Kashmir policy remains a mess — why rejoice over PDP's failure?
Finally, a much-beleaguered BJP pulled the plug on its alliance government with the PDP in J&K. The situation in the state was not progressing quite as the party envisaged when it tied up with PDP led by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
To start with, it was an unlikely alliance. A party often-portrayed as a hardline Hindutva outfit with a "nationalistic" outlook joining hands with some that openly peddled its "soft separatism" agenda. The reason the BJP gained popularity in Kashmir, especially south Kashmir and a few districts of Jammu, has got more to do with the previous state government's failure to address the aspirations of the Kashmiri population, especially the youth.
The situation in Kashmir is very complex. The dynamics and the opposing forces that every political party in power in the state has to face is far more difficult than any other states of the union. The Kashmiri identity and aspiration in juxtaposition to the militancy and support for seperatists, the demand for autonomy and Delhi's apparent snub when a chief minister went to great lengths — remember PV Narasimha Rao's "sky is the limit" comment and the rebuff Farooq Abdullah got after he took him rather literally and pushed through a bill for autonomy.
The point is regardless of whoever is in power in Delhi, the Kashmir policy remains similar, if not identical, save probably for statesmen like Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But even Vajpayee could not make much headway on the ground.
Known for its strong foreign policy push, the incumbent government led by PM Modi was roundly criticised for what Opposition called a lack of vision in its foreign policy with regards to Pakistan. Even erudite statesmen have committed political blunders. So in hindsight PM Modi's stopover in Pakistan may have looked a bit jarring, but posterity would probably forgive him — he showed the intent, but that it failed is another story.
Kashmir is a unique state — reporters have filed perplexing stories of how alleged stone pelters in the Valley have spoken about the inclination to join the security forces and have at times lined up for the recruitment rallies. There are layers of separatism in the Valley. It is easy to identify the hardliners, those who tote a gun. But you are as likely to see a young girl pelting stones — as a form of protest. Even among the stone-pelters, there are sections — hardened over ground sympathisers of militants who arrange protests and gets paid is one part of the story, the little kids throwing stones are a different category altogether.
The state needs to act differently in different circumstances. If the government starts judging everyone by the same yardstick there is a real risk that the kids would graduate into militant sympathisers and may join their ranks.
The frustration among young people would be difficult to fathom from the air-conditioned chambers that we have grown used to. Decades of militancy have ensured that no new technology reaches the Valley as a source of livelihood, government jobs of course are very few despite reservation. The lack of opportunity is coupled with post-traumatic stress disorder that young minds have to cope with as relatives, friends, next-door neighbours fall prey to either militancy or collateral damage. It is a grim future as Pakistan continues to extend support, including financial, arms and ideological to separatists and militants and the state clamps down harder.
The plight of the young people caught in the crossfire is too horrifying to imagine.
It is not that the PDP led government was not trying. While cases against first-time stone-pelters were withdrawn, militants were rehabilitated. But the task was enormous and there are political compulsions. Everyone knows how the next combination or single party that comes to power in Kashmir would function. Despite rhetoric they know what they are headed for — it is not a pretty scenario.
The contentious issue that ended the coalition was probably the image of a national party being "held hostage" across states, including a few that would be going to the polls soon. As for CM Mufti she probably did not have much to choose from. However, it was a brave political experiment that showed opposites can work together despite the undercurrent tension — it is too bad it failed.
It is probably politically okay to lose a state to stick to an image, but will that be the way things go from here on?