K.Ps' Interests Need Protection

Jagan Nath Dhar  

The elections, held last month in Jammu and Kashmir, show that less than 25 percent of the State's population supports the separatists agenda. The rest of the 75 per cent wants to be a part of the democratic and secular atmosphere provided in India. A few voters in the cities of Srinagar, Baramulla, Anantnag and Sopore accepted the call for the boycott of elections given by the All-Party Hurriyat Conference and its friendly parties. It had little effect on the rest of the population of the State-not even on the rural areas of the Kashmir Valley.

It had little effect on the rest of the population of the State-not even on the rural areas of the Kashmir Valley It had little effect on the rest of the population of the State-not even on the rural areas of the Kashmir Valley The People's Democratic Party the political wing of the separatists, has got more seats than it got in the last election, but the party is unhappy that it cannot become a part of the government in the state. The patron of the party started his political career as a secularist. He became a minister in the state government as a political progressive and declared himself to be opposed to regressive politics. Later, he assumed one of the most sensitive and powerful ministerial posts in the Central secular Cabinet. In both these positions he gave an impression that he is a highly patriotic Indian nationalist But, later in order to continue to remain in power and to secure votes through means, right and wrong, he joined separatist and communal forces and made the same demands as where made from across the border by Pak President Musharraf before he was thrown out of power.

The J&K elections have been described as free and fair in the subcontinent and outside. The voters, a politically enlightened citizenry, were conscious of the fact that such fairness is un-imaginable in the Pak-occupied Kashmir They know that in the POK the cabinet is formed not by the elected representatives of the area but by a secretary of the Pak Federal government, sitting in Islamabad The J&K voters are also conscious of the fact that conditions are further worse in Gilgit and other Northern Areas of Pakistan, which have neither an Assembly, nor the upper House.

With all the good things for these elections, these have been of little happiness for Kashmir Pandits: The unfortunate community has been forced to leave the Valley and is living in far-off places. Its members have no facility of meeting at a common place where they could discuss the issues relating to them and concretise their political agenda. In their beloved Jammu and Kashmir they have nowhere a constituency whose majority of voters would be sympathetic to their cause.

Some political elements-close to the powers-that-be-are currently busy in trying to nominate a KP to the State Assembly and another to the upper House in order to further the programme of such parties. The candidate, thus selected, is expected to have less sympathy for the KP cause and more respect for the political elite that prompts him or her.

This type of eventuality was visualised by the Kashmir Samiti, Delhi a long time ago. It was, therefore, that the Samiti suggested to KPs to boycott the polls. This call was adhered to by a majority of the community members. A few members thought otherwise. Some of them filed nomination papers, but none of them could succeed, and many lost their deposits. If they had followed the Samiti's suggestion they would have saved their efforts, money and respect. Since they took the undesired step they lost all the three. For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, no Kashmir Pandit got elected to the Assembly.

We wish well to all the people of the state. We wish good to the new government. We want to remind it that seven lakh Kashmiri Pandits are forced to live outside Kashmir in uncomfortable circumstances. A few thousands of them, currently living in the Valley, also are having an uneasy time. The new government should protect the interests of this unprotected community so that its members are able to enjoy the nights given to them by the democratic, secular Constitution of the country.

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Courtesy: Jagan Nath Dhar and January 2009,  Koshur Samachar,