THEIR CRY FOR JUSTICE
Three leaders, including two ex-chief ministers, talk to Raj Chengappa about the long months in detention, the tentative green shoots in ties with the Centre and how some things are nonnegotiable for Kashmir
Q. What are the big takeaways from your many months in detention? l omar abdullah
You get so much time to think and, fortunately, I am one of those people who are extremely comfortable in my own company. Very early on, I set myself a routine which I thought was the best way to stay sane. I spent a lot of time just walking, trying to reconcile and understand what had happened and what I felt about it. You don’t have anyone to bounce your thoughts off, so it is purely what you make of things yourself. I did read a lot and, when we had cable, also rediscovered my love for old Hindi movies on one of the TV channels that shows the classics.
“We want to be on par with the others, so why should we accept a truncated state?”
mehbooba mufti
I was alone and without my family, and nobody likes to be in that situation. I was also thinking about what was happening outside; it was really troubling me, the crackdown. Also, I had this thing in my mind all the time about how my father (the late M.M. Sayeed) got it all wrong about aligning with the BJP for a resolution of the Kashmir issue. sajjad lone
It was a humbling experience, but I was also angry. Only later did the realisation sink in of what had happened to us. When I came out of detention, it was with the perception that we have been wronged, but also that as a people we could have done better. Of course, the leadership has to take responsibility for behaving in a manner that left us isolated, in the sense that we saw very few people sympathising with us on August 5, 2019 [when Art. 370 was revoked].
Q. What is your assessment of the interaction with the prime minister? omar abdullah
Coming after the concerted efforts to discredit Kashmir’s mainstream politicians, the last thing I expected was for ‘these sort of political leaders’ to be invited to meet the prime minister. That said, the prime minister seemed genuine, saying the meeting wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, and that he had actually wanted to meet all of us faceto-face since last year. So, for those who believe this is some sort of sudden move based on ‘various other developments’, it’s something to speculate about.
mehbooba mufti
To be honest, I did not go with too many expectations. The least I expected was that they will take some confidence-building measures that could give relief to the people, like releasing political prisoners, stopping all these stupid firmans (orders) issued from Delhi, and coming up with some kind of package for the people who have suffered immensely since 2019. My priority was to tell them what was happening on the ground, how depressed the people are. They have broken us into pieces, emotionally, economically and socially. The only good part about all this was that they listened patiently.
sajjad lone
The beauty of democracy is that the very government that ordered us [to be detained] invited us to a meeting. It has to be given to the leaders of J&K that despite their anger, they put across their strong opinions in a dignified manner. I did not expect anything more—the meeting was to thaw the ice, start a possible phase of reconciliation. I just hope they build on the momentum and the process culminates in something concrete.
Q. What do you think of the government’s ‘sequencing’—having delimitation first, then elections and lastly statehood? omar abdullah
They said that August 5, 2019, was done to bring J&K on par with the rest of the country. So, if that was the reason you did what you did, then at least fulfil your own commitment. Why is it then J&K is getting delimitation now, when other states and Union territories will have delimitation only in 2026 and that too on the basis of the
“Statehood is being seen as a solution. It’s like being demoted from 10th to KG and then being promoted to 2nd class”
2021 census? As for statehood, it is a commitment that the BJP has already given. Then why should elections precede it? If the idea is to have a state of Jammu and Kashmir, then let it go for elections as a state, why should you have a UT government which will then be converted into a state government?
mehbooba mufti
The BJP is cleverly trying to shift the goalposts because they want to push the Kashmir issue under the carpet. So from Article 370, we have moved to statehood. As for delimitation, the people, especially in the Valley, have apprehensions about it. They feel they will be further disempowered.
sajjad lone
I want New Delhi to see the situation the way we see it—that the people of J&K have been denied a state. Every moment that continues, it is a sin against democracy; it is a sin against federalism. It cannot and should not have been done. Hold elections at any time, but give J&K back its statehood [at the earliest]. It is not that we are asking for power for ourselves—give power to the Lieutenant Governor, make him the governor, but let there be some semblance of people’s power being paramount.
