Consider what people have done

It is not a moment of celebration, though a catharsis of sorts. It is a moment of deep reflection for all the well meaning political leaders in Kashmir, particularly in the National Conference. If this verdict of people in favour of National Conference is taken as the victory of a party, and the party begins to work out how the proceeds of this victory are ‘distributed’ among the workers and voters, then it is no less than tragic.

The people of J&K, the people of Kashmir region specifically, need a government that connects to them, true. The faceless bureaucracy that held sway for all these years is no less than an affliction for any people. That people have felt suffocated all these years because they had none to share their day to day miseries with. All this has informed the people’s decision to vote and vote in a particular way. But that is only a tip of the ice berg. The people have voted with a definite sense of politics. And it is that message the National Conference should decode and make as its political guide.

This is not a vote for National Conference, it is a vote for People’s Politics, a collective assertion. It may not be possible to figure out in terms of statistics, but National Conference must have got most of its votes from those who have nothing to do with the party, and have never been its support base. People voted for National Conference thinking that here is the right container of our collective politics at the moment. It is time for the leadership of National Conference to remain faithful to the trust reposed in it by the people.

The powers of the government have been curtailed to a degree that the assembly would be an almost a handcuffed creature. A Public Safety Act slapped against the House itself. But it can turn into an advantage.

The National Conference can focus more on politics, repairing the damage inflicted to it, almost to a mortal limit. When our “all is already gone”, it is time to raise some fundamental questions about politics, federalism, democracy and governance, involving the people across all regions of J&K, and across all identity markers. Omar Abdullah, rather than busying himself as the Chief Minister, or the party deputy, would do more good to people in Kashmir, to people in Jammu, and to people in larger spaces of India, by being a Chief Spokesman of the people of J&K. The barefaced falsity that has gone into forming the perception of a billion people about a minuscule population of Kashmir, needs unravelling, layer by layer, thread by thread, knot by knot. Omar Abdullah, with his articulation and understanding can take it upon himself to do the talking in this regard wisely, strategically, and effectively. We are not the enemies of anyone. We are not regressive. We have not lived all these years in a privileged or pampered state. Our story as a people is completely different than presented.

But there is a caveat. National Conference should do all its politics in a constructive and creative manner. While exposing the falsehood, while fighting the injustice, while wrestling with the toxic propaganda, we shouldn’t turn into a nuisance value. The test of our political wisdom is to attain real value in the larger political sphere of India. It needs a meticulous, consistent, and stern application of mind and heart. The alternative to hate is to unleash the power of humanity by speaking truth, even if it goes against us, at times.

National Conference leadership can, by engaging larger societal mind in Kashmir, and in India, begin a process of reconciliation. The current investment in hate and violence is spectacular, we need a matching effort to build human connects. One can understand the limitations of the National Conference in terms of its reach, its human resource, its working in a completely toxic atmosphere, but a step in right direction at this time can go a long way in reclaiming the path that leads to the safety and progress of people.

But for God’s sake, don’t parrot this word Secularism. There may have been a “time when it was proper”, but this is “a proper time for it to cease”. It is insulting to Kashmiri Muslims’ political sensibility, to use this word as a ‘political convenience.’ Islam, and Muslim society, have enough in them to accommodate others, live with others, develop, and be a part of a universally acceptable societal and political milieu. A human condition where we don’t tolerate each other, but embrace each other. Where the right of an individual to differ is inviolable. Where difference thrives, and dialogue is the way of life.

This time, a smaller set of people has spoken within Kashmir. Imagine when a bigger set of people speaks in India; what could it be. The task for the National Conference is to set the stage for that future change through a wider talk within, and with the people of India. Kashmiri Muslims are neither the enemies of Kashmiri Pandits, nor of the Hindus living anywhere in India. The ‘stones-and-guns’ image exploited to the hilt by the ideological mindset, by the electoral propaganda carried out at a massive scale, and by the hordes of men and women in the Indian TV studios, is too deep a toxicity to be drained out by speaking only within Kashmir.

This verdict shouldn’t die as an event, but attain a life of its own as a process. The path to politics is cleared by some steps, it is time to tread with caution, optimism, and a belief that along the way more people will join - here, there and everywhere.