The year that passed a few days back left a dark trail of death, blindness, despondency. A numb Kashmir was in the vice grip of turmoil the likes of which had not been seen in a long time. The violence that broke out after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani took many people aback. The seeds for this strife were sown decades ago but the recent insecurity was certainly nourished by the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre in collaboration with a complacent state government led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
When PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed joined hands with the BJP in March 2015 to stitch together a coalition government, his only argument was that if had chosen otherwise, Jammu would have drifted away from a “composite” state called Jammu and Kashmir. This line of rhetoric was followed by a “reluctant” Mehbooba Mufti, who after weighing her options for three months after the death of the senior Mufti, assumed the mantle.
Not much had changed in the ten-month-long coalition government headed by Mufti Sayeed and in many ways the divide between Kashmir and Jammu has deepened. Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Jammu acknowledged Mufti Sayeed’s attempt to unify the two important regions of the state that have been fragile for a long time. In return, the BJP geared up to implement its agenda of complete integration and moved the courts to challenge the special status of the state. It brought in controversial proposals such as setting up a Sainik colony for retired army personnel, a separate township for Kashmiri Pandits and it is now issuing domicile certificates to West Pakistan refugees. It simply adhered to its own agenda rather than respecting the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) that became the basis for the coalition between the PDP and BJP. Only three issues of West Pakistan Refugees, the Kashmiri Pandits and those who had migrated from Pakistan-Administered Kashmir were addressed out of the AoA. But there is much more than that in the document.
Mehbooba’s challenges
Now that Kashmir is limping back to normalcy, the challenge is how to sustain this. This will not be possible without recognising the politics of the issue and will certainly not happen if the people are just accused of making trouble. Though the separatist and mainstream narrative on Kashmir is at variance, both the PDP and National Conference or NC have taken it upon themselves to make it a political issue and are even using this as leverage to ascend to power.
While the NC continues to harp on its autonomy proposal, the PDP, despite having joined hands with the BJP has yet to abandon its demand for Self Rule. The fact is that the AoA contains vital agreements between the PDP and BJP that revolve around the question of how to address the political nature of the Kashmir problem. Talks with Pakistan, the Hurriyat, the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and demilitarisation were agreed upon by the BJP before it joined the coalition. For the PDP, it would not be asking for the moon. It would not be wise to use the recent uprising as an excuse to delay working in that direction. What was the progress on these issues before July 8? This is the pertinent question. Instead, the BJP has done everything it can to increase the distance between New Delhi and Srinagar. Mehbooba’s new year resolution should be to vehemently pursue the AoA, keeping in view the loud cry for resolution that has been voiced for six months.
Joint Hurriyat leadership
It would be an injustice to blame the joint Hurriyat leadership for everything that has happened in the last six months. We did question them on the decision to hold continued shutdowns and they did realise this, albeit late. At the same time, it would be only fair to say that they were helpless when matters spun out of control.
However, the challenge for them in 2017 is not to allow a repeat. People have supported them and respected their protest calls. That should be enough for them to summon the confidence to chalk out a course of action that does not self-inflict harm. The right to protest has to be used and that is the only way to respond to the killing of an innocent or the detention of someone without valid reason.
With the BJP government in Delhi continuously in denial over Kashmir, the challenge for the Hurriyat becomes tougher. Indeed it will face even more efforts to make them irrelevant. But the joint Hurriyat must not shy from dialogue and it was welcome of them to meet the private group headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. Sending out a strong message that they are not averse to dialogue without any conditions from any side could create a space.
Delhi is likely to continue to ignore Kashmir at least till the elections in four crucial states in India are not over by March or so. And so instead of pursuing agitation as means to achieve their goal, the joint leadership should concentrate on politics.
Civil society
While the government, opposition and the separatists move in their own political direction, the greater responsibility of creating understanding on crucial issues lies with civil society. Though it tends to be a largely misused phrase, ‘civil society’ in Kashmir has nevertheless emerged in the past few years. Various civil society groups have taken on issues that have confronted Kashmir in the recent past. They have the ability to set the tone on these topics and help create more understanding. There is, however, hardly any issue that is not linked to politics. So civil society’s role in a crisis should be more of a negotiator and one that creates more space for discussion.
What ails Kashmiri society is its propensity to weave illusions that are mainly propagated by those who want to promote their own ideological positions. But intervention by civil society becomes inevitable here. Its leaders have actively intervened during the recent uprising or on issues such as the WPR or the introduction of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI) that threaten the autonomous character of the state. They have acted as a bridge. This needs to be institutionalised as the absence of such a space complicates the conflict.
