Mirwaiz Umar Farooq appears to have sensed the mood of the people in Kashmir,and their ever sharpening appetite for peace. He has also acknowledged the unique position in which Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is in to take a call on Kashmir issue, primarily because of theunprecedented mandate that the people of the country have given to him for thesecond time since 2014. Now it is up to the Prime Minister that how he treadsthe path that would help Kashmiris live in peace.
This is not the first time when the Mirwaiz has voiced sucha hope, but this time this optimism is laced with some realism as well. It needs to be analysed that on what date,time, place and the circumstances these words have been said . The occasion wasJumat –ul-Vida – the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadhan. He used thepulpit of Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, from where he has been delivering religioussermons drawing the contours of politics of Kashmir from time to time –sometime adopting a moderate tone, and, on other occasions quite strident ,depending on the situation in which he finds himself. It would be better to say, the circumstances in which Kashmir reeled or revelled – there have been nooccasions when the Kashmir has revelled in anything for the past few decades.
Significantly, the message that he delivered on May 31st isa definite linkage between peace and resolution of Kashmir crisis as per wishesof the people. This may sound a cliché, that has been used quite often in theKashmiri lexicon by the leadership. The importance of this, however, lies inthe fact that a reality has dawned on the people that Modi’s mandate is simplymassive and the voter in the country was conscious that to whom he was votingfor. The symbol was BJP’s lotus, but the vote was for the strong PM Modi. Thisstrength of the mandate has reinforced the idea with a new thrust that he alonecan resolve the Kashmir issue.
A re-reading of the words in the official press releaseissued by the APHC on Friday reveal so many things all at once . It read :”APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that “as people of India overwhelminglyvoted for Mr. Narendra Modi and his party back into power, this mandate givesPM Modi the opportunity and the power to play a decisive role in the resolutionof the long-pending Kashmir conflict which has consumed generations ofKashmiris and is preventing durable peace and development in the entireregion.”
Decoding of this 56-word sentence , the prefix of Mr. beforethe name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi included, tells (a) overwhelmingmandate that Modi has got in the just concluded general election ,(b) thismandate throws up an opportunity and grants power to Modi to play a “decisiverole” in resolving K issue,(c) genesis of the K problem because it has consumedgenerations ( to be precise three generations beginning with those born in late1970s or early 1980s) , (d) more significantly because this issue has preventedreconciliation between India and Pakistan that threatened the regional peace ;the latest and the dangerous example being the Pulwama terror attack and what followed thereafter, bringing the twocountries close to a war.
This is realism . It cannot be denied that Kashmir conflict,from whichever angle it is viewed , is a peace destabilising factor. He alsobrought Pakistan into picture as usual. Kashmiri leadership is aware of therole that Pakistan has played in Kashmir – trouble maker then calls fordialogue . That is something that deflates all chances of peace in the region.The dialogue is important. More important than the dialogue is sincerity behindtalks. The guiding factor should be peace not seeking premium in the name of “freedom struggle” used as a peddleto further troubles.
All hesitations should be shed, and certain frankquestions must be asked. Didn’t theleadership play a mouthpiece for the trouble makers at times. How an attack acrossthe border be an act of terror , and the similar type of attack in Kashmir andother parts of India is attributed to the “liberation struggle.” The tags ofmartyrdoms are given in plenty without understanding the impact it could haveon the youngsters. If dialogue is theanswer to the problem, the space for the suicide bombings should be closed .The Hurriyat did not act responsibly, its words, if scrutinised closely , show that it had no control on thedictionary or the vocabulary of their own.
It is a good signthat the Hurriyat has attempted to comeout of its self-woven dreams and graspedthe reality. Let’s wait for the moment when Modi takes the decisive step inthis direction. Kashmiri leadership will have to untie their knots first.