Friday, March 29, 2024

News Destination For The Global Indian Community

News Destination For The Global Indian Community

INDIA
LifeMag
Enemy of the people

Enemy of the people

If Omar Abdullah’s ability to convince people to shun militants and vote in elections is treason, what is nationalism?

This has got to be a first — Democratically elected leaders, who have been Chief Ministers and Union Ministers, labelled as traitors and, therefore, shaming the political wisdom and popular will that have gone into strengthening the Constitutional definition of our democracy as a “union of States.” The Narendra Modi Government may have abrogated Article 370, demoted the status of Jammu and Kashmir to a Union Territory and promised to usher in development and peace long denied to it but cannot justify why it still relies on laws of the old regime to run it. Instead of using its mandated Central authority to set new legacies, it is still stuck in a tit-for-tat demonisation of the people and defanging the old political leadership, their presence an excuse for its continuing stasis. Either it has selective amnesia about Kashmir’s status, past and present, or it is looking for a convenient tool to control the political narrative in the Valley on its terms. Or drive it to further ruination as just another manifestation of its otherisation politics, its only justification for being a “party with a difference.” And in that effort, it doesn’t matter if it looks hypocritical, inconsistent or one might say, even bizarrely blunderous. What else can explain its use of the Public Safety Act (PSA) to book three former Chief Ministers, National Conference (NC) leaders Farooq and Omar Abdullah, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti? The law was passed in 1978 to crack down on timber smugglers, by the state government led by Sheikh Abdullah, who founded the NC. Over the years, it has been interpreted indiscriminately to curb dissent and separatist leaders. And now Omar and Mufti have been booked, bracketed as separatist threats, and await trial indefinitely. One can understand the dynastic hatred involved in arresting Omar under a law passed by his grandfather. But beyond the theatrics of a “great fall,” it is the dossier of charges that defies reason and borders on the ridiculous. Omar’s crime is the capacity to influence people and his ability “to convince his electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers even during the peak of militancy and poll boycotts.” If this swaying ability, something that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime prized to build a bridge over the conflict, is not nationalism, then one wonders what is. If his persistent calls to resolve the conflict through democratic processes and political empowerment are not Centrist, then one wonders what separatism is. For these abilities, which the current regime could have used to transition into a new narrative in Kashmir, are now seen as a liability than an asset. If he has such great mobilisation powers, then wouldn’t the Government have been better advised to use them for its gains in the absence of an alternative leadership to hold off terrorists? The dossier also mentions his comments on social media against the decisions on Articles 370 and 35-A, which had the potential of disturbing public order. Truth is such criticism and dissent have been voiced by all Kashmiris, political pundits and analysts across the country and Omar hasn’t said anything original or incendiary. If anything, his last tweet before detention was an appeal to Kashmiris to “keep calm.” Now this blanket assumption of his criticism as nothing short of terror portends a clampdown on even routine dissent as an unacceptable sin. By this logic, any criticism of Kashmir policies may disqualify any one of us as a citizen and subject us to the assessment, like in Mumbai, of a taxi driver, who may report us to the police. Mehbooba, with whom the Modi 1.0 had an alliance, has been punished for her stand against Article 370, 35A and cow lynchings.

Frankly, Mehbooba’s views, too, have been no different from the general observations made by everybody who has exercised the democratic right to disagree. Besides, by levelling such a woolly chargesheet, the Government is itself subjecting itself to a flurry of questions. How can it explain why in its earlier avatars, it had coopted both Omar and Mehbooba as valued allies without assessing their threat potential to national security? Was it opportunist then and a realist now or is it the other way around? With this in-your-face victimisation, the Government is only foisting some kind of martyrdom on both Omar and Mehbooba, whom Kashmiris have distrusted as New Delhi’s puppets throughout their political careers. Particularly Omar, who has endeared himself as a genial and engaging fighter, is becoming the face of quiet resistance in the vacuum that is the Valley. Either the Government wants that secessionist undercurrent to continue as it does its political economy, or it simply wants to create another enemy of the people as an excuse for non-performance. The BJP’s one-time acolytes may cost it dear.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

Enemy of the people

Enemy of the people

If Omar Abdullah’s ability to convince people to shun militants and vote in elections is treason, what is nationalism?

