The same trick of communal polarization was played by BJP in 2008 during the Amaranth land row and enforced economic blockade of valley to the extent that Kashmir bound vehicle’s were attacked on Srinagar Jammu national highway.
When Muft justified the alliance with BJP on the grounds that they had got the mandate from Jammu region and It had to be respected for promoting the unity between the two regions, he was mapping the possibilities of works that can be executed while staying in power.
|| QAZI ATHAR
In the very first place, the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir saw the alliance between the right wing hindu nationalist party BJP and the so called Secular “pro” Kashmir party, PDP, as some sort of a bitter combination. The alliance between the two was reached after thorough deliberations between the leaders of both the shades and as a result of intense back door and open door negotiations, the state finally got a government.
The BJP, to be more precise, is the political proxy of RSS which has been banned several times for its radical and communal approach against the minorities, particularly Muslims and Dalits. Influenced by the Nazism and fascist ideology, RSS has been alleged of spreading venom and committing crimes against the minorities ever since India gained Independence. They have always, openly, praised Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini which is evident from the books and writings of those who founded the organization. Muslims of Kashmir and other states could never forget the demolishion of Babri Mosque, the Gujarat riots and the latest Muzzafarnagar lynching, and several such incidents that have demonized the BJP and the Sang Pariwar for ever. Now when Late Mufti Mohammad Sayyid, the former Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir agreed to shake hands with the same communal party, many were taken aback.
There is no doubt about the fact that people’s mandate in the last state assembly elections was very tricky and it left very less margin for the PDP to think a little over the obvious. Had Mufti refused to form government, BJP could have made it a selling point for the communal vote bank. BJP could have justified that the valley never wanted a government representative of the Jammu region. This probably got onto Mufti’s nerves and he entered the alliance without much ado. PDP in its elections campaigns in Muslim majority Kashmir during the last State Assembly elections sought votes in the name of rehabilitation of flood victim’s and also for keeping the BJP at bay.
The BJP in the hindu dominated region of Jammu played the old communal tricks and maintained that Kashmir based had always wanted Jammu to stay out of power and neglected the region for its hindu population. The same trick of communal polarization was played by BJP in 2008 during the Amaranth land row and enforced economic blockade of valley to the extent that Kashmir bound vehicle’s were attacked on Srinagar Jammu national highway. When Muft justified the alliance with BJP on the grounds that they had got the mandate from Jammu region and It had to be respected for promoting the unity between the two regions, he was mapping the possibilities of works that can be executed while staying in power.
The Agenda of Alliance stated that steps were to be taken for the removal of AFSPSA apart from other issues, the ground situation however signaled something else as more and more civilians were being killed and civil liberties were curbed and its worth to mention that during the regime of PDP /BJP the Kashmir saw the longest Internet ban of 72 in its history on the eve of Eid.
So, in order to work out the combine and also ensure that he himself stays in-charge, the agenda of alliance or the common minimum program was formulated. After the formation of government the agenda of alliance was thrown to winds which was even acknowledged by the leaders of PDP from time to time and ultimately resulted in the open criticism of the alliance from its top leaders including Tariq Karra. The Agenda of Alliance stated that steps were to be taken for the removal of AFSPSA apart from other issues, the ground situation however signaled something else as more and more civilians were being killed and civil liberties were curbed and its worth to mention that during the regime of PDP / BJP the Kashmir saw the longest Internet ban of 72 in its history on the eve of Eid.
Similarly, the issue of the return of power projects to the state also began to take the shape of a controversy with the central government refusing to oblige. PDP saw it coming as the promised flood relief too wasn’t released in time even when Mufti himself had been pitching for it. It looked like as if PDP had chosen to shake hands with Modi led BJP thinking that there might be something of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in it. But unfortunately the BJP, this time around, had a different mindset and a different game plan. Mufti felt it late and maybe he could have still worked out something but life didn’t give him a chance.
Now Mehbooba Mufti suffers the same dilemma and doesn’t want to risk her political career for the sake of immediate power. Qazi Athar is a student of school of legal studies central university of Kashmir
(Editor’s note: Views expressed by the author are his own, Kashmir Leader doesn’t subscribe to any of his views)
