The Hindu : Need for a broad-based dialogue in J&K

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Wednesday, Oct 16, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Need for a broad-based dialogue in J&K

By Muchkund Dubey

The elections have once again opened, after almost six years, the window of opportunity for the nation to come to terms with the aspirations of the Kashmir people.

THE RECENTLY concluded elections in Jammu and Kashmir have very appropriately been hailed as the triumph of democracy. More than that, they also signify a triumph of the political sagacity and courage of the Kashmiris and an emphatic assertion of their preference for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue within a democratic framework.

Democracy produces a strange alchemy of astounding value and significance. In the case of India, in several hopeless situations when everything seemed to be falling apart, it has pulled us back from the precipice and opened the door to sanity. Democracy has proved to be indispensable for holding our society together. Whether it would continue to do so in the future will depend upon the way we practice it and uphold democratic values.

The Election Commission must be congratulated for holding the freest and fairest elections in Jammu and Kashmir in two decades and in conditions more adverse than ever before. One hopes the successful manner in which the elections were completed will come as a chastisement to those who cast aspersions on the Election Commission and dragged it into a totally unnecessary constitutional controversy.

The most likely scenario seems to be that a coalition of the Congress, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Independents will form the Government in the State. They have first to get over the hurdle of electing a Chief Minister. If political reality is to be taken into account, it is quite legitimate for the party with the maximum number of seats in the coalition to stake claim for leading the Government. On the other hand, there is also a case for the PDP to head the Government as it represents the sentiments of the people in the Kashmir Valley more comprehensively than the Congress.

If the PDP heads the Government, the most likely choice for the Chief Minister's post is going to be Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the party leader who has the requisite seniority and administrative experience. However, if one looks at the issue in the perspective of the overall national interest, the coalition should select Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Minister. For, no one in the coalition, or for that matter very few in the entire State, has echoed the hurt, anguish and the sufferings of the people of Kashmir as forcefully and has identified with their cause as sincerely as she has done. Besides, India has reasons to be grateful to her for building a popular movement in the form of the PDP, which while respecting the sentiments of the people, stands for a change in a peaceful and orderly fashion.

The election results have a few positive external fallouts for India. They have equipped us to deal with Pakistan with greater confidence and firmness than before. They will also enable us to hold our own against the pressures that have been exerted on us by external forces. But much more important than the external consequences, the elections have once again opened, after almost six years, the window of opportunity for the nation to come to terms with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The last time we had such an opportunity was in 1996 when Farooq Abdullah came to power on the platform of autonomy. Unfortunately, that opportunity was frittered away because of the exclusive pre-occupation of the then United Front Government with the problem of its survival and because the National Conference was blinded by the immediate gain of power and became complacent to the objective of negotiating autonomy which called for political courage and involved risks including that of loss of power. The events will not be allowed to take such an ungainly turn this time because the PDP attaches the highest priority to a political settlement of the Kashmir issue through talks with the militants. Though the Congress will suffer from the constraints that generally hinder the action of a national political party, during its election campaign it expressed full sympathy for the plight of the Kashmir people and committed itself to a dialogue.

All political forces in the State must be involved in the dialogue which, one hopes, would begin soon after the new Government assumes charge. In particular, the dialogue must include the Hurriyat which, in its own way, reflects genuine Kashmiri aspirations. Besides, it has very close links with the militants with whom the dialogue would be held. The National Conference is also destined to play a very important role. It is the single largest party in the newly-elected Assembly and has stood for the unity and integrity of India in the most adverse circumstances. Besides, once in the Opposition, it is bound to take up the cause of autonomy with vigour and sincerity because this is the only way it can recapture lost ground in the State.

The most critical factor is going to be the Central Government's attitude. In this connection, the Prime Minister's statement in Copenhagen that "the Centre would work in close cooperation with the elected representatives in Srinagar to fulfil the aspirations of the people", provides a good opening. The statement does not exactly commit the Government to parleys on autonomy which is quite understandable at this stage. The Sangh Parivar hardliners will do their utmost to prevent the Government from granting any form of azadi to the Kashmiris. However, the Centre will have to recognise the drastic change in the political situation in the State brought about by the elections. It will have to deal with a Government which is bound to be committed to a Common Minimum Programme which will include as its main element the demand for meeting the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and to contend with an Opposition in the Assembly which will be more sharply focussed on its demand for autonomy. One also expects the Congress not to remain mired in its policy of the recent past in favour of a status quo. After all, the two historic agreements for granting special status to the Kashmiris were negotiated by a Congress Government in power at the Centre. One hopes the Congress will rise to the occasion and play a major role in fashioning another pact for ensuring the continued association of the Kashmiri people with the Indian Union, which is fully in keeping with their dignity and aspirations.

Next to the demand for autonomy, the election results also constitute a mandate for providing good governance. The results reflect a longing of the people for peace, safety and security. It is true that the State's people will not feel safe as long as the militants continue their violent activities and Pakistan continues to support them. But for carrying on their day-to-day activities they want a corruption-free Government and the State to cease to be an instrument of harassment, torture and oppression.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has asked for an economic package from the Centre. What the State needs is not the traditional economic package consisting of mega projects resurrected from the past — which have long been promised but never implemented. Instead, it needs genuine decentralisation of development activities whereby people at the grass-roots level can directly receive resources for development and are empowered to formulate, approve and implement development projects. Jammu and Kashmir has a legislation on decentralisation pre-dating the adoption of the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution. But many parts of it are archaic and need to be updated, incorporating the best elements of the 73rd and 74th Amendments. Happily, with the outcome of the elections, the idea of the trifurcation of the State has been rejected. Nevertheless, a solution will have to be found for meeting the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Ladakh for local self-governance. They do not want to look up to the Government in Srinagar for meeting all their needs. An effective devolution of governance to the grass-roots level is the best means of meeting their aspirations.

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