“Tell the truth or someone will tell it
for you”
In June 2013, my article titled ‘Why
Boycott Elections’ was published in many newspapers. I had argued that
boycotting elections was to indirectly legitimize corrupt politicians holding
power.
Boycott means casting zero per cent vote.
Despite a boycott call by separatists, nowhere in the state was boycott observed
fully. Anything between 40 and 60 per cent votes were cast. This shows that boycott call was an exercise
in futility.
When out of anger people go on strike
against their present or past rulers, NC, Congress and PDP activists are
obliged to cast vote to their respective parties. They seize power and continue
exploiting the people.
A year is yet to go for the onset of new
elections. But to ease Ali Shah Geelani’s detention and set him free and his immediate
resolve to campaign against elections has stimulated an interesting debate in
current Kashmir politics. Some accuse NC of join hands with Geelani to hatch a
conspiracy. He has been allowed to initiate intense campaign for boycotting
elections. Previously he had not been permitted even to participate in Friday
prayers or to attend marriage or condolence ceremonies of his relatives. He was
not allowed to offer Eid namaz. How come now that all of a sudden NC has become
so munificent to him? At the same time in two rallies which he addressed in
Sopor and Shupian, emphasis was on boycott of elections. This lends credence to
the doubts of his freedom from detention being attributed to anti election
tirade.
On the other hand, Chairman of Hurriyat
(M) Mirwaiz Omar Farooq has adopted a very reasonable stance in regard to
elections. His statement has appeared in social media and in the press. He has
said that elections would have no impact on Kashmir issue and it is premature
to initiate boycott campaign.
We do not know whether Hurriyat (M) units
will take part in elections or not. But for some time we have been noticing
that Mirwaiz has almost given up sentimentalism in regard to Kashmir issue and
has been speaking of ground realities and problems of the masses. Obviously
talking politics based on ground realities and facts means giving ammunition to
one’s political opponents.
Ever since Mirwaiz began to give vent to
ground realities, a whisper campaign against him has begun in various circles
and places of public assembly. It has to be remembered that finding solution to
the problems of people and disputes through peaceful dialogue and meaning full
logic is what would be fruitful for the oppressed people. Political
personalities find their status and prestige enhanced on this count. A glaring example is of Nelson
Mandela.
Geelani
has begun his election boycott campaign with full swing immediately after his
release from the jail. The campaign started from his rally in Sopor. The
question is that there still is a year to go by for the elections in the State
and the mainstream political parties have not as yet initiated a campaign. What
makes Geelani hasten his premature campaign? Political circles believe that the
government may not let him be free for a long time. Therefore he wants to
utilize the interregnum maximally.
Amusingly
he has been eliciting promises of election boycott from the same persons who
were instrumental in getting 64 Kashmiri youth martyred during 2008 turmoil,
yet the people came out in large numbers and cast their vote. Let us face the
truth. In the early stages when our youth wielded the gun, call for election
boycott or for non-cooperation with the government did yield perfunctory
results. But barring a few places, by and large, boycott call was not responded
to in most of the State. In practical terms, boycott did help such political
parties regain power as have been sucking the blood of the people for 65 years
in the past. They are the parties that performed the role of B Team for Indian
armed forces. Unfortunately the separatist groups do not understand that with a
view to liberate the people from the clutches of the corrupt and tyrannical
rulers they should discard the boycott and instead should (a) either take part
in elections or send truly sincere and honest candidates to represent them in
the assembly (b) consider elections unnecessary and therefore ignore them and
leave the decision to the discretion of the people. It has to be remembered
that there are numerous examples in the world when people running anti-foreign
occupation campaign did take part in domestic elections.
People
were bewildered to hear a whisper that Geelani was released from the jail to
run the election boycott campaign. That would be an advantage to the NC. When
soon after his release he initiated election boycott campaign, it lent credence
to the rumor that an understanding of sorts had been struck between him and the
NC. Well, Geelani needs to contradict
the whisper.
Both
factions of Hurriyat cry hoarse about implementation of UN Resolutions on
Kashmir. On March 30, 1951 UN Resolution No. 91/1951 laid down that casting
votes for electing legislators to the assembly in J&K would not be a
substitute to plebiscite. The UN Resolution stipulates that the people of the
State have a right to cast vote to be either with India or Pakistan. Local
elections are fought for solving problems of the people. The exact wording of
the UN Resolution is, “…under the UNO resolution No. 91/1961 of 30th
March elections in Kashmir would not be a substitute for the UN mechanism on
Kashmir.” It needs to be reminded that this resolution was passed when
elections were held under the towering personality of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
Why does
Geelani repeatedly try to thrust his opinion on the people? Why does he contend
that India is linking up the elections in the State to the Kashmir issue
meaning the right of self determination of the people? Has he read all the UN
Resolutions on Kashmir with all seriousness or is he distorting them to suit his
own thinking? We would remind him that the UN resolution according to which
Geelani is seeking resolution of Kashmir issue is the very resolution under
which local elections are meant to solve people’s day to day problems. These
elections do not exert any impact on the fundamental resolutions of the UN on
Kashmir. Should not Geelani and the organizations that want solution according
to UN resolutions struggle for implementation of the precise resolution meaning
plebiscite instead of giving calls for boycott of local elections? What is the
purpose of wasting the energy of his people on an irrelevant issue since the UN
has already conceded it.
My
experience and my thinking is that the separatist organizations should either
remain silent and tell the people that for the purpose of protecting their
local interests they should vote in favour of honest and nationalist candidates
who would sincerely Endeavour to solve the problems facing the people or take
courage and participate actively in the elections and thereof obstruct the
entry of corrupt, deceitful and the surrogates of the army from entering the
assembly. Supreme commander of
Liberation Front, Amanullah Khan put the issue of freedom of entire State of
Jammu and Kashmir to one side and took decision to participate in the municipal
elections of Azad Kashmir. Why should not the separatists take part in
elections to the assembly seats?
I would
like to add here that within hours after his meeting with the Pakistani envoy
Sartaj Aziz in New Delhi, Geelani said that gun and violence would solve the
Kashmir issue. Obviously he said it out of frustration.
The
Pakistani delegate muss have told him how circumspect Pakistan is today in
providing support to armed insurgency in Kashmir. Geelani cannot close his eyes
to thousands of youth killed in their fight against the Indian army and the
ever increasing number of graveyards where the dead remain buried. This is the
gift of the gun and only those families that have lost their near and dear ones
can feel the pain of this tragedy. Does Geelani mean to ask for more sacrifices
of human lives for a goal that is elusive?
Apart
from the purport of this article, it is to be mentioned that people in Kashmir
are waiting since long to meet with their relatives. Issuance of a passport is
delayed for years at end on very flimsy grounds. The IG of CID has made
people’s life miserable. He has become as arrogant as to refuse people even a
meeting to explain their problems. Is it because he is said to be very close to
the Chief Minister? How can he become
anti-people and behave like an autocrat and overrun the rules and practices?
This article was published in various Pakistani and Kashmiri newspapers.
