Egotistical
leadership
Sir,
The
tragedy of Kashmir is not that the
problem defies solution but that it is
our own narrow minded, egotistical
leadership which is forever given to
internal bickering and which has always
moved two steps backward for every step
forward in dealing with Kashmiri
aspirations. This sorry state of affairs
was evident once again recently when the
prospects of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad
road reopening-an emotive issued for
Kashmiris- took the back seat even as the
leaders of the two Hurriyat factions
engaged in one-upmanship during the visit
of the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Kasuri,
to India. Geelani Saheb, in his usual
style of being the sole arbiter of the
faith and destiny of Kashmiris, struck to
his refrain that Pakistan should not
allow the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road to
be revived unless India allows passport
free travel. In his obstinacy, Geelani
Saheb trod completely roughshod over
Kashmiri hearts and sentiments. He forgot
that political posturing, even if
justified, cannot and should not sustain
artificial barriers, like the Berlin
Wall, between the same people.
This paper
gathers that, apart from the negative
role played by Geelani Saheb, in keeping
the people of Kashmir apart, the quartet
of Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin
Malik and Shabir Shah contributed
precious little towards sinking their
differences and coming together despite
the nudging by Kasuri and Khokhar is that
direction. As usual, Geelani Saheb
remains the biggest stumbling block in
the path of unity moves with his chant of
'either me or nobody' as Hurriyat leader.
Not that
the other leaders are any better. The
Mirwaiz simply cannot decide whether he
is the Acting Chairman of Ansari Saheb's
Hurriyat, or a leader in his own right or
an unwilling entrant to the Geelani fold.
May be he feels that a trip to Saudi
Arabia will clear the cobwebs in his
mind. It must be said of Yasin Malik that
his sense of self-pride, independence and
commitment to the Kashmiri cause is
truely impressive. But he has not shown
political initiative, determination or
sagacity because of which other groups
have tried to set Malik's political
agenda and Javed Mir has decamped. Shabir
Shah is also inconsistent in his
approach. Which such a trait does provide
entertainment, it certainly does not
bespeak good leadership.
Naturally,
when this four-ring circus met Kasuri and
Khokhar in Delhi, each was pulling in
different directions. The greater
responsibility for this fiasco lies on
Geelani Saheb. As the older and more
experienced leader, he should have
demonstrated maturity and flexibility.
Instead, he aborted all hopes of people
on both sides of the LOC getting to see
each other soon and put paid to unity
efforts by reusing to share, let alone
yield, leadership in any form whatsoever.
The common Kashmiri has come to expect
less and less from leaders to whom their
own vanity and pompous self-importance
matter more than the travails of Kashmir.
Yours
etc...
Mohd Yusuf Wani
Moh. Talab Khatika
Jammu (J&K)
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