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EDITORIAL

MATURE VOTERS

Bhartiya Janata Party has received massive drubbing during the recently held local elections in Gujarat. It has sent shockwaves in the party both at State and national level. To be precise it is the follow-up of what happened in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. There too the voters have been in punishing mode. That Gujarat repeats it is something that cannot be simply....more

NEW JAIL MANUAL

J&K State is amongst the few which has opted for reforming the jail system. Introduction of new jail manual replacing the old Punjab manual of 1930 indicates that the approach is reformative and not retributive. The entire manual is based on the theme that prisoners are normal human beings and they land in jail for succumbing to various types of temptations. ..more

Kashmir: Diplomacy
of Tracks

K.N. Pandita
Despite the animus and estrangement bedeviling their mutual relations, India and Pakistan have not really bolted the...more

Kashmir dispute in right perspective

By Sain Dass Sumbria
Whatever be our perceptions ''On Kashmir Accession with Indian Union'', all of us are well aware of its disputed character. This issue had/has been one......more

Stadia development
in the State

By Rajesh Dhar
Friends, we all know, that in the present era, sports have great significance all over the world. So, our State, which is not having a good standard in the field of sports and games......more

EDITORIAL

MATURE VOTERS

Bhartiya Janata Party has received massive drubbing during the recently held local elections in Gujarat. It has sent shockwaves in the party both at State and national level. To be precise it is the follow-up of what happened in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. There too the voters have been in punishing mode. That Gujarat repeats it is something that cannot be simply wished away. The gainer is of course the Congress Party which is surprised by the voters putting their full weight behind the Congress. It is apt to mention that Congress has been groping in the political darkness for the last two decades. It was in acute sickness unable to put its act together to defeat the BJP at the husting. There have been a lot of internecine squabbles even on the eve of the elections. To that extent Congress never expected such massive backing from the people giving it two-third of the seats leaving the BJP to lick the wounds with only one-third. It is as much true of the rural belts as the elections to the urban Corporations.

One really does not know how the voters would be alike during assembly elections or Lok Sabha elections. One thing is however certain that all is not well with the BJP party apparatus as also the ruling clan wherever it is in power. The Gujarat Government has been functioning well and has possibly done all that is needed for good Governance. Yet the voters appear to be in belligerent mood to punish the party at the husting. As the pattern is more or less identical where BJP fortunes continue to go for the dip like in States of UP, Rajasthan and now in Gujarat, it is time for the party to do some self-introspection. One can critically analyse the probable factors that continue to go against the BJP in as much as its public image is concerned. Votes indeed flow more from the image than from the performance. If there are 19 good items of proper governance just one bad item can spell doom.

First, BJP is known to be disciplined party, cadre based and national to the core. But the magnitude of internal fighting proves that it is no different from Congress. As long as party was out of power it behaved like a united and disciplined force. Once in power, infighting becomes almost cancerous. Such afflictions have manifested abundantly in almost all the State. Somewhere it is the caste factor. In other places it is the musical chair. Of course opportunism and egoism has also surfaced as never before. The overall image of the party thus stands damaged in pubic esteem as never before. Second, the party has compromised its principles. In the process it has annoyed its traditional supporters. This party was considered to be the party of the upper castes and business community. This vote base continued to gain momentum one election after another which catapulted BJP from paltry 2 MPs to 182 MPs to make it the largest single party in Lok Sabha. In its anxiety to broadbase its vote base to rule on its own, it has caused disillusionment in traditional base. They have begun to feel that at this rate party is no different from Congress as far as policies and priorities are concerned. It continues to be labelled as the rank communal party by the opposition despite calls of the new party President indicating his overzealousy to win the support of the minorities. This appeal and policy enunciation comes at a time when Hindutva forces created many problems for the BJP Government in Gujarat. Such appeal has not clicked with minorities so far but it has definitely caused alienation amongst the traditional voters. In fact, VHP has warned BJP that more shocks and massive drubbing awaits it for playing soft.

Third, many vital decisions remain elusive due to lack of cohesion in the NDA. Each miniscule tends to blackmail BJP which is the major partner. In fact, such regional satraps are having best of both the worlds. If something goes wrong or anti-people they lash BJP. Contrarily, anything done good, full credit is taken by them. So BJP stands marginalised and in compromising mode because of ruling compulsions. The question is why principles should be compromised for just remaining in power. Regional supporters have not suffered. They keep their vote pockets intact. In fact, they enlarge it. It is the BJP as a national party and major partner with 182 MPs which is held responsible for all the faux pas and failures.

