SRINAGAR: Even as the militants exercise remote control over the valley from their hideouts, it is evident that the conventional Kashmeri leaders some of them confirmed militants in their own way in the past appear to have lost much of their relevance, at least for the time being. The anxiety on the part of quite a few heavyweights among them is to be on the right side of the militants.
What matters here these days is what Azam Inquilabi and Shabir Shah are doing, the latter’s chance arrest on Thursday last not withstanding. Inquilabi, a former science teacher is said to be the brain behind the armed struggle and also well trained in firing the Kalash inkoy. Shabir Shah has fierce eyes, befitting a young man whose student life was cut short at the age of 14 for ¢antinational’ activities, Both are opposed to the State’s accession to India and one wonders why Shabir alone was declared a proclaimed offender.
Four other young men who have been declared proclaimed offenders are: Abd! Hamid Sheikh, Ashfaq Majid, Mohammad Yaseen Malik and Javed Ahmed Nalga. All of them, like Shabir Shah, carry an award of Rs 25,000 on their heads. Whatever the government may say, for the majority of the local educated youth these “offenders” are heroes who have stood up against the State “zulum.”
Seventy one year old Ghulam Mohidduin Karra, the underground hero of the Quit Kashmir movement in 1946 told this correspondent that the four men Abdul Hamid Ashfaq, Yaseen and Nalqa merely acting as polling agents for the MUF candidates in the last elections and were angry at the manner in which counting was conducted.
Mr. Karra had formed the Kashmir Political Conference on June 19, 1953 declaring the Kashmiris resolve to determine their future according to their natural tendency. In 1977 he threw his lot with his old friend, Jayaprakash Narayan to float the Janata Party in Srinagar. His legendary influence is proved by the fact that Rajiv Gandhi as AICCI general secretary, accompanied by his currently favorite party general secretary, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad had felt obliged to call on him at his residence in a room which still has Mr. Karra’s photograph with Jayaprakash Narayan.
The anger of the Kashmiri youth over the rigging of successive elections is understandable. Kashmir is perhaps the only state ‘were Opposition candidates have been ruthlessly prevented from entering the legislature. In the early sixties, the present PCCI chief Mohammad Sahfi Qureshi, then an opposition candidate was declared “defeated” although he was admittedly leading his rival. IN fact, barring 1977, when the Janata Party ruled at the Centre, no elections in the State have been considered free and fair.
But why should young men take to the gun as means to set the system right, unlike their predecessors who preferred peaceful and constitutional means to pro test against totalitarianism of the Central and State government? Says Mr. Abdul Bhani Lone of the People’s Conference: “Looking at the successive accords reached by the Centre, like in the case of Assam and Mizoram, the Kashmir youth is convinced that the Centre understands only the language of violence.”
Asked whether he does not feel that armed militants will reduce the role of conventional politicians like him, Mr. Lone says: “If it happens it is good. I am the happiest person at the militants entering the field. If I could not harass Farooq Abdullah by peaceful means and if somebody else does it, it is good … How can I mobilize the people against the militants if nothing is done about rigging the elections?”
“How far can we go on living on rigged elections?” Mr. Lone asks. “There have been fraudulent elections all through. Why should the militants not surface and why should they not get the public support? Nothing could have happened if the MUF had come to power in the last elections. As it is, the MUP has already split into two factions and there may be further segmentation.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 20, 1989
