B L Saraf
There is nothing unusual in the clamour for a new leadership – be it political , commercial or the spiritual. New leadership with new and innovative ideas is always welcome. However, when the idea of new political leadership is premised on a set notion it opens up for an objective critiquing .
For quite a time now, particularly post 5th August extra – ordinary developments pertaining to J&K , we hear of the need for a new leadership to take over political and administrative mantel in the state. A narrative is under way that revolves round the requirement of new leadership which, we are constantly reminded , would lead J&K to the ultimate salvation. An impression is, nonetheless, spread by the persons in political and administrative authority in Delhi and Srinagar to make one ponder : is it about creation of a new political force, or for weeding out the old one, existing in the state (Kashmir) , since 1939 ? It is argued that old political system- be it of National Conference or the PDP – has generated a “culture of subterfuge, blackmail, corruption and the notion family rule .”
Irony is not lost! History seems to be repeating itself in J&K , with a role reversal for the two main national political parties. In year 1983, Mrs. Indira Gandhi came to think in similar terms, after Farooq Abdullah spurned her offer to fight Assembly election together, with NC and INC as alliance partners. Failing in her attempt to woe NC, Mrs Gandhi fought it out hard with Farooq : she raised sectarian pitch in Jammu region to a great electoral advantage of the Congress party. But she couldn’t succeed to stop NC from coming to power. Circumstances, however, didn’t deter her resolve to dethrone Farooq Abdullah from Chief Minister’s seat. Thanks to the presence of the incumbent Governor, in the Raj Bhawan Srinagar, for NC the inevitable got delayed. But soon the tenancy in the Governors’ house was changed and the new occupant of the Raj Bhawan lost no time to show Farooq the door. His brother- – in law G M Shah proved the Trojan horse and assumed power with the help of dozens of NC defectors – obliging Congress lent outside support.
Just to make an example of the National Conference, Mrs. Gandhi raised a shrill cry, in 1984, trumping up charges, almost identical to the present allegations, in addition, described Farooq a security threat. She publicly declared that time has come when this forty years old tree ( NC ) has to be uprooted and a new one planted in J&K. As subsequent events tell us, instead of uprooting NC, her son Rajiv Gandhi felt no qualms in having an alliance with it to fight 1987 Assembly elections together, under the leadership of same Farooq Abdullah. The move proved to be a disaster , throwing up evil consequences which, till date, state and the country have not been able to overcome .
How well said : inscrutable are the ways in which nature acts ! For the Congress and Rahul Gandhi it has been a moment of déjà vu. Circle has run a full round. Soon after his grandmother dethroned NC Government in 1984, all the opposition leaders from Delhi – led by BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee, descended on Srinagar to show solidarity with the deposed Farooq Abdullah . As Srinagar was locked down, as it is today, these leaders weren’t allowed to move out. Today, Rahul Gandhi lead oppositions leaders have had the taste of same medicine which his grandmother administered to Vajpayee and others, in Srinagar thirty six years since. So , he and his party shouldn’t have much to complain against the treatment , now, meted out to him and his delegation members, whereby they were confined to the Srinagar air port and denied an opportunity to show solidarity with Farooq and Miss Mehbooba Mufti.
There is no denying that the Valley suffers from a political vacuum which must be filled up by the nationalist forces of genuine credibility and some standing among the public, as soon as possible. Political space should not be left open for the exploitation of undesirable elements who are present there in large numbers . It is also true that the recent developments have squeezed space for the mainstream politicians in Kashmir and , if ever they could , it will take a Herculean effort and enormous time for them to regain some political ground. It will not be an overstatement to say that in Kashmir the mainstream politics faces a serious existential threat.
It is desirable, as it is natural that old order should yield to the new one. It is as true for other avocations as it is for the politics. But politics is not an overnight phenomenon. Political leaders can’t be manufactured in a work shop and then put in place, somewhere. Political leadership has to evolve, over a period of time, in a conducive environment. There can be no complete demolition of an earlier structure. In Kashmir it is difficult to imagine where will a new order come from. Mainstream politics is, undoubtedly, a rare commodity there. Therefore, foundations of the old order have to remain intact. Debris of the old political formulations may throw up new leadership . It has to be a natural progression and a down up process. New leadership can’t be straight jacketed, or made of the non-residents.
We in the state have the misfortune to witness a phenomenon, cultivated since 1953, which allowed various Agencies a major role in making and shaping the states’ political environment. That often worked at the cross -purposes. Politic blessed solely by the Agencies won’t work in the long run . Certainly, not in Kashmir where, as said by Vajpayee’s Principal Secretary and NSA Brijesh Mishra, nothing, except a popular tree, is straight . Sooner we learn the lesson better it would be for the nation.
(The author is former Principal District & Sessions Judge)
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel