The year 1996 was an unforgettable time for the people ofKashmir. The guns of pro-Pakistan militants were still booming when the Centrehad decided to reclaim the democracy that was almost lost to the jehadis.Holding the state assembly elections was an unenviable task at that time; peoplehad long forgotten their leaders as most of them had virtually fled the valleywith the rise in militancy seven years ago. The key political parties hadvirtually shut their shops “ the office of the National Conference on ZeroBridge wore the silence of a graveyard but for an occasional militant-triggeredgrenade blast and an equally deserted Congress party office was one of the mostguarded buildings on Srinagar’s Residency Road. In this scenario, New Delhi’snew adventure could only evoke cynicism in Kashmir.
The miracle happened; Kashmir went through a painfully longyet a somewhat peaceful election. I vividly remember the joy and ecstasy writon the faces of all those who had attended the ‘coronation’ of Farooq Abdullahas Chief Minister in Srinagar’s SKICC on October 9. The who’s who of the Indianpolitics “ from the phiren-clad ailing VP Singh to Congress treasurer Sita RamKesari “ were there. It was a celebration of the return of democracy in Kashmirand the end of an unprecedented political vacuum. In the bonhomie, strangethings were happening. Congress, which was elected to play the opposition,easily agreed to lend one of its MLAs, Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, to FarooqAbdullah cabinet. I remember Kesari’s angry tone while replying to media personsqueries on this dichotomy, “You should remember, this is in national interest.”
Two elections down and a generational change in Kashmir’sleadership, things seem to have changed. Leaders no longer feel they shouldcontribute to nurturing the `nascent’ democracy in Kashmir. Even the “nationalinterest” has even ceased to be used as a cliché. Or else, why are the rulingcoalition partners using the episode of fear-psychosis among the newly electedsarpanchs, to settle scores?
So far, eight sarpanchs have fallen to the bullets of themilitants; hundred others are living in constant fear. The separatist haveunleashed a smart psychological game; unlike in the past they have not owned upthe killings or the threats, thereby deliberately creating ground for wild speculationsand conspiracy theories. Their over-ground leaders, like Sayeed Ali ShahGeelani, are maintaining a mischievous silence over these killings. But letthere be no confusion about the intentions of ultras; they have used suchtactics in the past as well. Their motive is clear “ to continue themayhem.
But what is surprising is that the ruling coalition partners“ National Conference and Congress “ leaders are playing the role of swornenemies in a system that is still too fragile. Last week, Congress had paradeda group of sarpanchs before the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi inDelhi. On the face of it, the Congress wanted more powers for the `vulnerable’sarpanches, but the political motive was to run down the Omar Abdullahgovernment. Is the local Congress leadership suffering from weariness of asubordinate coalition partner? PCC chief Saifudin Soz, in particular, seems tobe leading a herd of restless souls, for he was the first one to break thecoalition dharma by going to the press against Omar Abdullah on the issue.
But to be fair to Soz, there is some merit in Congressparty’s stand that the newly elected sarpanchs in J&K need to be givenpowers. Congress is pitching for Omar Abdullah in extending the 73rd and 74thconstitutional amendments to the state to bring panchayats in J&K on a parwith the Act passed by parliament and implemented by several progressivestates.
Their argument is that a sarpanch armed with literally nopowers cannot wield authority to help people. In some instances, sarpanchs hadturned bullies and started behaving like local musclemen in villages. That, inturn, has spread disenchantment, fuelled rumours and created a godsend excusefor militants to train their guns on the panchs. I spoke to some elected panchayatmembers on this. They said since a sarpanch could not exercise his authority tobring in effective development in the village, some of them were prone tomisusing their newly found leadership role. In a hamlet located in the upperreaches of Anantnag, villagers had staged a protest against relatives of twowomen panchs, who had started misbehaving with and harassing the people. Suchaberrations are enough to create a ground for militants, who are still lurkingaround, to step in.
In this murky situation there is always a chance for thecrooked and the unscrupulous elements to play bloody games, as happened in thekilling of the deputy sarpanch of Nawpora in north Kashmir, on September 23.The local media reported that investigations were leading the police to a plotthick of rivalries and jealousy over Teli getting a fortune for the landacquisition by the BSF in the village.
On the other side, the National Conference has takenCongress demand as an affront to its political slogan of autonomy, more so,when the elections are just one-and-a-half year away. By accepting thejurisdiction of the 73rd constitutional amendment that gives precise powers tothe panchayats and the 74th amendment that gives 50 percent reservations towomen in these bodies, the NC feels, it may be seen as squandering away state’sspecial status that entitles J&K to have its own flag and make its laws. Inthis backdrop, Omar is unlikely to back Congress campaign to empower thepanchayats their way.
However, away from NC-Congress political potpourri, analystsfeel that the Omar Abdullah government had undertaken the panchayat electionswithout enough preparations. “We should never believe that militancy is dead inKashmir,” said a senior security officer from the state.
