Rekha Chowdhary
The All Party Meeting of the Prime Minister with the leaders of mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir evoked lot of interest nationally as well as internationally. Irrespective of the outcome, the very conduct of the meeting had its own significance. Being the very first such exercise after the August 2019 changes, it not only marked a clear shift of the Government of India towards the Kashmir-based mainstream parties but also indicated the beginning of the new phase of political processes in J&K. What added to the significance of the meeting was the approach followed for its conduct. Though completing the process of delimitation and holding election was the stated objective of the meeting, yet there were clear signs that it was quite open-ended meeting and participants were free to raise any issue and even register any grievance. The fact that the meeting lasted for three and half hours and everyone had nice things to say about the ‘positive environment’ of the meeting – indicated that things had already moved ahead. The acrimony between the Government of India and the mainstream parties had been left behind and while the Central Government, while initiating the democratic processes in J&K, had acknowledged the role of the traditional mainstream parties like NC, PDP, People’s Conference and CPM; the leaders of these parties also, irrespective of their reservations earlier, had shown their keenness to participate in the political processes, without many conditions.
Remember the situation that existed between the two sides earlier. On the side of the Government of India, the traditional mainstream parties were declared to be irrelevant and redundant and their leaders were held responsible for everything that had gone wrong in Kashmir. They were seen not only as opportunist, corrupt, manipulative but also as woking against the interest of the nation. On the side of the Kashmir-based mainstream leaders, they had vowed not to recognise any political structure or to participate in any political processes till the status-quo as it existed on August 4, 2019 was restored. One can see, a clear cut change in the position on both the sides. Rather than seeing the mainstream parties and leaders as redundant, the Government by engaging them has recognised not only their stake in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir but also their role in providing legitimacy to the democratic process. Meanwhile, rather than insisting on restoration of Article 370 as a pre-condition for any movement forward in political terms; the mainstream parties have indicated their willingness to cooperate in the initiation of the political processes.
However, even when the Kashmir-based political parties seem to have got recognition and space and thereby a face saving in Kashmir, but in balance, it is the Government of India that has got more from the meeting:
One, it has been able to ensure the participation of all the relevant parties in the Delimitation process including that of the NC that had earlier questioned the very legality of the delimitation process. It had refused to participate in the process earlier. The party has now indicated its willingness to participate in this process.
Second, despite its reiteration about its commitment to restore the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, it has succeeded in evading the pressure to fulfil this commitment before the Assembly election. The message that has been firmly given by the Home Minister is that Assembly election would not be bound by any pre-conditions and it is only after the Assembly elections that any such demand for restoration of statehood would be considered. How soon that would be – no time line has been given. So without being seen to be breaking away from its commitment, it has almost got the consent to hold the Assembly election before the restoration of the statehood.
Third, most importantly, the Government has succeeded in getting the Kashmir-based political parties to make a break from the past and move ahead as per the script written by it after August 5, 2019, Though the leaders of these parties continue to talk of restoration of Article 370, yet they understand that they may have already lost in the process. At least they know that they cannot get this Article restored politically. They also understand their compulsion to participate in the electoral process without raking up the issue of Article 370. That’s the reason that they have strategically put the issue of Article 370 in the ‘judicial bag’. By saying that while they fight the case of special constitutional status in the Supreme Court, they will be allowing their parties and cadre to participate in the electoral process, they have already de-linked the issue of Article 370 from the political processes. Such de-linking for all political purposes is also a process of moving on – moving on in the direction in which the Government wants them to move.
Thus, without giving up its own political and ideological position on J&K, the Government of India has got many crucial outcomes. As one can see, the narrative has already changed drastically. From restoration of Article 370, it got changed to restoration of Statehood. The major question that is now being asked is not – ‘if and when Article 370 will be restored’ but ‘if and when the Statehood would be restored’. That is a long distance travelled by the Central Government since August 2019.
Already the political actors have started redefining the goal posts. There are Kashmiri political leaders who are taking the pragmatic view of things and clearly stating that it is impossible to expect the BJP Government to restore the Article 370. There are others who are ready to come down from Article 370 to 371. The discourse has started about making demand for constitutional protection of the rights of residents of J&K – especially related to their land and jobs. Muzaffar Hussain Baig is first such Kashmiri leader who has come out clearly in favour abandoning the demand of restoration of Article 370 and asking instead for protection under Article 371. There are others like Hasseb Drabu who in a recent Article published in a national daily has suggested the leaders of the mainstream parties to ‘move from shrillness to substance’. Asking the question ‘Why should any way forward have to be located in the past?’, he has asked the valley based parties to propose a framework of democratic accommodation of local aspirations of land and jobs.
So, one can see that by revisiting its hard stance towards the mainstream parties of Kashmir and giving them a recognition as legitimate political actors not only in Kashmir but also in Jammu region, the Government has got a good deal.
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