Bankho Wazeer-i-A’ala!

By Dr. Muhammad Sameer Shafi Siddiqui

The electioneering process for 2024 assembly polls has by now been able to create a distinct niche for itself in the collective consciousness of Kashmiri society. 

Cutting across the political divide, the candidates have been busy employing all the traditional as well as novel means to woo the voters with most of the lanes and by-lanes of every poll bound mohalla, village, town and city reverberating with the electioneering slogans and folk songs, with one rap song “Bankho Wazeer-i-A’ala” (May you become the Chief Minister!) catching the popular imagination everywhere. 

Being a humble student of social sciences, the current electoral process has given me an ample chance to learn for myself on ground about the influences of various social factors prevalent in the Kashmiri society upon the evolution of an emergent political scenario, with many of my acquaintances including some known political faces, some old family friends, some relatives as well as few of my childhood friends jumping into the fray.

One of the prime factors which has always held and still holds true in the political scenario of Kashmir, vis a vis the political parties deciding the candidature of the aspirants pertains to the dynastic legacy of many of these candidates. The preference is often given to the kith and kin of those political leaders who, whether dead or alive, have in one way or other created a ripple or two in the murky waters of Kashmiri politics. These political progenies have an edge upon others in gaining the party mandates because of their potential appeal to invoke the sensibilities of their loyalists in their strong family bastions. Their bargaining power with the political parties, vis a vis their traditional support bases, at times makes some of these political progenies bold enough to change their parental organisations so as to get through the elections, without caring much about the ideological commitments held dear by their family patriarchs. This trend, throughout the subcontinent and equally so in Kashmir, is a stark reminder of the fact that most of the political parties, while deciding the allocation of mandates, give preference to the hereditary political legacy and see win-ability of the candidates rather than to their ideological commitments and sincerity towards these parties.      

Another aspect of dynastic influence upon the party politics and upon our electoral system as such pertains to the preferential status given by the political outfits to the candidates bearing a strong socio-economic or religious legacy. Many of the candidates in Kashmir have hitherto been successful in gaining a political face over times because of their belonging to the erstwhile Zaildar (Landlord) families, which have remained prominent enough in their respective vicinities during the heydays days of Dogra Raj and whose prominent scions have time and again tried to maintain their socio-political standing by jumping into the electoral bandwagon. Although wide scale urbanisation has made these families move towards the city, yet the politically motivated members of these erstwhile ‘high society’ families occasionally come to reside, mostly during the election seasons in their ancestral villages so as to keep their hold and connection with the electorate alive. They are still able to connect with the people of their vicinities by invoking some typical anecdotes of their family patriarchs and most of the naive ones living adjacent to their respective backyards still consider it a luxury to sip kong (saffron) Kehwa in the Dewankhanas (drawing rooms) of these erstwhile Zaildar villas so as to boost their own social status and to remain in the good books of these social elites in case of their eventual victory. Although these candidates as a general trend try to evolve a development oriented narrative in their locales, yet their elitist aura often overrides the egalitarian values and practical benefits of democracy at the grass root levels. 

Significant religious and spiritual legacy of a candidate and his potential influence to address the sacred or religious sentiments of the electorate more than often becomes a deciding factor for a candidate in his gaining a ticket from one of the significant political parties. During the recently concluded parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the fate of the two important winning candidates was, notwithstanding many other political reasons, largely determined on the basis of their respective religio-spiritual identities. Even in the ongoing assembly elections, some of the prominent faces including some newly introduced ones from prominent clerical families have been given a chance by the political parties to jump into the political arena. Including all other relevant means, these candidates ontologically connect with the larger audiences, to use Rudolf Otto’s words, on the basis of the “Idea of The Holy”. Still here a sort of intangible and ideational religious phantasmagoria at times overshadows  a tangible and a pragmatic narrative fruitful for the sustenance of a vibrant democratic culture. This is not to say that people with some sort of political or socio-religious legacy should not join politics. The intended meaning of the entire foregoing is that the contesting candidates must come to the fore with their own ideas, sense of achievements and utilitarian aspirations rather than clinging to their larger than life images duly enhanced rather manipulated by their dynastic affiliations. 

Another noteworthy feature of the ongoing assembly elections is the participation of a select few highly qualified youth mostly PhD scholars in the current elections. Their hitherto insignificant political backgrounds couldn’t earn them a mandate from any of the political parties, yet in order gain a currency for their narrative of demanding a dignified livelihood for the highly qualified youth in the society, they have decided to fight it as independents with some of them even gaining a tacit endorsement from Jama’at-e-Islami, a banned socio- religious and political organisation often accused of holding radical views about society and polity in general. The ‘angry young men’ type image of these youthful contenders to change the society for good has in some isolated pockets enabled them to connect with the youth at a much higher wavelength than the traditional netas. Similarly, seeing a fruitful response vis a vis the sympathy wave generated for a political prisoner in the recently conducted parliamentary elections, another similar kind of experiment is being repeated in these assembly elections by the followers of another political candidate. By far these ‘prisoners of conscience’ types and these ‘angry young men’ types are adding a new dimension to the political scenario, particularly of the Kashmir Valley. 

Although most of the regional parties including the independent political candidates backed by Jamat are playing on the narrative of safeguarding and keeping the regional aspirations of the Kashmiri people abreast, with all of them including  some nationalist parties warning people to keep the divisive rightwing communal politics at bay, yet due to the lack of a unified stand and a practical roadmap, it appears that the fear psychosis of the rightwing communal politics is just employed by the regional and some national stakeholders to be relevant in the political scenario of Kashmir in the post article 370 era.     

No doubt confusion and uncertainty is there in the air, but whatever will evolve out of this contemporary political process will definitely have a decisive and lasting effect upon the future of an intertwined Kashmiri society and polity. 

Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of  Kashmir Observer 

• The columnist is freelance writer and patron of Khanqah-e-Hydari, Aishmuqam

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