The main issue that motivated Muhammad Ali Jinnah to demand a separate state of Pakistan was the security and welfare of Muslims in the post-colonial Hindu majority India. Once Pakistan became a reality the political leadership of our state in J&K chose India as their destiny for its secular and democratic promise as did millions of other Indian Muslims who preferred not to migrate to the new dominion. The leaders of Indian National Congress of that time constantly projected India as a secular state where people of all religions shall have equal freedom to profess and propagate their religion.
But the reality of contemporary India is contrary to the ideals of founding fathers. Indian Muslims, like dalits, are under constant fear and threat to their lives and property. From the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri of Uttar Pradesh to the gruesome murder of Mohammad Afrazul in Rajasthan by one Shambhulal Regar it seems India is turning out to be an unsafe place for minorities, particularly the Muslims. The murderer of Mohammad Afrazul is now circulating new videos from jail propagating communal hatred.
At the lowest ladder of marginality and discrimination are the Kashmiri Muslims. Our students are soft targets in the rest of India. Almost on daily basis they bear the brunt of hostile mobs. Only in this month two Kashmiri students were beaten in Haryana on some flimsy grounds. On the one hand the government of India is providing scholarships and arranging all India tours for Kashmiri youth but on the other it has done nothing to prevail upon the forces of hate and crime. Rather many of BJP’s MPs and MLAs endorse the attacks on Muslims in different parts of the country. Only in this month, February 2018, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said that Muslims must leave India: “They have been given their lands….they should go to Pakistan or Bangladesh. What are they doing here?” The aversion of Muslims extends to the persecuted Rohangiyas who are living under miserable conditions in some pockets of Jammu. When the recent unfortunate attack on army camp at Sunjwan Jammu took place the speaker of the legislative assembly immediately put the blame on Rohangiyas. The BJP MLAs, instead of allowing some space for discussion, bullied the opposition by raising “Pakistan Murdabad” slogans. Even a veteran politician like Muhammad Akbar Lone was cornered; out of emotional outburst he chanted “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans. All hell broke loose thereafter and attention was diverted from Sunjwan to Pakistan. Since then a systematic campaign is underway in Jammu region for the eviction of Rohangiyas.
What about Kashmiri traders? They are not safe either. A local traders body in Mussoorie has asked Kashmiris who sell garments from rented shops in the city to leave. The president of the association Rajat Aggarwal argues that the presence of more Kashmiri Muslim traders will disrupt communal harmony in the hill station. Kashmiri traders were blamed to have raised “Pakistan zindabad” slogans after the Champions trophy cricket final between India and Pakistan in June last year. But the enquiry report by the police found that none of the Kashmiris were involved in the sloganeering. One of the traders Fayaz Ahmed Malik wrote a letter to local BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi and Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt. He asked a very pertinent question: “Are we not a part of this country? If we are, then why are we being forced to leave Mussoorie?”
The Othering of Kashmiri Muslims is not confined to common masses only. The state level administrative officers from Kashmir division are also facing discrimination in the state administrative set-up. It was recently reported in a local daily that the secretary-level Kashmiri officers are threatening mass resignation once they were conveyed that no BJP minister is willing to take them as administrative secretaries in their ministries. So the venom of communal hatred has reached the top echelons of power.
You can imagine the state of affairs when even the Kashmir based ministers are complaining about discrimination and neglect. The minister for education Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari was encountered by ABVP activists at a function in Jammu. Unhappy over the security lapse he lamented: “Just because I am a Kashmiri minister no security was provided to me. The administration was informed about the function and my visit to the place but I didn’t see any officer there.” He further added: “Our Kashmiris speak truth that we don’t have any safety or security outside Kashmir…. Altaf Bukhari is not ready to work in such a state of affairs. When a minister having Z plus security is not protected then only God can save this state.”
All this lands us at the door of PDP-BJP alliance in the state. This dispensation has failed miserably on multiple fronts. Our economy is not keeping well in the aftermath of double shocks of ‘devaluation’ and ‘demonetization’. Unemployment rate is high and allegations of nepotism are out in public domain. The penetration of RSS in the state has created new communal fault-lines. The people in the border regions are on the run due to unrelenting shelling from both sides. What can we expect from the state government when the National General Secretary of the BJP publicly proclaims that the J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba is not going to decide about talks with Pakistan? This ‘alliance of extremes’ has failed to keep its promise.
Dr. Bashir Ahmad Veeri is a former member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council. Views are personal