G Parthasarthy has a point when
he writes that “a diplomatic engagement with a neighbor having territorial
ambitions has to be carefully calibrated and executed” given past history, it
is imperative that dialogue with Pakistan better not be a knee jerk
reaction. It must precede proper home
work and coordination between various branches of the government so that they
don’t work at cross purposes.
However abrupt cancellation of
the dialogue after having started it in haste using Pak Ambassador’s ritually
meetings with Kashmiri separatists is in bad form and communicates a very
negative image of India.
While there is no doubt that the
Pak Ambassador’s invitation to Kashmiri separatists in the midst of fragile
secretary level talks amounted to deliberate and avoidable provocation to
sensibilities within India. But it is
well known that this act of cocking a snook at India is a product of the
diseased in internal politics of Pakistan.
The anti-India lobbies within Pak are already out with their knives and
guns aimed at Nawaz Sharif alleging that he is being “soft” towards India on
the one hand and ready to betray the interests of Kashmiri separatists who have
always counted on Pakistan to fight their battle. That is why the annual ritual of “consulting”
pro-Pak Kashmiri leaders had to be undertaken to reduce the pressure building
us at home.
It is an open secret that in
comparison to India that elected government in Pakistan is a light weight in
comparison to the clout of Pakistani army, the Pak intelligence agencies a
whole range of terrorist outfits propped and supported by them. But the liberal opinion within Pakistan is in
favour of peace with India simply because they realize that Pakistan is sinking
under the dead weight of its corrosive hostility to India. This hatred has been the founding principle
of Pakistan from the time of Jinnah himself.
Though even the most liberal intelligentsia daren’t question Jinnah’s
wisdom openly, but there is a growing realization among this section that if
Pakistan cannot be at peace with India, it cannot be at peace with itself
either.
In such a situation, the knee
jerk fashion in which the dialogue has been unilaterally called off by the BJP
government has given a big boost to the anti-India terrorist organizations
within Pakistan on the one hand and brought the otherwise marginalized Kashmiri
separatists centre stage.
Letting one’s enemies dictate
one’s political agenda amounts to strengthening them beyond their actual
worth. It has sent a very negative
message to the international community that whereas Pakistan is responsive to
the “aspirations” of Kashmiri Muslims, India keeps them at bay because it is
afraid of them.
Instead of taking such deep
offence at these rituals meeting of Hurriyat factions with the Pak Ambassador,
India could well have laughed it off saying: “The Separatists have to keep
knocking at the doors of their mai-baap in Pakistani simply because the
people of Kashmir don’t pay heed to them; any more.
It is well known that
secessionist forces gain strength in Kashmir only when the Central Government
allows electoral rigging and helps install a corrupt and tyrannical state
government. Omar Abdullah’s government
has inflicted innumerable wounds on Kashmiri people ever since it came to power
in 2008. That is the only reason, a
section of Kashmiri youth are using the Hurriyat platform to vent their frustration,
without really being enamored of Hurriyat’s own ideology and politics. During PDP regime, the same people left the
Hurriyat in a larch and put Separatist urges behind them simply because Mufti
Mohammad Syeed provided and relatively clean and more accountable development
oriented government.
In private even Separatist
leaders admit the solution of the Kashmir problem can only come through the BJP
government. Narendra Modi as the icon of
development oriented politics has ignited even higher hopes that Atal Bihar
Vajpayi once ignited among Kashmiri Muslims.
One sign of this is that for the first time in Kashmir’s history that
well known public figures like Sajjad Lone have openly made common cause with
the BJP and many young people, even in places like Pulwama, which has been a
secessionist stronghold, are openly joining the BJP.
During his election campaign
itself Narendra Modi had applied balm on Kashmiri hurt by promising them that
the Valley too would witness unprecedented economic upsurge and job creation
under BJP regime. This had created a
palpable sense of optimism among the Kashmiri youth. Since the last 30 years Kashmiris have
witnessed from very close the internecine warfare among various secessionist
groups and factions. Their rivalries and
mutual hatred is also not a secret any more.
Kashmiris have now come to see that the secessionist sentiment is kept
alive only through the power of the guns wielded by pro-Pak groups. They have seen the lavish lifestyles of
secessionist leaders who are believed to be getting hefty pay off from Pakistan
on the one hand and keeping swords hanging over their heads on the other.
Some of the leading lights among
secessionists live under the security cover clearly show they don’t fear the
Indian government. If there is anyone
any fear, it is the terrorist outfits propped up by Pakistan. Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq went
so far as to openly declare Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the man who got Mirwaiz’s
father murdered. He also publicly
alleged that even his life was in danger from the pro-Pak militants connected
to Geelani Sahib. One hears
knowledgeable Kashmiris say it openly that even if by some mishap Kashmir got
azadi, Hurriyat factions would do to each other what Hamas and AlQaida are
doing to their co-religionists.
Most important of all, Kashmiri
Separatists have themselves voted with their feet and pockets in favour of
India. They may get hefty pay offs from
Pakistan. But where do they invest this
money? Not in Peshawar, Lahore or
Karachi but in buying properties in Jammu, Delhi, Pune, Mumbai etc. They may send the sons of poor Kashmiri
families across the border to get arms training from Pak. But their own children come to Delhi, Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune to study and look for jobs or business
opportunities. Many of their children
practice law in Indian courts. You won’t
find them inclined to do business in Karachi or even Lahore.
The moderates among Hurriyat are
today clearly inclined towards the BJP.
Most of hardliner Geelani Saheb’s colleagues are also tired of acting as
the puppets of Islamabad because they see no future for their children in that
game. Geelani Sahib’s and Yasin Malik’s
election boycott strategy will work only as long as the outrageously corrupt
and insensitive regime of Omar Abdullah is in place. But NC is likely to be wiped out and replaced
by the far more democratic PDP in the coming election. BJP too is set to make big inroads in the
hitherto unexplored Laddakh region in addition to its political base in Jammu
region. A caring democratic regime in
Jammu will mean the likes of Yasin Malik will see their space shrink to
nothingness as happened after the 2002 election.
Kashmir is also yearning for
Modi’s mool mantra -- Sushasan
(good governance) and Vikas (development – just as the rest of India has put
their faith in this promise. Pro-Pak
leaders like Yasin Malik are able to flex their muscles only when there is
malgovernance in Kashmir. The answer to
the Yasin Maliks hobnobbing with Pak, is not to boycott dialogue with
Pakistan. The appropriate remedy is
honest and fair elections, good governance and speedy economic growth with
speedier job creation.
In short, the appropriate answer
to Pakistan’s disruptive politics in Kashmir is to ensure that the ordinary
Kashmiri trust and is happy with the governance model – both in Delhi and
Srinagar. Thus the solution to the
Kashmir problem does not really lie in the hands of Pakistan; it lies within
India’s power and control.
