The Hindu : A sensitive exercise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 05, 2002

Opinion

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A sensitive exercise

THE ANNOUNCEMENT, BY the Election Commission, of the timetable for Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir signals the start of a democratic process that is widely seen as holding the key to the Kashmir conundrum, both in its national and international dimensions. At stake, more than ever before, is the credibility of the exercise, in terms of its transparency, fairness, voter participation and so on. If the four-phase polling spread over three weeks in September-October is largely patterned on the 1996 schedule, dictated as it is by the logistical imperatives on the security front, the poll panel has taken several new initiatives this time around by way of fine-tuning the mechanics and procedures, all aimed at reducing the scope for malpractices and facilitating free exercise of the franchise. Witness for example its proposals for the deployment of handpicked high-level bureaucrats from outside the State — and with a reputation for personal integrity — to function as observers, the use of electronic voting machines in all the constituencies and the setting up of special polling booths for the Kashmiri migrants living in Jammu, Udhampur and New Delhi. The Chief Election Commissioner, J. M. Lyngdoh, has for his part rejected — as firmly and forthrightly as the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, did the other day — the suggestion of allowing foreigners to act as "monitors" or "(officially authorised or recognised) observers", even while making it clear they would be welcome to visit the State during the elections in their "individual" capacities. Indeed, given India's enviable record in conducting elections, the nation, as Mr. Advani would say, needs no "certificate" from others. Yet, it should not be difficult to appreciate the beneficial impact of providing neutral observers and international media an opportunity to watch and evaluate the poll process.

Politically speaking, the announcement of the election schedule has in effect meant the State would be going to the polls with the basic concerns related to the pervasive sense of alienation of the Kashmiri population remaining substantially unaddressed. The `Track II initiatives', apparently aimed at facilitating the participation of separatist groups of various hues in the electoral process through backroom parleys, have made little headway and for obvious reasons. There has been a proliferation of such interlocutors going about the job with no definite brief, something that is symptomatic of the lack of clarity and cohesiveness that has characterised the administration's approach to `Kashmir'. Another example was of course the officially set up but conceptually flawed `K. C. Pant mission', which was born more out of an urge to marginalise the All-Party Hurriyat Conference. On the question of `autonomy', an area of critical concern for the nationalist-minded but now alienated sections, the ruling establishment has been calculatedly prevaricating, its position depending on the exigencies of coalition politics at any given point in time. The `Arun Jaitley initiative' on the devolution of powers, launched just a fortnight ago, seems to have been overtaken by the poll process. The Jethmalani Committee that is to start a dialogue with separatist groups has probably come too late in the day and will be racing against time.

Still, there can be no denying the fact that the elections now under way provide the best opportunity for those who claim to speak for the people to demonstrate their representative credentials. It is for the `alienated' nationalist groups — as also the separatist elements that genuinely believe in a political solution to the Kashmir problem — to enter the fray and secure popular support for their ideological viewpoint. With the event attracting global and national scrutiny as never before, and with the Election Commission's safeguards in place, the poll process should turn out to be free and fair and untainted by the charges of rigging that were made about the previous elections in the State.

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