic ambitions to rule the people of Jammu and Kashmir until eternity. It was this period only in 1989-1990, when KP’s became the targets of militancy and the guns of the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, when they faced mass massacre and displacement from their roots in Kashmir. Thus, separatists’ are the creation of the National Conference, silently abetted by the congress from Delhi. Probably the separatists have now understood it, that militancy and its roots in Jammu and Kashmir are not acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir and have finally shun the gun for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. The main dynasty based political parties of Kashmir may not swallow this bitter pill of contesting of the elections by the so called separatists through proxy, as it may mean their extinction from the political scenario of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dynastic political dominance by the NC is still going on. What is Gupkar? It is a dynasty hub, crumbling now under its own weight and glamour. Should Omar Abdullah beg for votes now with his cap in hand? An act of extreme political frustration and demoralization. Yes the fear of losing the elections is looming large now, around the surroundings of Gupkar, as it is a spent force now. They are afraid of the separatists, who are fighting elections in disguise against them. The result is almost already out, that the days of these dynasty based political parties who exploited the people for remaining in power for decades, are numbered now, when Omar Abdullah the untouchable lost miserably the Lok Sabha elections against engineer Rashid, while engineer Rashid was in jail. Similarly Mehbooba Mufti an ex chief minister lost the Lok Sabha elections miserably to a candidate from N.C. They are still hoping against hope that they will again rule J & K and are using all the tools including the separatist and talk to Pakistan tool to woo the innocent voters to vote for them in these elections. But they have no sympathetic word for the aboriginal residents of Kashmir the Kashmiri Pandits about their return back to their lost homes and hearths in Kashmir, due to militancy, silently abetted and supported by these very political parties.
N. C. top leaders are now saying that, If they (separatists) have developed faith in democracy, it is an achievement for us, irrespective of which political party they join. Now the Jamaat-e-Islami, a banned religious-political group, has reappeared in Jammu and Kashmir’s electoral scene, in a different color. Recently this organization held a major election rally, marking its first such event since the 1987 assembly elections. Such a high-level reemergence has generated a lot of interest and curiosity toward the likely effects of this change on the political systems within the region. This was Jamaat-e-Islami’s first political rally since 1987, when it last contested elections under the Muslim United Front’s (MUF) banner. The streets were buzzing with energy as supporters rallied around their candidates, their excitement and enthusiasm filling the air. These leaders of Jamat are saying that the vacuum created by the regional political parties needs to be filled. The sea of people is our strength. Fingers will be raised against us and we will be criticized as well, but this is the reality. A panel advisor of Jamaat-e-Islami while addressing an election rally made a commitment to work within the Indian Constitution while tackling issues of oppression and advocating for people’s rights. He said that we will adhere to the Constitution of India, but will not hesitate to address issues of oppression and advocate for the rights of the people. Our goal is to be promoters and supporters of peace. It is a welcome step to ponder over for peace in Jammu and Kashmir, rather than take to guns and stone throwing, while achieving nothing except devastation and destruction of Jammu & Kashmir for the last more than three decades. Probably a good sense has started prevailing over these people that peace and the development of Jammu and Kashmir is more important than anything like terror and its devastation that too being imported from the neighboring country Pakistan, which is in deep turmoil politically and its economy is in shambles, as also debt ridden. This is the outcome of the abrogation of Article 370 and removing of 35 A, which was a big bottleneck for the prosperity and development of Jammu and Kashmir.
But the question remains will the Jamat-Islami supported members of coming assembly behave like true Indians on the floors of the J&K Assembly with true allegiance to the constitution of India as also as true Indians. It is a known fact that the Jamaat-e-Islami had linkages with Hizbul — Mujahideen group, when it was known that it was the armed wing of Jamaat during the early years of militancy.
