Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has tried to strike a chord with the Hurriyat leaders by asking them to open communication channels with him. He has surprised everyone by putting the ball in Hurriyat’s court.
“I have a message for Hurriyat that they should not consider me as an alien. As far as Hurriyat is concerned, I have respect for them, even though their ideology is different from mine. They have a different ideology and I have a different one,” the Governor Malik said. (Greater Kashmir Jan 16, 2019).
Malik, who took over the charge of Jammu and Kashmir just few months ago, has remained in news for one or the other reason. His political background has made him a “darling” of media as reporters know it very well that he is a perfect newsmaker.
He has admitted that Hurriyat leaders have a different ideology, but this difference can be put aside. They can approach him directly with the complaints about “atrocity and injustice” to common people that they may come across. The Governor Malik seems to have made an attempt to break the ice. But his “friendship offer” is just confined to making the complaints. The offer has not gone beyond a point. But the question is has Governor Malik sought New Delhi’s approval or he has extended the olive branch to Hurriyat leaders at his personal level?
When PDP-BJP coalition was in power, and the then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had invited the Hurriyat leaders for talks. She had sent an invitation on the letter head of her party. She did not invite them for parleys as Chief Minister but as the president of Peoples Democratic Party. This time around Governor Malik has not sent any letter but has asked the Hurriyat leaders to get in touch with him as he is the head of the state and can take the cognizance of their complaints. Someone needs to ask Mehbooba Mufti why she used party’s letter head and not the letterhead of CM’s secretariat at that point of time. Is it that she didn’t want to annoy New Delhi?
Governor Malik’s offer can put him in trouble also as the hardliners sitting in New Delhi are likely to question his move. Since the day BJP led NDA government has taken over the reins of the country it has left no stone unturned to make Hurriyat leaders irrelevant. Governor Malik by reaching out to them has given a sort of legitimacy to them, which many people sitting in Delhi won’t like. His invitation to them acknowledges the fact that desired results cannot be achieved without the involvement of Hurriyat leaders.
There is bleak possibility about Hurriyat leaders responding to Governor Malik’s offer as they know it very well that the Governor Malik represents New Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir and he cannot cross the line. They are aware about the fact that Governor Malik has put the ball in their court to tell the world that as head of the state he had made an attempt to reach out to the Hurriyat leaders and they should have responded.
Soon after Governor Malik extended an olive branch to Hurriyat leaders few mainstream politicians welcomed the move and urged the head of the state to take one more step by getting the political prisoners released so that it can serve as confidence building measure. It remains to be seen whether the Governor Malik would take one more step or would he just cut it short.
When late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India, the then BJP led government had held talks with few Hurriyat leaders and at that point of time the then “powerful” deputy Prime Minister L K Advani had met a few separatist leaders in New Delhi. Interestingly, that time also the talks offer had come just a few months before the parliamentary polls and this time also the offer has come just a few months before the general elections. What a coincidence. When Advani held talks with Hurriyat leaders it was widely speculated that he had advised them to contest the elections and then come forward for the talks. Is it that Governor Malik is also trying to tell the Hurriyat leaders what Advani had told them?
(Javaid Malik is Senior Editor Greater Kashmir)
malikjavaid123@gmail.com