As we have stepped into a new year, without trying to assess who was ahead in politics in Kashmir in 2016, one thing is clear that the wounds may not heal at all. But people are looking to a future that promises to ensure a dignified life. How that can be achieved is the responsibility of all those who claim to represent us in different shades and meanings. Let the leaders show the way and let them fulfil the promise of life with dignity and honour.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Srinagar (Kashmir) and can be reached at shujaat7867@gmail.com
When PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed joined hands with the BJP in March 2015 to stitch together a coalition government, his only argument was that if had chosen otherwise, Jammu would have drifted away from a “composite” state called Jammu and Kashmir. This line of rhetoric was followed by a “reluctant” Mehbooba Mufti, who after weighing her options for three months after the death of the senior Mufti, assumed the mantle.
For the joint Hurriyat, sending out a strong message that they are not averse to dialogue without any conditions from any side could create a space. Mehbooba's new year resolution should be to vehemently pursue the Agenda of Alliance. Civil society needs to keep acting as a bridge on the issues
Not much had changed in the ten-month-long coalition government headed by Mufti Sayeed and in many ways the divide between Kashmir and Jammu has deepened. Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Jammu acknowledged Mufti Sayeed’s attempt to unify the two important regions of the state that have been fragile for a long time. In return, the BJP geared up to implement its agenda of complete integration and moved the courts to challenge the special status of the state. It brought in controversial proposals such as setting up a Sainik colony for retired army personnel, a separate township for Kashmiri Pandits and it is now issuing domicile certificates to West Pakistan refugees. It simply adhered to its own agenda rather than respecting the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) that became the basis for the coalition between the PDP and BJP. Only three issues of West Pakistan Refugees, the Kashmiri Pandits and those who had migrated from Pakistan-Administered Kashmir were addressed out of the AoA. But there is much more than that in the document.
Mehbooba’s challenges
Now that Kashmir is limping back to normalcy, the challenge is how to sustain this. This will not be possible without recognising the politics of the issue and will certainly not happen if the people are just accused of making trouble. Though the separatist and mainstream narrative on Kashmir is at variance, both the PDP and National Conference or NC have taken it upon themselves to make it a political issue and are even using this as leverage to ascend to power.
While the NC continues to harp on its autonomy proposal, the PDP, despite having joined hands with the BJP has yet to abandon its demand for Self Rule. The fact is that the AoA contains vital agreements between the PDP and BJP that revolve around the question of how to address the political nature of the Kashmir problem. Talks with Pakistan, the Hurriyat, the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and demilitarisation were agreed upon by the BJP before it joined the coalition. For the PDP, it would not be asking for the moon. It would not be wise to use the recent uprising as an excuse to delay working in that direction. What was the progress on these issues before July 8? This is the pertinent question. Instead, the BJP has done everything it can to increase the distance between New Delhi and Srinagar. Mehbooba’s new year resolution should be to vehemently pursue the AoA, keeping in view the loud cry for resolution that has been voiced for six months.
Joint Hurriyat leadership
It would be an injustice to blame the joint Hurriyat leadership for everything that has happened in the last six months. We did question them on the decision to hold continued shutdowns and they did realise this, albeit late. At the same time, it would be only fair to say that they were helpless when matters spun out of control.
However, the challenge for them in 2017 is not to allow a repeat. People have supported them and respected their protest calls. That should be enough for them to summon the confidence to chalk out a course of action that does not self-inflict harm. The right to protest has to be used and that is the only way to respond to the killing of an innocent or the detention of someone without valid reason.
With the BJP government in Delhi continuously in denial over Kashmir, the challenge for the Hurriyat becomes tougher. Indeed it will face even more efforts to make them irrelevant. But the joint Hurriyat must not shy from dialogue and it was welcome of them to meet the private group headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. Sending out a strong message that they are not averse to dialogue without any conditions from any side could create a space.
Delhi is likely to continue to ignore Kashmir at least till the elections in four crucial states in India are not over by March or so. And so instead of pursuing agitation as means to achieve their goal, the joint leadership should concentrate on politics.
Civil society
While the government, opposition and the separatists move in their own political direction, the greater responsibility of creating understanding on crucial issues lies with civil society. Though it tends to be a largely misused phrase, ‘civil society’ in Kashmir has nevertheless emerged in the past few years. Various civil society groups have taken on issues that have confronted Kashmir in the recent past. They have the ability to set the tone on these topics and help create more understanding. There is, however, hardly any issue that is not linked to politics. So civil society’s role in a crisis should be more of a negotiator and one that creates more space for discussion.
What ails Kashmiri society is its propensity to weave illusions that are mainly propagated by those who want to promote their own ideological positions. But intervention by civil society becomes inevitable here. Its leaders have actively intervened during the recent uprising or on issues such as the WPR or the introduction of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI) that threaten the autonomous character of the state. They have acted as a bridge. This needs to be institutionalised as the absence of such a space complicates the conflict.
As we have stepped into a new year, without trying to assess who was ahead in politics in Kashmir in 2016, one thing is clear that the wounds may not heal at all. But people are looking to a future that promises to ensure a dignified life. How that can be achieved is the responsibility of all those who claim to represent us in different shades and meanings. Let the leaders show the way and let them fulfil the promise of life with dignity and honour.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Srinagar (Kashmir) and can be reached at shujaat7867@gmail.com