The victory of jailed, Awami Ittehad Party leader Engineer Rashid in Lok Sabha election, against Omar Abdullah, has introduced yet another new phenomenon in these assembly elections. Engineer Rashid’s coming in to the fray of elections of Assembly in J & K , is likely to add a new dimension to the whole scenario of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The dynastic political parties particularly the NC and PDP are very much nervous, with his and his political party’s presence in the assembly elections. These two political party’s have started to brand Engineer Rashid as a stooge and an agent of BJP. What a contrast or to say what a degree of helplessness and frustration of these two dynasty based political party’s, which held Jammu and Kashmir as hostages as its Kings and Queens for decades. These two political party’s are now visualizing their end and extinction.
Engineer Rashid, who was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a 2017 terror funding case was recently released on interim bail.
His party is contesting in the upcoming Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir under an alliance with the proxy candidates of Jamat. Engineer Rashid, has called his Awami Ittehad Party’s (AIP) alliance with former members of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami for the Jammu and Kashmir election the “need of the hour”. While speaking to media, as per reports, the independent MP from Baramulla, has said that Jamaat-e-Islami participating in the electoral process should be welcomed.
When asked about Jamaat-e-Islami’s Islamist outlook and links to separatist elements in Kashmir, Engineer Rashid is reported to have said, that I believe every Muslim should be proud to be being a fundamentalist Islamist like every Hindu should be proud of being a fundamentalist Hindu. But being radical is different. This is where the shoe is pinching in Kashmir. This fundamentalist approach will not go from Kashmir. It has taken its roots in Kashmir.
Engineer Rashid still believes in fundamentalist Islam in a secular country like India and not as Islam full of Sufism, which Islam is. Islam teaches tolerance and not fundamentalism. He says that being radical is different, but fundamentalism and radicalism are the two faces of the same coin. With such fundamentalist approaches while asking for votes, the people in particular vote for such persons under religious emotions, when such contesting candidates exploit fundamentalism to its greatest advantage and thus claim to be the leaders of the masses, but with a communal base.
It is true about the mainstream dynasty based political parties of Kashmir as well, who often try to woo the voters with slogans which carry communal or regional tinges. National conference has issued its election manifesto, which among other things echo’s more a shift towards appeasing the separatists and the communal forces. It says about its struggle on autonomy to J & K and promises of restoration of Article 370. Similarly, this manifesto has a promise in it, that has more risk relevance to the national security and to India’s strategic military approach to the terror acts of Pakistan’s ISI based terror programmers in Jammu and Kashmir.
National conference manifesto in this regard says, “We advocate Indo-Pak dialogue as the best method to resolve ongoing conflicts. It means that India should talk to Pakistan about Kashmir, if at all it is an issue with Pakistan. Does the National Conference equate J & K as a separate country involved in turmoil between India and Pakistan? The last nail in the coffin of their manifesto is about the changing the names of the most sacred religious places of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir, the Shankaracharya in to “Takht-e-Suleiman” and Hari Parbat, in to “Koh-e-Maran”. It is a shameful communal move of NC, to appease the Islamic fanaticism in Kashmir and hurting the religious sentiments of the forcibly displaced Kashmiri Pandits’, thus adding to their bleeding wounds of being refugees in their home land.
The obvious election results under such circumstances will be highly provocative in its color and form at least from the valley of Kashmir, which will not be palatable to the people of Jammu and the KP’s living in exile. It might equally become difficult to form a harmonious government in J & K.
Under such circumstances, the tall and hallow slogans of the central government of the day in Delhi that KP’s will be settled back in Kashmir with dignity and honor will remain on paper only as it has remained so far, for the last 35 years.
In fact these assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir appears in no way as a means for a smooth passage of rehabilitating of KP’s back in Kashmir, as no political party from the valley including the proxy separatists candidates and Jamate-Islami sponsored candidates or Engineer Rashid’s party’s candidates have uttered a single word about the rehabilitation of the forcibly displaced KP’s back to Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits are thus again in agony due to this election for their dignified rehabilitation back in Kashmir.
(The author is a chartered consultant civil engineer)