For months we all heard news reports about the possibility of People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Lone contesting parliamentary elections. Some denied it overtly while others called the news reports as a handiwork of several covert ‘Conspiracy Nuts’ sitting somewhere at 10 Janpat. Few took the shortest path. They simply sought the reaction form horse’s mouth on his Facebook leaf.
But before a large section of Kashmiris conjure up ideas over what the news reports actually predict, the horse opened his mouth. So wide that it left nothing to question, but his fidelity towards the pro-freedom cause, he has been a part of.
Because of the experiences Kashmiri’s have, a deep-seated realization has been there that the primary adversary Kashmiris had encountered and have to be wary of is not the one that assaults from outside, but the one that smacks from within. From Abdullah’s, Bakshi’s and Mufti’s, everybody in the ladder came up with their ‘other-way’ proposals of solving Kashmir issue but Kashmir saw itself being pushed into a permanent quagmire, just because their leadership based on their “gifting” or “talent” didn’t work before the powerful centre.
Now it is Sajad, who we heard saying that he has changed the methodology not the ideology. And we are also witness to the day when he kept his hand on the holy Quran and swore about his non- allegiance with the Assembly polls or to get himself on the seat on India-set protocol. If ever he wins one of the 543 parliamentary seats. The new ‘methodology’ may require him to swear on the constitution--a document that describes Kashmir an integral part of India, which he has been scornful about for long.
We are told that he is aspiring to enter Parliament to raise the voice of Kashmiris. But is India or its people unmindful of the situation here. They know it all. They know greatests and highests of Kashmir. They know Kashmir has the world’s highest battlefield in the name of Siachen. They know in Kashmir, the concentration of troops, which is hanging somewhere between 500,000 to 700,000, is largest anywhere in the world. They know Kashmir has the world’s largest and heavily fortified army cantonment at Badami Bagh. Human rights violation, killings, custodial disappearances, torture and property plunder caused by the troops—they know it all. In spite of this, there has been a total trivial response from the world’s largest democracy, its followers and media. A killing from militants’ side will take no time for police to launch manhunt, and if caught, the culprit is within weeks, brought to justice. While as bullet from trooper’s rifle that kills an innocent Kashmiri will go unnoticed. Leave aside booking the trooper, the government’s response at central level will be deplorable. Booking a trooper, it would deem, will demoralize the rest of troops who are fighting India’s battle in Kashmir. There already know that there are 400 cases of custodial disappearances and torture that are pending New Delhi’s nod for trail since more than a decade.
Sajad what is the guarantee that you will be listened and whatever solution to Kashmir tangle you propose will be accepted? Could you press for scraping Armed Forces Special Power Act or Disturbed Area Act? Did you forget how the centre rebuffed several times the tender of their oldest loyals National Conference (NC) for persisting on autonomy? Didn’t New Delhi reject to heed self-rule application of People’s Democratic Party (PDP)? And what about Hurriyat core members who went for talks with their head held high but came back, regretting and airing contemptuous words against their corresponding team.
Sajad may be having a plan B of re-entering pro-freedom camp. But at this time he might be thinking that the population will rush to embrace his merger with the parliament and forget all about their individual history, rights and mores. In a single fell swoop, they way it happened every time, in yet another loyalist’s presence around, Kashmir will be clobbered into absolute tyranny where people will be helpless to do anything because their leaders will have become worthless? And because Sajad might be followed by some more guys there.
Why are Kashmiris used to betrayal! Disloyalty by comrades. Calculated, deliberate and despicable switch overs! Seems separatist leaders are tired. These are same leaders whom the CM Omar Abdullah in an interview called a “mighty force” to be reckoned with. He was stunned to see lakhs coming out on the calls of pro-freedom leaders past summer, while he acknowledged that he never ever managed more than 40,000 strong crowed in any of his public gatherings.
The situation could be better illustrated by Rudyard Kipling’s lines: ‘If any question why we died. Tell them because our fathers lied’.
Sajad might have heard about the Great Wall of China. The stories of the building of the great wall in China epitomizes his “change of methodology” diagram of solving the world’s oldest unresolved dispute and playing hide-and seek in the separatist camp. It is said that to shun invasion from the militia in the North, the Chinese got on to put up a great wall for defense. It took several years to build the wall, which was unbelievably high and wide to endure and repulse enemy attack. However, during the construction, Chinese were raided three times by the armies from the North. They simply induced the gatekeeper through hefty bribe and marched through the gate.
Yes, you got me right.
India seems and has been successful in copying the counter-insurgency tactics first engaged by Russians in the second Chechen war that began in the year 1999. That strategy, with a wee bit of amendments, modified to suit the context and realities of Kashmir, mingles a synchronized political and armed response with nonconventional tactics that include political jargon, information warfare, financial action, confinements, wipe-up operations, and more critically, adhoc appointment of local leaders.
Now that Sajad is another adhoc leader in the list, he will be covered by journalists who are already covering pro-India political parties, but before someone else, who had represented Kashmir’s aspiration on all fronts, from the separatist camp, think of the ‘political switch over’, there seems to be a binding contract for anyone to sign before entering the camp. Or he/ she should not be allowed to be counted among the separatists, lead any protest, or make speeches even if he is the son of the most powerful had–been pro-independence leader.
And if there were an obligatory agreement to sign before entering the separatist camp, the fine print should include: "The undersigned concedes that the seat is sacrosanct, which if rejected after being made use of, may be perilous for the common Kashmiris who have already lost their 100,000, fellowmen and that it would result in the extensive expressions of antipathy from the public side, that would also not be limited to slur and slander.”
Some one said that Sajad would surely represent himself in Parliament not Kashmiris. But one thing he can be expected to do is tell the parliamentarians that when a militant is killed in an encounter thousands march into streets, sloganeer in favour of freedom and lay the dead to rest before fighting against the troopers for the corpse. While as no one cares when a trooper is killed in any encounter. Sajad can tell them that the alienation is deep rooted and so much strong that ‘buying’ shepherd won’t do, it may need to buy the cattle, which New Delhi will never allow to happen. Because that would mean giving up claims of having Kashmir as a proud possession and priceless crown (An overturned world map will show the existing position of Kashmir—a green Valley trampled under India’s feet.)
As I write above about hiring loyalists, I am reminded of Chechen separatist turned Moscow loyalist, Ramzan Kadyrov. Like Abdullah’s fought India’s rule in Kashmir for sometime and later switched over side, Kadyrov and his father also fought federal forces of Russia in early 90’s, with Ramzan, leading a small band of fighters in the first Chechen war.
Kadyrovs switched over to the Moscow side at the start of the second war in 1999. Since then his militia enjoyed the patronage of Russia's state security service. And after his father, Chechnya's then president, was assassinated in 2004, Kadyrov became deputy prime minister and prime minister a year later. Married with five children, he has a pet lion, a wolf, bear and rare Siberian tiger to pride himself on.
I wish to live to that day to see what Sajad will be given. Kashmir free of tyranny or outright dejection of what he is sure to get from New Delhi.
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