Straight Lines: Muddy Water's
Murky Politics!By Firdous Syed
27 August, 2007
Countercurrents.orgExcept in places like Jammu and Kashmir which have been less fortunate, democracy and regard for the rule of law are the greatest achievements of India during sixty years of its independence. Freedom of expression, which is cited as the hallmark of working democracy, is conditioned by a set of responsibilities. Propriety demands that people occupying the constitutional posts like that of President and Governor, remain insulated from the day-to-day functioning of the Executive and speak less to maintain decorum of the high office. But unfortunately Jammu Kashmir 'Ka Bawa-e-Adam Hi Nirala Hay'; here not only do we have a pro-active Governor, but he is also kind of a person who believes in sharing his "pearls of wisdom" on every second issue! Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S K Sinha, speaking at a function the other day, said "people who are demanding demilitarisation do not know what it means. It means vacating the entire region of the Army. Return of troops can take place when insurgency is under control, then the police can take over. Unfortunately we have not reached that stage yet."
Irrespective of the political controversy generated by the issue of demilitarization, it does not suit the Governor to express his opinion about it, that too by going out of way while Prime Minister of the country is seized with the problem. Even if there is a need to speak on the issue, the best person to speak for the government is the Chief Minister, the elected representative of the people. It serves nobody's interest to lower the prestige of the office of the Head of the State by dragging it in the middle of a political hullabaloo.
Furthermore, 'His Excellency' illustrates unconvincing reasons for the deployment of the present troop level in the state. He said the troop reduction had become a "favourite topic" for everybody and political parties were moving around claiming that one does not require five lakh Army for 1000 militants. "Let me tell you that there are thousand of sleeper cells and thousands of militants are waiting to take over, so let us not get misled by such superficial analysis."
Now whom should one believe: Chief Minister of the state who has day-in and day-out tirelessly been emphasising near-total return of normalcy and people "defeating the nefarious designs of militants", or the Governor who wants us to believe that there are thousands and thousands of Kashmiris waiting in the wings to pick up the gun again?
By speaking in so many voices government wants to confuse a rational demand of troops cut. If the situation has "improved tremendously" , what is the harm in sending troops back to the barracks and in the process giving some relief to the people? Actions speak louder than words - for the return of normalcy government is pained to paint a picture without being able to substantiate it by its actions on the ground! There has to be some palpable reason for such a huge deployment, as apparently there seems to be none at the moment.
But Governor seems to have given his mind by threatening us of "thousands of sleeper cells and thousands of militants waiting to take over." It is easy to infer from the Governor's statement that every Kashmiri, one time or the other, has supported the cause of militancy during the previous two-decades, and because of this they have become untrustworthy. If the forces are removed from the midst of the people, people may revolt again and situation will once again explode as it did in early 90's. Going by what Governor had said it becomes amply clear that the forces are here not to fight the militants only but to suppress the feelings of the common masses also. Another reason cited for the continuation of the present deployment level is some obscure statement made by someone in Pakistan parliament the other day. "Last week the Parliamentary Secretary in Ministry of Defence held out the threat of Jehad in Kashmir in the Pakistan Parliament". Now does it merit a response, that too when the Government in Pakistan has distanced itself from the said statement, terming it as individual utterances rather than a matter of state policy? Nobody here holds brief for General Musharraf, but it is a matter of fact and even a devil deserves his due, the levers of militancy have been effectively controlled by Islamabad as is sufficiently evident from the falling levels of violence inside Jammu and Kashmir.
There is no doubt about, a history of the mischief from the other side, but is India not committed to making peace and restoring trust so as to be able to normalise the relationship? If not, then any degree of vigil and preparedness for war will not be able to guarantee peace. The ever-hovering clouds of mistrust and jingoism are obviously not a good omen for peace in the region.
Time is a great leveller
Common masses have a natural tendency to eulogise people occupying high offices. The gullible among the lot even think of their rulers as immortal and perfect humans, cast in iron, with no human weaknesses and emotions. But contrary to this public notion, Prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh is deeply hurt these days and has claimed that the "BJP leaders had wished death for him because of his resolve to sign the nuclear deal. They didn't even believe I would last as the Prime Minister and some leaders even did 'havans' that I should die on a certain day. But I have faith on higher force. I believe it was my destiny to be PM. I have the courage of conviction." The fallacy of the lesser mortals got further exposed by a remark passed by National Democratic Alliance convener George Fernandes, when he said Prime Minister has "betrayed the nation" by "continuous bluffing" on the nuclear deal."If it were the United States, their House would have thrown out and disgraced the President if he had acted as Manmohan Singh. If it were China, they would have settled it with one bullet in his head."
Whatsoever the veracity of the allegations and counter-allegations , it is unimaginable for a common man and unbecoming of the rulers of the present and past to wish death to their opponents just to remain in power or to be back in the corridors of power by hook or by crook. Nobody is infallible in this imperfect world and less said about the ruling class the better it is. The sycophants and power-hungry out of their own compulsions may label rulers of the day, who otherwise possess less than the ordinary man's capabilities, as "visionaries" and men of history, but when Sun sets for the ruler of the day the leaders with so-called exceptional and inspirational leadership qualities too become pariahs. Needless to remind that "time is a great leveller" as sun moves on its axis so is the time.
Tailpiece: What has a protest rally, wherein people are agitating a rape case of a minor allegedly by an Army Jawan, to do with the slogans like "Azad Hindustan Zindabad" normally reserved for an integration rally? (People were protesting at Banihal, against a rape of a minor girl allegedly by Army Jawan P K Sarkar of 23 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in Ramsoo area). It has almost become a normal practice for the defence spokespersons to condemn any protest by the people for human rights violations as an attempt by the anti national elements to malign the security forces. One can safely assume that slogans like "Azad Hindustan Zindabad' and "Hindu Muslim Itihad" in a HR protest rally reflects the deep fear psychosis prevalent among the masses. It is pathetic that people protesting even the human rights violations have to wear their faith of allegiance with the State prominently on their sleeves to pre-empt any reprisal by the security forces.
(The writer can be contacted at [email protected]).
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