Author: Maharaj Shah
The Kashmiri Pandits were persecuted, brutalised and driven out of Kashmir while your family was presiding over Jammu and Kashmir as a full-fledged state, including Ladakh, under the constitutional arrangements of Articles 370 and 35A. So, how dare you lecture others about democracy and statehood when the entire region was gradually turned into fertile ground for Islamist radicalism and jihadist violence under your political dispensation?
No one can forget how the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was handled for decades by repeatedly surrendering to the disruptionist politics of the Hurriyat conglomerate and the separatist and terrorist ecosystem. Ordinary people were held hostage to violence and intimidation. Terrorists and separatists operated with impunity, while stones were pelted at security forces and the entire state was, in effect, held at gunpoint.
Who will take responsibility for the thousands of young people who were misled into the path of jihad, radicalised and used as tools of a violent agenda? Who will answer for the innocent lives lost and the countless families thrown into uncertainty and despair?
Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah must answer these questions before making tall claims about being champions of democracy and defenders of people’s rights. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have not forgotten the decades of violence, political appeasement, separatism and radicalisation that devastated their lives and destroyed the region’s social fabric.
No, Sir. You are not the saviours of people’s rights. More often than not, your politics and governance have been among the very reasons why people lost faith in democracy and democratic institutions.
Under the long rule of your family and its political allies, Jammu and Kashmir was transformed from an inclusive and pluralistic society into an increasingly fundamentalist and authoritarian religious environment. The cultural, linguistic and social landscape underwent a profound transformation. The changes were visible everywhere from dress and language to academic institutions, administration and public life. The inclusive ethos that once defined Kashmir was steadily eroded.
Only three or four decades ago, Doordarshan Srinagar was a symbol of India’s composite, inclusive and secular cultural ethos. Today, it appears to have undergone a complete transformation, increasingly reflecting a particular religious and ideological character. Even the language, presentation, attire and overall appearance of its anchors seem to symbolise a departure from the Doordarshan Srinagar of the early 1980s.
This is not merely about a change in presentation or a cosmetic facelift; it reflects the deeper cultural and ideological transformation that has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir over the decades.
Therefore, when you speak in the name of democracy, the people have every right to ask: Which democracy are you referring to the democracy of the people, or the family fiefdom and political-religious establishment that dominated Jammu and Kashmir for decades?
After presiding over the political and cultural decline of the region, failing to protect the Kashmiri Pandits from persecution, displacement and exile, and allowing separatist and extremist forces to hold society hostage for decades, what moral authority do you have to lecture others on democracy and statehood?
The real question is simple: Who is going to believe you now?
Note: The Author, Mr Maharaj Shah, is a senior academician, writer, Producer, and Director who has held several distinguished faculty positions in media at leading educational Institutions and Universities. Views are personal
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