Interlocutors’ 5-point agenda and 5 sessions Futile Exercise — II

July 12, 2011
Neha EARLY TIMES REPORT JAMMU, July 12: Issue number 3: Political Dimensions of Multi-ethnicity (While local customs are the bedrock for coexistence, states generally have a number of constitutional and administrative mechanisms to protect multi-ethnic communities. What are the measures in J&K and how have they worked? Has identity politics weakened existing provisions or does it highlight existing tensions?) Reflection on issue number 3: J&K is mini-India. It consists of three distinct regions – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Jammu, like Kashmir, houses several social groups. The story of Ladakh is no different. The only difference between Jammu and Kashmir and between the latter and Ladakh is that while all the social groups in Jammu and Ladakh suffer at the hands of the Valley’s political elite and yet live peacefully and share each other’s joy and grief, it is not true of Kashmir. In Kashmir, one particular religious sect dominates everything. It controls political and economic institutions; it is highly prosperous, it is articulate and has connections at right places in New Delhi and outside; and it is basically the members of this sect who are involved in subversive activities and the ongoing secessionist violence. Other religious and ethnic groups, including the Shiite Muslims, Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims and Pathowari-speaking Muslims, have little or no say either in the governance or in the Valley. They constitute the deprived sections. It is with great difficulty that they are preserving their local customs and beliefs. A vast majority of them have nothing to do with the ongoing separatist movement. Since there is none in New Delhi to recognize them, these religious and ethnic groups continue to suffer in every sphere and in every respect. It would be only appropriate to point out here that it was only recently that Syed Ali Shah Geelani of Tehrik-e-Hurriyat had contemptuously dismissed the Gujjar Muislims as “non-Muslims.” There is nothing in the state constitution that protects customs and traditions which the various religious and ethnic groups hold very dear. Article 370 is responsible. Using Article 370, the Kashmiri ruling elite has established its stranglehold. It is this that has led to animosity and bitterness between the communities in Kashmir and in other parts of the state. They regard the Kashmir’s ruling elite as the only culprit. It needs to be noted that the state constitution doesn’t contain an Article like 371 of the Indian Constitution that empowers the President of India to undertake measures aimed at protecting the local customs and traditions of various social and ethnic groups. Article 371 is not applicable to J&K. The absence of such a provision in the state constitution has given unbridled powers to the Kashmiri ruling elite to destroy all others culturally, socially, politically and economically. Everyone knows who is the exploiter and who is the culprit but none in Delhi is prepared to recognize this hard reality. That’s the reason the nation has been facing troubles in the state and all the religious and ethnic groups, barring one in Kashmir, have been suffering. The rise identity politics in the state needs to be viewed in this context. The identity politics has been forced down the throat of the oppressed, suppressed, willfully ignored and marginalized socio-religious and ethnic minorities in the state. Issue Number 4: Role of the Arts in Preserving Pluralism (The arts and heritage of communities are critical in developing shared bonds and mutual respect. What is the state of each in J&K today? Are there artists’ groups working for promotion and/or revival of traditions of pluralism and coexistence? What support do they need?) The answer to the issue number four lies in the reflection on the issues number 1 and 3. However, it is true that there are artists’ groups who have been working for the promotion of “traditions of pluralism and co-existence.” But such groups are basically operating in Jammu and Ladakh and most of them do not enjoy official patronage. As for the Kashmir-based artists’ groups, their basic purpose is to promote and highlight the region to which they belong and highlight its cultural heritage and they are backed to the hilt by the concerned authorities. They enjoy official patronage. New Delhi is also at their back and call. The point I am trying to make is that the authorities invariably discriminate between the Kashmir-based artists’ groups and the artists’ groups belonging to other regions. And, it is a well-known fact. Issue number 5: Policies and Mechanisms for Accommodating Diversity (Drawing from the previous sessions, what policies and mechanisms should the government of J&K and the Union Government adopt to promote J&K’s tradition of tolerance and mutual respect? Are specific provisions required for minorities and cultural groups?) If the interlocutors are really interested in protecting the minorities in the state and promoting their customs and traditions and establishing in the state a system that treats every cultural/social/ethnic group equally and with respect, they have no other option but to study the baneful impact of Kashmiri domination over the state’s other two regions. This means they have to consider the issues this scribe has raised in his reflections on the issues number 1 and 3. Roots of the problem facing all the religious and ethnic minorities, barring the one that has been ruling the roost since October 1947, lie in Kashmir. Take cognizance of the root cause and proceed accordingly. Recourse to any other approach would create more problems than resolving the existing ones. Not to recognize these realities would mean that whatever the interlocutors did during the 2-day-long round table conference in Jammu was nothing more than a futile exercise or an exercise in self-deception. (Concluded)