Fourth, many decisions have hurt the common man deep enough like the recent petro products hikes howsoever desirable and inevitable. The drought and flood situations have not been managed well. Even State Governments tend to pass on the blame to the Centre, nay to BJP while doing so they term it as BJP Government and not NDA Government. Drought situation that gripped Gujarat caused immense hardships to the people. They just don't vote for government which fails to supply essential inputs like potable water, power and cheap foodgrains. The hikes introduced for the PDS items have not been forgotten by the people. The art of ruling also prescribes reasonable treat for the people. Any thing done excessively or arbitrarily is bound to recoil on electoral fortunes.

Lastly, one can quote Shilyanas for Ram temple performed by late Rajiv Gandhi at Ayodhya on the eve of Lok Sabha elections. His think tank and inner circle had convinced Rajiv that majority votes are more important and crucial to winning elections. The result of this exercise was that Congress lost the minority votes and simultaneously failed to win enough of vote from the majority through such 'Shilyanas'. It is so because Indian voters are mature ready to exercise their franchise to punish the opportunists, indisciplined and those giving their principles short-shrift. It is high time BJP think-tank ponder over the reasons why people are annoyed and in mood to throw their lot either behind Congress or regional parties. It must begin image rebuilding exercise as a party which is principled, disciplined and fast on delivery for redeeming electoral pledges. Unless it is done, much bigger disasters await it in one State after another, J&K included, as also at the national level.

NEW JAIL MANUAL

J&K State is amongst the few which has opted for reforming the jail system. Introduction of new jail manual replacing the old Punjab manual of 1930 indicates that the approach is reformative and not retributive. The entire manual is based on the theme that prisoners are normal human beings and they land in jail for succumbing to various types of temptations. None is born criminal. It is the environment or the compulsions besides the adolescent and avaricious mind that results in criminal acts. Jail reforms in the State are multi-focal. It is envisaged that every district will have a jail of its own to obviate necessity of shifting the prisoners from one place to another too often for hearings and other things. Second, pre-release vocational training is envisaged as per the capabilities of the prisoner to ensure proper rehabilitation as law abiding citizens after release. A mix of educational, recreational and work-culture promotion is part of the scheme to transform them as useful citizens. Hard work and strict discipline shall be the password without being barbarous or inhuman. In fact, a leaf has been drawn out of National Human Rights Commission to safeguard rights of the prisoners in terms of boarding, lodging, medical treatment as also segregation of hardened criminals from the first timers. In the same vein women prisoners would be fully 'protected'. All this is fine. How about the attitude and habits of the jail staff ?

Kashmir: Diplomacy of Tracks

K.N. Pandita

Despite the animus and estrangement bedeviling their mutual relations, India and Pakistan have not really bolted the door and turned away from each other. We may give it any name, Track I or Track II diplomacy or people to people contact, whatever. That does not really matter. Even during the height of Kargil war, Niaz Nayak, a high profile Pakistani ex-bureaucrat was reported to be shuttling between the two capitals. Some say the exercise initiated by him and his Indian peer’s continues. For any one sincerely interested in peace and friendship between the two neighbouring countries this should be reassuring.

Kashmir Foundation for Peace and Development concluded its third meet on October 1, 2000 at Srinagar. Two earlier meets were held at Jammu and Srinagar between March and June 2000. This organization provided platform to the intellectuals and professionals drawn from various walks of life in the State to express themselves on a variety of themes related to the situation in the State resulting from the ongoing militancy and its fall out.

For one or two strong reasons, we can say that the graduated meets have been useful in a wider context and should be continued. Since the organisers are resolved to make the meets a sustainable phenomenon, the seminars/conferences organised are inching towards concretising the feed back and formulating certain postulates. One reason why we consider the effort a useful one is that it began with a low key and in Jammu sometime in March last. Jammu was a less sensitive place to arouse heat and anger one anticipated to accompany the attempt at the initial stage. In a way, the Jammu session was exploratory and instructive. The organisers took heart and initiated the second seminar in sequence and the first one in Srinagar on June 1-2, 2000. More than a hundred persons participated and nearly forty-five of them spoke mostly on the political aspects of the present situation in Kashmir. As expected, there were many angry and insinuating presentations from many known and influential intellectuals including the representatives of the ruling and opposition parties, academic and bureaucratic chapters, public men and journalists. One could not fail to find a long litany of complaints unrolled against the Union Government. The refrain of these outpourings has been the deliberate discrimination against the State by the Centre. Another area of forceful censure has been the violation of human rights by the security forces.

The third conference held on Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2000, concretised the entire gamut of previous discussions and consolidated it within four broad areas, namely, economic development, human rights, relief and rehabilitation and political perspectives. The June session had approved constituting four study groups to make field study and collect necessary data for presentation to the house during the current session. These reports were discussed in the sessions.

