Was Hurriyat’s Poll Boycott call a ‘Self-Goal’?

The separatists may have put up a brave face by appearing to be unfazed by the fact that disregarding their recent poll boycott call, the people of Kashmir came out to vote in such large numbers that they created history of sorts. However, what is more worrying is the perfunctory manner in which the separatists have chosen to react to this unprecedented incident as it clearly suggests that rather than introspect on the wisdom of making such ill-considered decisions, the separatists seem more inclined (like always) to give this issue a quiet burial and then resurrect it again when the next elections come. However, even though this embarrassing development might not have upset the separatist conglomerate, it has certainly galled those who have reposed their unconditional faith on the Hurriyat for deliverance, since it has once again been a typical case of first making it appear that if the people participated in elections the heavens would fall, but when they did- promptly dismissing the same as something “meaningless”!    

The Hurriyat’s insistence in repeatedly giving poll boycott calls despite growing public sentiments to participate in elections is as baffling as its flip flop logic on this issue. Speaking to a newspaper, Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani defended the poll boycott call stating that “After 1987, election boycott has become an important part of our freedom struggle. The State of Jammu & Kashmir is a disputed territory and the elections in this region are not any democratic process but it is a military operation which is held to befool the Indian people and the international community.” In a subsequent statement, exuding confidence, he said that “We are sure that keeping in view the demerits of voting and highhandedness of the authorities, they (public) will boycott the upcoming elections.” However, when the people came out to vote in large numbers, the Hurriyat (G) chairman shocked everyone by saying that he was not at all surprised by the same! And this raises the question- if the venerable Hurriyat (G) chairman already knew that the people would come out to vote, then why did he raise this entire poll boycott hullabaloo?

While Geelani sahib was forthright in expressing his views, the stance of Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the poll boycott issue was carefully measured and this could well be because the Mirwaiz may have read the writing on the wall.  Initially, he linked his appeal for boycotting polls to a ‘cover-up conspiracy’, claiming that by calling for elections immediately after the massive deluge in Kashmir, “India wants to divert the attention of world community from the ground crises in Kashmir.” Subsequently he added an emotional angle by saying “We appeal people to boycott the coming polls so that we could prove our solidarity with those who have sacrificed their today for our tomorrow.” However, when the people did not pay heed to the poll boycott call, the Mirwaiz considered participation of public the elections to be “meaningless” and promptly supported this contention with the justification that “It (elections) cannot change the historic reality that the State (of J&K) is an internationally-recognised dispute.” This again raises the question- when the Mirwaiz is convinced that elections “cannot change the historic reality” of Kashmir, then why did he give poll boycott calls in the first place?

While the separatists are entitled to hold their strong reservations on the issue of elections in Kashmir, but before going public with their call for boycotting elections, they should have at least considered two basic issues. Firstly, whether the poll boycott call could in anyway be exploited by New Delhi and secondly, how would the international community receive this and react to the same? Though the separatists may not accept it, but there is no doubt that New Delhi has been able to capitalise upon the large voter turnout to reinforce its claim that this not only provides abundant proof that the Hurriyat does not represent the true aspirations of the Kashmiris but also that by casting their votes, the people of Kashmir have “rejected” separatist philosophy. Though the international community may not have out- rightly criticised the poll boycott call, it has certainly taken note of the same and made the elections in Kashmir a ‘Hurriyat versus New Delhi’ affair. To make matters worse, no one else has endorsed the Hurriyat (G) chairman’s view that “Their (New Delhi’s) tall claims of being part of a democratic setup are hoax,” nor has anyone questioned the credibility of the elections and this has certainly given New Delhi an upper hand!  

It is such combinations of contradictory thoughts and confusing acts that makes one really wonder whether the Hurriyat has any strategy or road map for taking the movement for the ‘right to self determination’ forward, or that it is just floundering in the dark and clutching at every ‘straw’ in sight. UN Resolution 91 clearly states “that the future of the State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.” When such an explicit provision on the future of J&K already exists, isn’t Geelani sahib’s assertion that the “Hurriyat has a clear stand regarding the election drama. Jammu & Kashmir is a disputed territory and the elections in this region are not any democratic process but it is a military operation which is held to befool the Indian people and the international community” absolutely superfluous? 

The Hurriyat thus needs to decide whether it itself endorses UN resolutions on Kashmir or not. When there is no doubt in the mind of the international community that elections in Kashmir are no substitute for plebiscite, then why does the Hurriyat feel so threatened whenever elections come? And if New Delhi is able to use Kashmir elections to “befool the Indian people and the international community,” then who is to blame? New Delhi- for following the democratic convention of holding elections, or the Hurriyat, which by giving poll boycott calls is only sowing seeds of doubt in the mind of the international community on the possibility of a link and correlation between elections and plebiscite? Thus if New Delhi succeeds in drawing diplomatic mileage from elections in Kashmir (which otherwise is really a non- issue), then we have only the Hurriyat to blame! 

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