This has got to be a first — Democratically elected leaders, who have been Chief Ministers and Union Ministers, labelled as traitors and, therefore, shaming the political wisdom and popular will that have gone into strengthening the Constitutional definition of our democracy as a “union of States.” The Narendra Modi Government may have abrogated Article 370, demoted the status of Jammu and Kashmir to a Union Territory and promised to usher in development and peace long denied to it but cannot justify why it still relies on laws of the old regime to run it. Instead of using its mandated Central authority to set new legacies, it is still stuck in a tit-for-tat demonisation of the people and defanging the old political leadership, their presence an excuse for its continuing stasis. Either it has selective amnesia about Kashmir’s status, past and present, or it is looking for a convenient tool to control the political narrative in the Valley on its terms. Or drive it to further ruination as just another manifestation of its otherisation politics, its only justification for being a “party with a difference.” And in that effort, it doesn’t matter if it looks hypocritical, inconsistent or one might say, even bizarrely blunderous. What else can explain its use of the Public Safety Act (PSA) to book three former Chief Ministers, National Conference (NC) leaders Farooq and Omar Abdullah, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti? The law was passed in 1978 to crack down on timber smugglers, by the state government led by Sheikh Abdullah, who founded the NC. Over the years, it has been interpreted indiscriminately to curb dissent and separatist leaders. And now Omar and Mufti have been booked, bracketed as separatist threats, and await trial indefinitely. One can understand the dynastic hatred involved in arresting Omar under a law passed by his grandfather. But beyond the theatrics of a “great fall,” it is the dossier of charges that defies reason and borders on the ridiculous. Omar’s crime is the capacity to influence people and his ability “to convince his electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers even during the peak of militancy and poll boycotts.” If this swaying ability, something that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime prized to build a bridge over the conflict, is not nationalism, then one wonders what is. If his persistent calls to resolve the conflict through democratic processes and political empowerment are not Centrist, then one wonders what separatism is. For these abilities, which the current regime could have used to transition into a new narrative in Kashmir, are now seen as a liability than an asset. If he has such great mobilisation powers, then wouldn’t the Government have been better advised to use them for its gains in the absence of an alternative leadership to hold off terrorists? The dossier also mentions his comments on social media against the decisions on Articles 370 and 35-A, which had the potential of disturbing public order. Truth is such criticism and dissent have been voiced by all Kashmiris, political pundits and analysts across the country and Omar hasn’t said anything original or incendiary. If anything, his last tweet before detention was an appeal to Kashmiris to “keep calm.” Now this blanket assumption of his criticism as nothing short of terror portends a clampdown on even routine dissent as an unacceptable sin. By this logic, any criticism of Kashmir policies may disqualify any one of us as a citizen and subject us to the assessment, like in Mumbai, of a taxi driver, who may report us to the police. Mehbooba, with whom the Modi 1.0 had an alliance, has been punished for her stand against Article 370, 35A and cow lynchings.

Frankly, Mehbooba’s views, too, have been no different from the general observations made by everybody who has exercised the democratic right to disagree. Besides, by levelling such a woolly chargesheet, the Government is itself subjecting itself to a flurry of questions. How can it explain why in its earlier avatars, it had coopted both Omar and Mehbooba as valued allies without assessing their threat potential to national security? Was it opportunist then and a realist now or is it the other way around? With this in-your-face victimisation, the Government is only foisting some kind of martyrdom on both Omar and Mehbooba, whom Kashmiris have distrusted as New Delhi’s puppets throughout their political careers. Particularly Omar, who has endeared himself as a genial and engaging fighter, is becoming the face of quiet resistance in the vacuum that is the Valley. Either the Government wants that secessionist undercurrent to continue as it does its political economy, or it simply wants to create another enemy of the people as an excuse for non-performance. The BJP’s one-time acolytes may cost it dear.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

Leave a comment

Comments (0)

Opinion Express TV

Shapoorji Pallonji

SUNGROW

GOVNEXT INDIA FOUNDATION

CAMBIUM NETWORKS TECHNOLOGY

Opinion Express Magazine