People are watching

If no spin is given to it, Omar Abdullah's meeting with the local press was a mild ripple in the frozen waters of the local media. At least there was some talk. No matter what that was. No electrifying news, or a sensational revelation, can come from anywhere right now in Kashmir. As things stay in a state of dead freeze, a free conversation in an unencumbered atmosphere is like a stroke of warmth. On a couple of earlier occasions when Omar Abdullah had interactions with civil society gatherings, it brought a psychological relief. In the given times, asking for more may sound like asking for moon!!!

On all such occasions, like in the press interaction this week, many issues were raised. As the chief minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah heard it all, and responded well. Even in these grim times, his ability to articulate generates some glow. Truth be told, he picks up questions well, and his answers are honest. He doesn't evade, doesn't confuse. He even comments plainly about the core political issues. Certainly there are occasions, and there are issues, where he cannot express himself as he would want to, but that is understandable. After all there are things that are not said, yet heard very well.

These conversations with the society, with the people, must go on. But there is a danger that needs to be spotted well in advance. While the room warms up with these interactions, the elephant in the room should not be missed. The talk on things like reservation, power cuts, jobs, media freedom, ecological concerns, and a basket of such issues is needed. These issues matter to people, and whatever this government can do to resolve these issues, should be done. But identification of such issues, and a government follow up on these, must not take all the light, leaving the space dark where the elephant is majestically seated. Omar's job as a political leader is far bigger than providing 200 units of free electricity, or expressing sympathy with the youth who are becoming a victim of new reservation policy. These are the times when Omar Abdullah and National Conference can play a role that goes a long way in creating better times not only for the people of Kashmir, or Jammu, but for the populations beyond. If only there is a will, there is an intent, and there is a realisation. The follow up on the 'smaller' issues should contribute to the follow up of the core issue.

The divisive mathematics thrust on us in the form of the new reservation policy is not just about reservation policy. The darkness during severe cold gifted to us is not just about the shortage of electricity. The taxation trauma inflicted on us through revenue officials is not just about faults in the revenue department's functioning. The roads laying a ring of siege around our habitations, and possibly creating a new landscape of population, is not just about crass development. The runaway tourism, opening up virgin destinations for crowds, is not just about brazen disregard towards eco-tourism. The joblessness that is on a rise like never before is not just about the absence of posts in government departments. All this is true, but all this points towards the truth. And in the end it matter where you place the truth - in the first place or the second place.

National Conference was not voted by the people of Kashmir to rule, or to act as a ruling party. National Conference was voted to act as a compass to keep alive the sense of direction. As the pressures from outside and inside mount on Omar Abdullah, a keen watch on how the party conducts itself attains primacy. This focus on the party can be ensured by ensuring focus on the politics. If any issue or a pack of issues, howsoever important, occupies the centre of attention, that signals danger. Small politics is an attractive offer, and there is no dearth of smaller players in Kashmir.

Right now, all hope is buried deep underneath the rock bottom layer. But if this hopelessness is normalised, that is the end of the story. National Conference, at the least, should decline to become a scriptwriter for that story. We, as people, must have a future that we can say is our future. Accepting that we can only be at the receiving end, believing there is no way than to accept what is thrown at us, means an end of a people. This election sent a message that people haven't disappeared. Omar Abdullah has, on multiple occasions, acknowledged the people's act of sending across that message. He should stay faithful to that message. In his own solitude, and in the core conversations of the party, he should keep those sounds playing over and over again.

How, and who, watches you from the top may or may not matter in the end. But a common Kashmiri observing you from the ground matters in the end. In the end, people, not empires, survive. There are people in Kashmir, there are people in Indian – it's a people's republic.