Not much has been done by Delhi in Kashmir to check separatist like ideologists

 By Daya Sagar
In Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohd Sayeed’s Peoples Democratic Party has the first rival in National Conference. No doubt, so far, NC has held firm to 1947 accession of J&K with India and NC has been expressing some reservations regarding the Center -State relations. Late Mirza Afzal Baig had lead the Plebiscite Front that was later on in a way disbanded after 1974- 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord.
So far Governments at New Delhi have not been able to reverse the 1989/ 90 mass migration from Kashmir valley even after more than 26 year and this has been one of the ‘prime’ reasons for making the ‘separatists’ to have access to local information bank of the people left back in Kashmir valley worth making them move some more distance from oneness with India nation state. Confusions and anti-India concepts did nourish further since even after 1990 no sincere efforts were made by New Delhi and local ‘main stream’ political cadres in Kashmir valley to check the separatist ideologues. Rather it could be inferred that some so called mainstream elements too appear at occasions in a way advocating separatist viewpoints /demands (from Indian viewpoint).
National Conference had passed “Greater Autonomy Resolution in 1994′ . Later on NC lead government had got a resolution on similar lines passed by J&K Assembly in 2000 accepting the Autonomy Committee Repot 1999.
In simple words the June 2000 Autonomy Resolution of JK Legislative Assembly is more understood by common man as moving to pre-1953 constitutional position. The said resolution and report when sent to the then Union Government was rejected at the executive level and National Conference has at occasions questioned the action of the then Union cabinet . Whereas, the better course for the then NDA Government would have been to dispose off, in a legislative manner, the Autonomy Committee report ( either way) that was under the cover of a resolution passed by J&K Legislature by taking it to Parliament of India.
In the environment that has been allowed to grow against the interest of India due to not that serious approach Delhi and its advisors had been holding all these years , at least in the Kashmir Valley region of J&K, even the separatists/ those who talked of referendum or plebiscite did not appear to be facing much rejection from the locals if not acceptance.
It was here that PDP got encouraged and to out beat National Conference it suggested that (i) the currencies of both India and Pakistan should be used in J&K and ‘PAK’ ( POK) (ii) there should be common control of India and Pakistan on certain subjects as would pertain to J&K and PAK (POK) (iii) J&K to decide for import -export tariff between J&K and main lands of India & Pakistan as well as between J&K & other world beyond two main lands . PDP even used the term Pakistan Administered Kashmir in place of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and New Delhi still “recognizes ” PDP as main stream political party. May be now need has arisen to even rework the definition of a main stream political party. So, it could be said that Mufti Mohd Sayeed too had found coming up with vision “Self Rule” a politically saleable slogan. Congress lead UPA-I Government at New Delhi too did not find anything disturbing in PDP vision and kept on sharing power in JK with PDP till 2008 in J&K. It was on 25th October 2008 that PDP released the ‘Self Rule Framework ‘ document.
Some people named PDP Self Rule as replica of the formulae that Pak President Parvez Musharraf is said to have suggested to Manmohan Singh during UPA-II regime. Interlocutors for J&K Report 2011 too makes some reference for there being such formulae. Mufti Mohd Sayeed had not outrightly rejected such observations , nor has PDP so far. Nor only that Former Pakistan foreign Minister Kurshid Mehmood Kasuri told Karan Thapar at ‘To the point’ ‘ talk show of India Today TV on 05-10-2015 night < “The backchannel negotiations were in works for three years and Pakistan Army and ISI were breiefed on all the developments …India and Pakistan were at the point of agreement on Jammu and Kashmir,” .> . Question here is in case that was true could it be done without taking Parliament in Confidence and undoing Parliament resolution 22 Feb 1994?
In Kashmir Valley PDP did succeed in sentimentally exploiting the innocent Kashmiri masses in particular since 2008 assembly elections proved tough on Congress & NC. PDP did not dare to adopt openly an approach diluting accession 1947 like JKLF / Hurriyat since that way it would lose chances of power rides. PDP did not refute totality of accession in plain
words but it asked some thing like joint control of India & Pakistan over
J&K well knowing that it was not possible without out undoing 1947 accession with India.
After having established some roots in Kashmir, PDP leaders understood that to remain in the political power race party has to make its stand on the 1947 Accession clear so that even the “blunt” sword of New Delhi does not fall on its head. So it was after more than 5 years that Mehbooba Mufti tried to introduce PDP Self Rule with in the scope of 1947 Instrument of Accession and the Constitution of India. But still to people of J&K ( Kashmir Valley in particular ) PDP has introduced Self Rule more a personal rule of Kashmiris than the Greater autonomy of National Conference.
PDP has very cleverly attempted for taking to 1947 Accession talk track after having sufficiently exploited the sentiments / emotions of innocent Kashmiri around Pakistan / Two Nation theory. PDP has succeeded in setting its working roots in Jammu region as well. Under the circumstances now in 2016 to politically compete with Mehbooba Mufti Omar Abdullah too has been playing soft on the separatists and separatist ideologies .
(Daya Sagar is a Sr Journalist & a social activist can be reached at [email protected])