RAJ DALUJA
JAMMU: Kissa Kursi Ka-these three ‘K’ centric words form core of Kashmir politics. Essentially power driven, the politics of the Valley is murkier than Dal Lake, which has passed the stage of dweeding or cleansing.
Days after National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah demonstrated his love lost for Hurriyat, by saying he or his party was not their enemies, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti advanced Rook on the chess-board to take over Knight. Her government decided to pay compensation for the killing of glamourised terrorist Burhan Wani’s elder brother and Hizbul Mujahideen’s Over Ground Worker, Khalid Wani. Interestingly, if reports are to be believed, the father of the duo-Burhan and Khalid-has refused to take the compensation as ex-gratia but shown inclination towards job for his another son. This is what the grapevine has to say.
The truth of the Valley is that poor Kashmiris sons are born to rehabilitate ‘martyrs graveyards’ and the lads of terror and separatist leaders have the privilege of enjoying best of both the worlds. Separatist hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son continues to be a government doctor while Syed Sallah-ud-Din’s off-spring too hold the government jobs. Therefore, job over ex-gratia is understandable.
Why should have PDP led and BJP partnered dispensation even thought of ex-gratia for an OGW? There is method in the madness of the present government. By reaching out to ‘celebrity’ Burhan Wani’s family, the PDP has actually killed so many birds with one stone. (Stones have assumed immense significance on political landscape of Kashmir) Owing its success to the ladder of power politics in Kashmir, primarily to overt and covert support of Jamat-e-Islami, the main constituent of Hurriyat Conference (G), the PDP had been hugely jittery of its lost ground in the wake of over four months unrest across the Valley. Finding its base slipping out, especially in the wake of Farooq Abdullah offering olive branch to Hurriyat, the PDP thought of something big and naturally the target could not be better than Burhan Wani’s family in the obtaining scenario.
Immediately after the rumours about Burhan’s family not inclined to take meager Rs 4 lakh but settling for a job, the Chief Minister attempted to differentiate between militant and militant’s family. This is how the Kashmir centric so-called mainstream political parties are trying to hoodwink public opinion. The PDP knows well how the terrorists’ families are respected as the families of ‘martyrs’, as many of them take pride in having sacrificed their ‘sons’ for a ‘legitimate cause’. How come such families deserve the support of the State? In fact, such families prove as inspiration for others to have their young lads rehabilitate the martyrs graveyards and to keep pot boiling in the Valley. It is different that some of these families have turned elite of Kashmir society.
Having said so, there is a tendency in Kashmir to blackmail and browbeat India by showing fists and testing nerves. Separatists do it by making optimum use of terrorists and their new avatar of stone-pelters at the behest of mentor Pakistan while the so-called mainstream parties achieve this by being deceptive.
Actually they (the mainstream actors) try to be seen on both sides of the fence, which is why the PDP has given spin to unfriendly Kashmir situation by reaching out to Wani family while Abdullahs, as usual, are trying time-tested experiment of saying something in Srinagar and something totally different in Jammu and New Delhi. In a way, the NC is emulating PDP, the Muftis of which had expressed their gratitude to Hurriyat, among others, for peaceful conduct of 2014 elections, which drove them to power.
The two opponents are playing their chess pieces carefully on the board. And in this game, the PDP is certainly outwitting the NC and the day is not far when Queen will replace the King on the board. The game is going to decide as to who will hold the throne in Srinagar and Jammu next. Wait and watch.