It is to be noted that the teams entrusted with this task comprise NGOs or Kashmir watchers from outside the State. In that sense, the activity of the organization seems to be broad-based. At the apex of the organising group are two high ranking ex-bureaucrats formerly connected with the Ministry of External Affairs and a former senior Indian Air Force officer of Kashmir extraction, all performing the role of interlocutors at local, national and international level. It is interesting to note that the team of non-government organization activists functioning as the oarsmen, comprises those who have successfully projected themselves as the sympathisers of the cause of Kashmiris of the valley and Doda. Evidently, the selection has been made with care perhaps hoping that it would generate assurance for the American circles that want Indians to engage the locals in the valley in a meaningful dialogue.

One very important thing about the 30 September seminar is that the representatives of three important sectors of economy in Kashmir, namely fruit growers, boatmen and tourism related activities were invited to make presentations. These three sectors employ a large number of people of the valley. However the handicraft sector was left out for hat reasons, nobody knows. But the question of why they were left out was strongly raised by one or two speakers.

In order to create the impression that varying shades of opinion could be expressed by the participants so that the deliberations do not lurch to one or the other side, some of the intellectuals known for their cut and dried perceptions did give expression to their radical thoughts. Thus the plea for trifurcating of the State of Jammu and Kashmir invited some reaction particularly from the Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah who was present in the last session on October 1. The session could swallow embarrassing questions from some speakers of more independent opinion. For example, the questions like who was entitled to the right of self-determination, what is the implication that human rights are universal and indivisible, or whom to talk to in Pakistan when the civilian government has been hijacked by the extremist religious organizations there etc, could not have been asked in previous two sessions. In other words, the interlocutors can heave a sigh of relief that the planning has not so far failed them. And if the people in Kashmir begin to find themselves on the horns of dilemma, making some self-introspection and doubting their pre-conceived inferences, one can say the Foundation is on the right track. It is an inoffensive way of helping others change the mindset gradually and through self-introspection. That is an achievement the Foundation can claim rightly claim.

For the pro-Kashmiri oarsmen, the most convenient way of endearing themselves to the emotional segment has been that of bashing the security forces and bringing out a litany of charges against New Delhi. This exercise was done most efficiently not as much by the Kashmiris themselves as by their traditional Jammu-based support structure. Curiously enough whereas this support structure is vocal for the right of separation/independence/self-determination for the valley, it shies away from the demand of trifurcating the State on the basis of regional interests of Jammu and Ladakh.

The Chief Minister himself brought up the tail end of two-day deliberations. One cannot say much on the conviction he holds, but the candid manner in which he expressed himself on some sensitive issues, is commendable. For example he said that if India has to sacrifice the last man of her whole population, she will do it but not surrender an inch of Kashmir to Pakistan. Never on earth can Pakistan take away an inch of Kashmir territory. He said that the only solution to Kashmir problem was turning the LoC into international border. The Chief Minister said that he had met with Kathwari who showed him the plan of the Kashmir Study Group but told him that the plan was nothing but refreshed Dixon plan. That had been rejected long back. The Chief Minister told the people of Kashmir that he was optimistic that a day would come when India and Pakistan would live as friends not enemies. He asked the Kashmiris to think of their future, their children’s future and future of Kashmir as it was irrevocably linked with democratic and secular India. Taking a dig at one journalist of Srinagar, he said that this journalist had made a scathing criticism here and now against the state and the central governments. Had he been in Pakistan and made the similar criticism against Pakistani government, they would take him away to "crush his head with a pestle." Dr. Farooq Abduallah made repeated requests to give up hatred and narrow - mindedness. The world had gone far ahead and we are lagging behind. He asked the Kashmiris to consider where their lasting interests lay. The Chief Minister had a dig at the ‘interlocutors’ as well, which apparently, left them embarrassed. He said he knew they were talking to Gen. Musharraf. Talking to Pakistanis was all right but what did these interlocutors talk, he could not imagine. This comment of the Chief Minister virtually took the wind out of the sails of the interlocutors who thereafter appeared more apologetic than assertive. In any case, the Chief Minister made the best use of an opportunity to convey to the people through the intellectual segment some of the unpleasant but incontrovertible truths about the ground situation in Kashmir. But it appears on some matters like the return of Pandits he is dismally misinformed.

It must also be remembered that Saudi Arabia is also interested in defusing the ongoing situation in Kashmir because giving more space to the determinists, in whose sponsorship she has a big role, could lead to negative results. Thus perceptions may vary in some degree, but the interest of both the US and Saudi America lies in making the Indian interlocutors go on hammering the issue. The silent diplomacy is gradually speaking in hiccups.