Q. Will you and your party contest the assembly election, were it to be held? omar abdullah
I can’t speak for my party (the National Conference). It really depends on what extent the government of India is adamant about statehood only after elections, to what extent this determines how my colleagues think. As for me personally, I have no interest in fighting elections for the time being. I am quite happy to sit it out and do my politics outside of the electoral canvas.
mehbooba mufti
We in the PDP will fight every election democratically, for we can’t leave any space open for reactionary powers to come in and disempower our people further. That’s where we stand as a political party and a regional alternative. But as far as I am concerned, I am not going to fight any election till we restore Art. 370 and 35A, Inshallah. Also, when I have won elections, I have taken oath on my J&K Constitution and the Indian Constitution, it is also an emotional thing for me.
sajjad lone
I would have loved to stay away and sulk but there is no one to convince. Also, I don’t understand how some of our leaders are saying they will not contest but their parties will. If something is halaal for me, shouldn’t it be halaal for all my leaders?
Q. What kind of statehood should J&K get? omar abdullah
We will not accept a state where we are any less than what we were before August 5, 2019. We want to be on par with the others, so why should we accept a truncated state? The BJP’s
“Some of our leaders say they won’t contest elections but their parties will. If it’s halaal for me, shouldn’t it be halaal for all my leaders?”
own agenda says ‘Ek vidhaan, ek nishaan, ek pradhaan’, one model for the whole country. So if there is one model for the county, then please don’t
start treating us differently. Because if you start treating us differently, you open the floodgates for demands of restoration of J&K’s special status. If you treat us differently, then we have a right to ask for everything different then. mehbooba mufti
They want to now present statehood as a solution for every problem in J&K. It’s like demoting a person from 10th to KG and then saying you will be promoted to 2nd class. sajjad lone
J&K should get full statehood. The reason I say full statehood is because people have given it a different connotation. How can you downgrade a state to UT? You can’t convert a horse into a donkey. You can’t create this biological wonder. Q. What about restoration of Article 370? Will you be fighting for it?
Article 370 was the basis on which J&K acceded to India. I agree that, over time, through presidential orders, successive Congress governments at the Centre weakened it. But I will turn that argument on its head—if that is the case and Article 370 was so weak, then why remove it, leave it, why was it bothering you? If it was just a token constitution of J&K and a flag, then it didn’t really matter. But there must have been something in it that you were so keen to get rid of. Either you tell me it was completely irrelevant, then I will ask you why bother removing it? But if you did remove it, that means there was something to it. You can’t have both arguments in your favour. mehbooba mufti
Article 370 was not only safeguarding our identity—which is the most important thing—but also our land and our jobs, so that made us a prosperous state. I think we live in a democratic country and we have political processes and we have a Supreme Court. But with due respect to the court, it has not had the time to give the Article 370 case a hearing for almost a year-and-a-half now. sajjad lone
The abrogation of Article 370 has been an ideological plank of the BJP for a good 70 years. I would not expect this government to reinstate it, but that doesn’t stop us from fighting it out in court, or waiting for a more liberal government to reinstate it. Whether the Indian people ever elect such a liberal government, one that will do so, depends on us, the people of India. Q. Do we need to have a dialogue with Pakistan? omar abdullah
There will always be two tracks on which the J&K dialogue proceeds, one internal and one external. You have never had situations where there has been dialogue with Pakistan but there has been no internal development or vice-versa. Communication and dialogue are key. If for no other reason, let’s go back to the BJP’s own agenda—part of J&K is still under the Pakistan’s control. What are you going to do about that? mehbooba mufti
If we really want to have peace in the region, we need to involve them. Just think about it, you are part of QUAD where we have no business being (the other members are Australia, Japan and America) but with our own SAARC neighbours, you are doing nothing. Here we are totally isolated, but there we are thumping our chest. How does this serve our purpose? India could be the big brother leading the SAARC nations, but that is where I think IndiaPakistan hostility is holding us back. sajjad lone
This is out of my syllabus and the purview of my state. India has a ministry of foreign affairs which takes decisions on whether to talk to some country or not. There may be a need to do so but I don’t see any merit in making a noise about Pakistan and sending signals to the rest of the country who might misconstrue the demand. Q. How do you perceive the mood in the Valley? omar abdullah
The people are apprehensive, they don’t know what they will say or do that will see them detained or put away. There is very little appetite for any sort of dissent, which is unfortunate because not all dissent is anti-national. mehbooba mufti
The people are the challenge, because they are alienated and have been pushed mentally into a separatist frame of mind. The majority identified with mainstream politicians earlier. Now, I am not so sure. sajjad lone
There is a sense of people shutting up, the anger is palpable. They have issues with the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and the loss of statehood—these are macro issues. The micro issues include the new bureaucrats and rulers, whom they don’t know. Then there are day-to-day governance issues. That said, the people of the Valley have shown considerable restraint, for they have not come out to protest like they used to. But that doesn’t mean consent—people not protesting is not the same as giving their consent to the situation. ■