The double standards of the Abdullah-Mufti families are not hidden from anyone. When these people are in Delhi, Then ‘Secularism’, unity, Calmness, While talking about brotherhood, he suddenly becomes emotional. But as soon as he returns to the valley, his speeches/statements are filled with hatred towards Indian unity and integrity, So there seems to be sympathy for the anti-pluralism-democracy Islamist fundamentalists.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections will be held in three phases from September 18 to October 1. What is the issue of the elections? Should Kashmir return to the period before 2019, when all economic activities in the region were closed, there was an almost undeclared ban on development work, there was constant stone pelting on the army and police forces, bandhs were called by the separatists and the atmosphere was polluted with anti-India slogans like ‘Pakistan Zindabad’? Or should the same development flow continue in this Union Territory as in the last five years, due to which Kashmir is comparatively peaceful, there is acceptance of the Constitution and law like the rest of the country and there is an atmosphere of harmony with the pluralistic culture?
This question is also relevant because in this election, the major satrap party of Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference, has formed an alliance with the national party Congress, whose manifesto promises the voters that on returning to power, they will reinstate the poisonous Article 370-35A in the Indian Constitution, due to which, while it was active (before August 2019), the entire province was in darkness, tourists were reluctant to come, cinema halls were closed, religion-centric terrorism and Pakistan-backed separatism were dominant and like the rest of the country, the constitutional rights (including reservation) of the Dalits and the deprived along with the tribals were looted.
After the constitutional amendment of Section 370-35A, Jammu and Kashmir has been bustling for the last five years. The tricolour-coloured Lal Chowk in Srinagar is a sight to behold. The number of tourists is constantly increasing. After a long gap of more than three decades, new and old cinema halls are operating. People are enjoying the famous Shikara ride till late at night. Schools, colleges and universities are also running smoothly. Shops also remain open for long hours. The standard of living of the local people is improving. Kashmiri Pandits who left the valley years ago after facing the jihadi bite have slowly started returning.
In the changed situation, the G-20 summit has been held, and film producers and directors are again getting attracted towards the valley. Under the new industrial policy of Jammu and Kashmir, investment proposals worth about Rs. 1.25 lakh crore have come from the country and abroad, which is estimated to generate 4.69 lakh jobs in the state. Last year, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had concluded his ambitious ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ with the tricolour in Srinagar. What was the situation before August 2019 is clear from the recent statement of former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde.
A section of Jammu and Kashmir is suffering from Pakistani mentality. Since Pakistan is not the name of a country but an ideology in itself and is inspired by the concept of ‘Kafir-Kufr’, some leaders of the valley, representing this thinking, want to return the region to the old, religious, chauvinistic and medieval era. National Conference and PDP are also the main flag bearers of this divisive mindset in the valley. Congress, which advocates caste census, is in alliance with the same National Conference, which has also talked about ‘reviewing’ all reservations in Jammu and Kashmir in its election manifesto. This promise strikes at the rights of the Valmiki-tribal community along with Muslim Gujjars and Bakarwals in the region. Not only this, National Conference is again talking about ‘autonomy’ inspired by separatism. Their manifesto promises to release those prisoners who are in jail for being involved in terrorist and anti-national activities. It also refers to the famous Shankaracharya hill in Srinagar as ‘Takht-e-Sulaiman’ and the Hari Parvat fort as ‘Koh-e-Maran’.
Apart from the major satraps in Jammu and Kashmir, Sajjad Lone’s ‘People’s Conference’ and Altaf Bukhari’s ‘JK Apni Party’ along with jailed separatist Sheikh Abdul Rashid (Rashid Engineer)’s ‘Awami Ittehad Party’ are also in the electoral fray. Ever since Rashid Engineer badly defeated National Conference top leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat this year, there are apprehensions that Rashid may emerge as an influential force, which could be a matter of concern for the region as well as the rest of the country.
Omar’s crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections has dented the position of the National Conference, which was hoping to make a comeback by winning most of the seats in the Valley. In this desperation and search for opportunism, the National Conference has joined hands with the Congress, which has almost weakened after Ghulam Nabi Azad left the party in August 2022. If we talk about the PDP, its top leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also had to face defeat in the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat. The defeat of Omar and Mehbooba clearly shows that the people of the Valley want freedom from nepotism. As a national party, the BJP is a big party, which has a strong base in the Jammu region with 43 assembly seats.
The double standards of the Abdullah-Mufti families are not hidden from anyone. When they are in Delhi, they suddenly become emotional while talking about ‘secularism’, unity, peace, brotherhood. But as soon as they return to the valley, their speeches/statements show hatred towards Indian unity-integrity and sympathy for the Islamic fundamentalists who are against pluralism-democracy. The truth is that two types of classes living in the valley – India-friendly and anti-India, have come to know the reality of these political families and want to get rid of them.
It is difficult to say which way the people of the valley will go. This will be revealed after the EVM based vote counting on 8 October. But it can be said clearly that if the state has to walk on the path of development and get rid of separatist-communal-anarchist elements, then it will have to think above the narrow and medieval religious mentality.