Mehbooba returns

|
  • 1

Mehbooba returns

Friday, 16 October 2020 | Pioneer

Mehbooba returns

The PDP leader intends to pivot the larger alliance of all local parties for a resolution of the Kashmir issue in totality

If the intention behind incarcerating former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti for over 14 months was to break her spirit, then the Government has clearly failed to do so. For hours after her release, she went beyond what the National Conference leaders, Farooq and Omar Abdullah, pledged to do as part of what they call a united Gupkar Declaration, namely restoring the special status of the erstwhile State. She wanted a long-term political resolution of the Kashmir issue in its entirety and though she has now joined hands with the Abdullahs for a larger cause, she seems determined enough to carry on her movement and reclaim her space in conversations. It remains to be seen whether her grandstanding is meant to blunt Farooq Abdullah’s recent belligerence against the Centre and his wild missive that China could help in restoring Kashmir’s special status or whether she is genuinely trying to reclaim lost political space and emerge as a power player. Is she negotiating her own role as a pivot in the changed apparatus? At some level, all the leaders know that a retraction of the Valley’s status would be almost impossible, considering that even major world powers have endorsed India’s position of acting within its constitutional space. Besides, they would have to challenge Kashmir’s changed status in the Supreme Court. Interestingly, there is less mention of Article 370 as such but an emphasis on the Centre’s “onslaught” on Kashmir’s “identity and status.” The message clearly is to get as many parties as possible on common ground and set an agenda acceptable to all. This way all can stand up to the Centre and challenge it head-on rather than being scattered and directionless. It is their as well as the Government’s litmus test. Mehbooba, incidentally, is the last of the mainstream political leaders to have been set free after they were charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA) ostensibly because of their track record of incendiary speeches that, the Government thought, would provoke people against the abrogation of Article 370. The fact is, the Government miscalculated their appeal greatly and disregarded that they were democratically elected leaders who had been in alliance with New Delhi, acted as a buffer between the Centre and the militant movement and still had enough ground support, one that has prevented the legitimacy of alternate structures and leaders. Besides, for all the filters, curfews and lockdowns in Kashmir, militancy hasn’t abated and remains a draw for disenchanted youth. And for all its promises of bridging the trust deficit by accelerating development, economic revival or civil engagement, without the participation by locals and their endorsement, Kashmir’s integration with the mainstream is increasingly looking like an exercise in political egoism, a tool that is more disempowering than engaging, a punishment for history than an incentive for moving on. Politically, too, the BJP has been at the receiving end of non-cooperation, what with a spike in hitback killings of its leaders and sarpanches, the latter seen as extensions of Central authority. Only 7,528 of the 19,582 panch and sarpanch seats in Kashmir went to polls in 2018. Yet a majority of the elected are hiding out in hotels in Srinagar for fear of being attacked for participating in an electoral process that the Centre initiated. The BJP had hoped to build an alternative political pyramid with friendly leaders at the local level and devolving power to them. But that was not to be. Over 12,000 seats are still empty, affecting local administration and despite the changed status, nobody is ready to engage till all known elected representatives are freed from detention. With credible leaders redefined as public enemies, as bad as militants, and basic rights and connectivity denied to locals, there is confusion, disenchantment and fatigue everywhere, one that can congeal to become a violent force if left to fester.

Perhaps, that’s the reason why the Government has changed its tactics and is returning the people’s representatives to them as it were. It is even expected to hold elections in the remaining panchayat seats by the end of the year, risk any outcome and build connect strategies from there. For the political vacuum is costing it heavy and only lionising the likes of the Abdullahs and the Muftis. It is with this larger agenda that a seasoned politician like Manoj Sinha was made the new Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A low-key politician, his mission is to work out ways of connecting with people without disturbing the BJP’s overall schematics in the Valley and even negotiate with all political parties. The Government has realised that it cannot make any claim of transformative intent till it gets some kind of mediatory presence of local parties. The BJP-created Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), drawing rejects from the PDP and NC, lacks credibility. The Government could meet the old leaders half way, involving them in a reconciliation process on the condition that they wouldn’t play a dual strategy with Pakistan. Some could be amenable to working the middle ground over time. But first, it should restore normalcy and mainstream internet connectivity. The youth are already feeling punished for being left out of the digital education revolution and we cannot let them be radicalised. E-commerce and online filing of tax and other financial transactions have been badly hit. The economy is in shambles with disruptive clampdowns affecting the supply chain and the services sector. Even the traditional sectors like the apple trade, tourism and handicrafts have wilted. There must be an enabling climate or Kashmir could slip into a deeper trough, worse than ever imagined.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda