Exploitive Politics

Riyaz says that Kashmir’s victimhood should not be exploited as a political weapon within India


(Mr. Riyaz Masroor, 39, was born and raised in Srinagar. He is a Srinagar based journalist who writes in English, Urdu and Kashmiri. Besides working in the local press, his articles have appeared on BBC Radio online, Himal Southasia and the Journal of International Federation of Journalists. He is currently the Executive Editor of the Rising Kashmir, a leading English language daily newspaper in Srinagar.)


Delegation Politics


Some sections within Indian intelligentsia describe India as a ‘land of million mutinies.’ Civil society activists insist that there are two Indias – the shiny, booming one and the hungry, rebellious one. Between these two Indias lies a world of politics. There are myriad political ideologies crisscrossing the landscape of Indian polity. Communist Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal (whichever factions) etc are the groups that are fighting



their own wars with the Indian system. Kashmir, Chattisgarh or Singur occasionally serve a ‘loudspeaker’ wherefrom these actors make themselves heard; or, the springboard wherefrom these otherwise ineffective politicians want to be catapulted to the national scene. The delegation of ‘civil society’ that concluded its Kashmir visit on Dec 5 cannot be viewed differently.


However, from this latest visit one expects a non-rhetorical representation of Kashmir’s ground reality in the Indian parliament. Whether the politicians or civil society activists associated with Ram Vilas Paswan-led mission are capable of influencing India’s Kashmir policy is not yet known, but Kashmir’s differing political sections have adequately briefed them about what was happening on ground. While Mirwaiz tried to make them understand how important it was for India to allow a smooth solution to Kashmir dispute, Geelani reiterated his demand for referendum to settle the problem once for all. Mahbooba Mufti told the delegation that the concessions claimed in the name of peace process were nothing but mockery. The PDP leader cited the long running practice of re-arresting political prisoners soon after their release. There are some disaffected sections here who believe that communists or socialists come to Kashmir in order to fix their own issues with the Indian state, which they see as their adversary.


While the separatists chose to begin a constructive engagement with such delegations, people in Kashmir are still in two minds whether they should bring those ‘million mutinies’ to their courtyard and hope something good will happen. The parliamentary delegation that came here in September with an official mandate from government of India appeared effective, at least to the extent of stopping the killing spree across Valley. However the goodwill that the all party delegation was bound to generate was soon dissipated by heavy-handed policy that included random arrests, night raids and complaints of police officers demanding ‘ransom’ for arrested youth. That was an insult to the parliamentary delegation and the constitution that empowered their visit. One can just imagine the fate of the fresh delegation.


Such visits cannot be discouraged for they promote a social dialogue. But the state authorities and the local political actors will have to think of an indigenous mechanism whereby the hostilities could be transformed into effective democratic practices. On its part, the state government can establish a channel of communication and share with separatists a common cause of public good. But on the contrary, the authorities here tend to appease New Delhi by coming down heavily on the people. Both New Delhi and separatist leadership as also Pakistan should understand that only an official dialogue can usher in some hope of a just solution to the vexed Kashmir dispute. In order to realize this simple fact, do we need to waste our resource in random hospitality?