The Hindu : Cynicism, the dominant sentiment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 30, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Cynicism, the dominant sentiment

By Kalpana Sharma

A video camera in Srinagar today is more likely to be filming a wedding than a political rally. In the run-up to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, there is hectic wedding activity in the city. Anyone planning to get married this season wants to get it over and done with before the elections.

So streets are blocked, shamianas erected, and men and women dressed in their finery make their way by bus, autorickshaw or just walk to the festivities.

To see any activity related to the elections, you have to step outside the confines of the capital. As the last date for filing nominations for the first phase draws near, crowds of political activists are seen outside the offices of the District Commissioners.

Earlier this week, the road between Baramulla and Kupwara was lined with buses, trucks and jeeps packed with supporters of the National Conference candidate and sitting MLA from Kupwara, Saifullah Mir. They waved the red NC flag and conducted themselves as people do anywhere in India during elections.

Villagers waited on the roadside for the procession they had been told would pass. And in the town, the security forces, dominant otherwise, could almost be forgotten as the crowd moved towards the DC's office. But, that is where any resemblance to an election in a State in India ends.

The s of the people were clearly brought in for the rally although some had come on their own. There were no women. In the Kupwara market place, the dominant sentiment was that of cynicism.

"What's the point of this election'' an angry young man shouted even before this correspondent could frame the question. "Whether we vote or not, the same people will come back to power. And all they are interested in doing is looking after themselves and their relatives. But, what about Kashmir and the Kashmiri people? Who will take care of our future.'' These are the sentiments of the people in many parts of the valley.

Young men, old women, workers, managers, almost all of them say the same thing. They argue that the outcome of the elections is already known and that the National Conference will be reinstated because that is what India wants. But, people also speak of peace and of how tired they are of the violence.

Take Mohammad Maqbool Khan, a gardener who has tended the beautiful Mughal gardens on the banks of the Dal Lake for 26 years, says "elections are not the solution to the Kashmir problem. We want peace, we want our problem resolved.''

An engineering college student, who had to shout to be heard above the angry voices of his colleagues voicing strong anti-India sentiments, says "all Kashmiri people want to live in peace. Whoever wants to bring peace, the people will select them.''

There are a few who are not afraid to express their belief in the elections — people like 60-year-old Abdullah Dar in Sopore who rents out his house to a charitable institution that conducts sewing classes for young women.

He says "I am 60 years old and I have always given my vote. What has Hindustan done? Have they stopped our namaz, our mosques? Why should we ask for freedom? Once they stop me from doing namaz, then I have the right to protect my religion. But they have never stopped us. So what azadi do I need.''

But Dar does not represent the majority. For what comes as a surprise to a first-time visitor to the valley is the extent of alienation. From students to women in villages to people in white-collar jobs, the anger against the Government's policies towards Kashmir boils over in every conversation.

The most recent manifestation of this anger is the voter identity card and the fact that security personnel insist that it is the only valid ID. "What's the meaning of this voter identity card'', asks Noor Mohammad Bhat, a municipal tax collector in Anantnag. "All these years they didn't accept that we are Hindustanis and now they have issued a card to establish that we are Indian.''

But the roots of alienation are also located in a history of misgovernance. "I feel ashamed to vote'', says Mohammad Salim, a teacher in Anantnag. "I was also with the National Conference once but when I went to the MLA's house to ask for funds to repair the nullah in our mohalla, he told me to wait until he got re-elected. I told him that even if he won, he would never be allowed to step into our mohalla.''

Everyone has a tale about corruption and neglect by the ruling party in Kashmir. It is a combination of such anger at misgovernance and the absence of a resolution of what the Kashmiris believe is the basic issue that has resulted in a lack of interest in the forthcoming elections.

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Cynicism, the dominant sentiment