LAST year on August 4th , 2019 when the signatories of the gupkar declaration met and vowed to fight against any assault on the autonomy of J&K, nobody took them seriously and I fear nobody takes them seriously even now. And why must one blame the people who’ve lived through decades of broken promises and betrayals.
However, it is in the nature of every turn of event for us to pin some hopes in it. Now, that the mainstreams parties have come together and revised the Gupkar declaration; one wonders if they are trying to bring dignity back and trying to salvage themselves.
For years these politicians have made promises after promises to the people of J&K and broke them again and again. One can clearly say that they have lost their place in the political spectrum of J&K, and not only that, only a miniscule group of people trust them and believe that they are honestly fighting to undo what happened on 5th august last year.
The “new alliance” has its own loopholes and ideological asymmetries which puts it to a lot of doubts and questions regarding how they are going to pull it off. The way the BJP has busted governments by trading MLAs in different states and toppling governments, it is really hard to fathom that it wouldn’t happen with the Kashmiri politicians, as the Kashmiri politicians have a sorry history of selling out.
The political reality of J&K stands in oblivion. India isn’t ready to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, and naturally Pakistan won’t accept it. The separatist politics in Kashmir has been choked out, none of their leadership can be seen anywhere. The mainstream politics also doesn’t stand any ground.
Whatever activity we see is by the BJP, and it doesn’t interest the Kashmiris. There is a conscious effort by the home ministry to somehow try to make people accept last years’ events. Material benefits are being considered and one might think that these promises do hold ground as the BJP needs to justify their actions.
This is a long road of uncertainty that the people of J&K might have to bear with for some time. The road for the People’s Alliance is difficult; they have to win the trust of the people. It will be fascinating to see what means and ways the alliance would take to seek what they ask for, and more than that, whether the people of the erstwhile state will trust this entity which they call “mainstream politicians” once more!
Burhan Ahmad
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