Jammu Kashmir and Elections
ER P L KHUSHU
Fissures in dotted I.N.D.I. Alliance bloc in J&K are sordidly evident and visible as Gupkar fights Gupkar, or better to say that “Dynasty fights Dynasty”, since National Conference is fighting PDP in the present general elections, when the prominent leaders of both these political parties would sit in the front rows during the various meetings of I.N.D.I Alliance across the country. The tall leaders of these political parties would portray themselves as the founder architects of this rusty alliance, which succumbed under its own weight to its extinction not in Jammu and Kashmir only but across the whole country.
The dotted I.N.D.I.A block is a new political presumptive conglomerate, by some opposition political parties with dots in between, in the shape of a new alliance between some political parties in India, which looks like a referral idiom, that conveys that all such political parties involved in evolving such a name under the banner of India, for exhibiting their unity, have doubtful dots , in between the alphabets creating the name of India as I.N.D.I.A, conveying enough doubts about their unity of purpose for which these political parties have ventured to come under one banner as an alternative not to NDA , but to Modi. It shows the dilemma of dots are existing between these various political parties, pretending to be one, for Modi fear. It equally shows that all these political parties are fully knowing that they cannot represent a unified India. Their dynastic bases, churned tongues and abundant corruption charges against most of them are haunting them to run from pillar to post as they did in the present case, while hobnobbing at Patna and then going for an excursion at Bangalore, followed by a similar marine drive in Maharashtra, as a sequel to drink, dine and dance, to satisfy their myopic illusion of being together for political sale amongst the people of India. Was there any buyer? Not at all. Jammu and Kashmir apart from other states in India where such an alliance took birth died its death at infancy level itself. The present run and race between the National Conference (NC) led by Dr. Farooq Abdullah and the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) led by Mehbooba Mufti, in the national general elections in Jammu and Kashmir, is an amazing proof about it, when these political parties led by so called stalwarts, are fighting against each other in these elections.
How ridiculous is it looking to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, or even to the whole nation ? They are washing their dirty linens of the past in public for vote bank politics. Do they have any morality left in them to rule Jammu and Kashmir again, as its hypocritical dynasty rulers? They had come together not only to fight BJP and Modi under I.N.D.I Alliance, but also through Gupkar Alliance to fight against the abrogation of Article 370 and other issues relevant to the dignity and the honor of Jammu and Kashmir as per them, but they defaulted both the alliances for personal benefits and interest of ruling Jammu and Kashmir again as usual, like dynasty political stooges which they did during the past decades and have brought Kashmir to a situation of distort and distress. Both these unholy alliances could not see the light of the day, due to the interests of the political parties involved in these alliances.
In this regard another proverbial paradox emanated from Gupkar, Srinagar, on 15th October-2020, which needs to be made a mention of here. Immediately after the release of Mehbooba Mufti the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile J&K State, after her detention, who was released from detention after 14 months on 14th October, NC leaders Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah met her immediately, to invite her for an all regional party meeting scheduled on 15th October 2020, when she accepted the invitation. National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah the organizer of this so called all party congregations announced the formation of People’s Alliance, in this meeting. The decision to formally name the alliance ‘People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration’ was taken in this meeting. The meeting was attended by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and other some other local political leaders. “We have now named this alliance when its formal name would be People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration’, National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah said after the meeting. “Our battle is a constitutional battle and we want the government of India to return to the people of the (erstwhile) state the rights they had before 5th of August 2019,” he added. A resolution was passed in this meeting known as ‘Gupkar-Declaration’. The declaration had vowed to “defend identity, autonomy and special status” of Jammu and Kashmir. It was followed by another Gupkar Declaration, which described the Centre’s decision to alter the region’s status under Article 370 as “grossly unconstitutional” and a “measure to disempowering” the people of the erstwhile state and the like. These meetings were presided over by the President of National Conference and it can be said that it was a joint meeting of the disgruntled leaders of National Conference and the PDP mostly. What a ludicrous situation and hypocrisy to call it a people’s alliance when it was an alliance of just two families abetted and supported by one or two local disgruntled so called political leaders, who are equally having hypocritical dynastic base and are experts in changing political sides for their self interests.
Travesty of destiny, for the politics of Kashmir and its people , when the dynasty rulers have ruined the fate of Kashmir and its people for their dynastic interest, which is evinced again when the main architects of this unholy Gupkar Alliance, cynically called as ” Gupkar-Gang”, viz, NC and PDP, are each other’s arch rivals in the present elections, ignoring the people of Kashmir and the promises made by them to the people of Kashmir, particularly in respect of Article 370 & 35A and the restoration of the status of Jammu and Kashmir to its original position, which is pre 5th August 2019 position. While canvassing for their individual candidates in these elections, the leaders of these political parties have been cursing and abusing each other. They forgot their mission of fighting for the restoration of article 370, 35A together and getting back the position of Jammu and Kashmir restored back to pre 5th August 2019 position, for which they had been beating their borrowed breasts and shedding crocodile tears, for their individual vote bank politics. What a hypocrisy?. How long will they continue to befool the people of Kashmir? The people of Kashmir should understand their brazen duality for their dynastic interests, when they have been ruling Jammu and Kashmir as dynastic rulers for decades by turns, in which national conference has the lead of several decades.
While fighting acrimoniously against each other in this election, their unwanted anti India utterances for local consumption have not died down at all, when in the present voting pattern in Kashmir on 13th May, 2024, it was the highest after decades of boycott in elections by the people of Kashmir. It shows that the people of Kashmir are quite happy now with the abrogation of Article 370 and doing with the Article 35A, It looks ambiguous and antagonizing to listen to different versions of a political leader like Dr. Farroq Abdullah, when he proposes different postulates day in and day out, like talking to Pakistan about Kashmir problem, declaring that people of Kashmiri’s do not like India, preferring to have Chinese patronage, seeking Chinese help for the abrogation of article 370 and the like.
Of late he is looking like being admired with the Nuclear Bombs of Pakistan. He says that in case India invades Pakistan, Pakistan is ready and fit to retort saying that “Pakistan is not wearing Bangles”. Is he an Indian or a Pakistani living in Kashmir?
These statements are baneful and atrocious apart from being seriously seditious. A member of the Indian parliament speaking so and that too on the soil of India, it poses a question mark. The entire nation has taken these remarks as seditious in its form and stipulations, when it has been condemned by every nationalist Indian. Freedom of speech and expression has its limitations. The constitution of India should not be allowed to be taken for a ride so contemptuously. While speaking atrocious and a seditious languages, these dynasty based political leaders have now of late inducted their 4th generation progenies too, in the politics of Kashmir, in these elections. Politics is their profession and they cannot live without it. It is a mulching cow for all of them when they have made their fortunes for ages and centuries for themselves and their progenies of posterity, at the cost of the development of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah to task for his remarks that Pakistan has atom bombs saying Rahul Gandhi can be scared of the atom bomb, the BJP Government is not.
He declared that Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) belongs to India and “we will take it”. Addressing election rallies in Uttar Pradesh including Raebareli, Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir are pretty happy with the decisions of 5th August 2019 taken by the parliament of India, merging Kashmir with India without any conditions, abrogation of article 370 and the like, which is evinced by the fact that jubilant participation by the people of Jammu and Kashmir particularly that of Kashmir, is visible in these elections. The King is dead, long live the King. These kings and queens are now a sick liability for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, when they need to know it to remove their inhibitions and false notions about themselves.
(The author of this article is a chartered consultant civil engineer, who loves his mother land the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir).
