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Kashmir : Hurriyat splits

	September 15, 2003

The recent optimism over the All party Hurriyat Conference taking a moderate line to help the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir has been dealt a serious blow. In a coup of sorts, second-rung leaders within the separatist conglomerate ‘’ousted’’ chairman and moderate face Maulvi Abbas Ansari, suspended its seven-member decision making executive and rallied behind the hawkish Syed Ali Shah Geelani after calling the conglomerate ‘’a failure.’’ Thirteen separatist leaders - the majority are members of Hurriyat’s general council - met and passed a resolution expressing ‘’no confidence’’ in chairman Abbas Ansari and described his election to the top post as ‘’unconstitutional.’’

Geelani stuck to the line that the election of Ansari as Hurriyat chairman was a violation of the conglomerate’s constitution. It was done without taking into confidence two important constituents, Jamat-e-Islami and JKLF. Abbas Ansari remained unfazed by the developments: “They are nobody. We will take disciplinary action against them.”

Those who attended the meeting to vote out Abbas Ansari included Agha Hassan, a Shia cleric who leads Anjuman-e-Sharia Shian; Massarat Alam of Muslim League; Ghulam Nabi Sumji, expelled from Muslim Conference led by former Hurriyat chief Abdul Gani Bhat; Nayeem Khan of National Front; Firdous Shah and advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi of Islamic Students League; Yasmeen Raja of Khawateen Markaz; Saidullah Tantray, a former Jamat-e-Islami leader from Doda; Ghulam Mohammad Hubbi and Gulzar Ahmad Gulzar, expelled leaders of Sajjad Lone-led Peoples Conference; and, Fareeda Bahenji of Kashmir Mass Movement.

The rebel group even named a five-member interim committee under Massarat Alam to steer the Hurriyat and the panel was asked to contact Geelani, who had to leave the executive committee after his demand to expel Sajjad Lone’s Peoples Conference was rejected by the Hurriyat leadership, to lead the separatist conglomerate and ‘’again make it a vibrant force struggling for the Kashmir cause.’’ The rebel group has apparently decided to throw out the Peoples Conference from the conglomerate for its proxy participation in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls. This issue, in fact, is at the root of the divide within the conglomerate and the latest developments are seen as the final attempt by the hawks to seize control.

But observers note that none from the top seven constituents joined the rebellion which is now seen as the exclusive handiwork of the pro-Geelani camp. In fact, the Yasin Malik-led JKLF and Peoples League, who are extremely unhappy with Abbas Ansari, stayed away from the open show of defiance.

Other executive leaders and former chairmen Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Abdul Gani Bhat called the rebellion ‘’insignificant’’ but ‘’unfortunate.’’ His colleague Abdul Gani Bhat said the developments were ‘’against the Hurriyat constitution.’’ Such decisions, he said, were ‘’beyond the competence of the general council which is an advisory body.’’



Insignificant coup ?

The developments have drawn a clear line between the hawks and doves within the Hurriyat. If fence sitters like JKLF supremo Yasin Malik and PL representative Bashir Ahmad Tota also join the rebellion, the Hurriyat will be in deep trouble. The doves led by Abbas Ansari fear their leadership could become irrelevant in separatist politics. The rebel group has rallied behind Geelani who enjoys the backing of militant groups. ‘’Militancy is the real concern for Government of India. If Hurriyat is unable to influence the militant groups, it will have no relevance,’’ according to a Hurriyat leader.

Political observers said the split was significant as for the first time in the secessionist movement, an effort was being made by the Geelani-led group to get support from all parts of the State. The movement has so far been confined to the Valley.

The ‘split’ in Kashmir’s All-Party Hurriyat Conference, the first in its nine-year existence, is of little surprise. In reality, the division occurred shortly after the recent release from jail of pro-Pakistan hardliner Ali Shah Geelani, until recently the Jamaat-e-Islami representative in the Hurriyat.

In Kashmir’s changed context after last year’s assembly election, his own party was not comfortable with his continuing as its nominee in the executive of seven organisations, which are known to have ‘separatist’ inclinations. With his ouster from the Hurriyat executive - and, effectively, from the Jamaat as well - Geelani had no choice but to float a parallel body in order to stay relevant.

But this relevance is really aimed at impressing Islamabad and the terror outfits. Supporters of this nexus were uneasy with the Hurriyat’s modified approach of pressing for a political dialogue with the Centre even before Islamabad could be called to the table as an interested party. Forming a new body of “genuine freedom fighters” is, thus, an attempt to further devalue the Hurriyat whose stock was already affected by the fairness of the assembly poll.

What is worrying, observers point out, is that Geelani’s outfit may choose to use terrorism to make its presence felt.



Violence continues

As part of the stepped up violence, militants on Sept 13 attacked an army camp killing an officer and three soldiers in Kupwara district.

In another significant incident, terrorist-turned-counter insurgent and former MLA Mohammad Yousuf Parray alias Kukka Parray was killed along with his secretary in Hajan area of Baramulla district. Considered as pioneer of counter-insurgency in Kashmir valley, Parray is the second counter-insurgent- leader-turned-politician to be eliminated by the terrorists within a span of 17 days.

Former MLC Javaid Shah, who was the front-ranking counter-insurgent along with Kukka Parray, was killed in an attack at his office of Urdu daily Wattan on August 27.

Parray shot to fame when he turned his gun at his former colleagues and started an organised counter-insurgency movement in 1995 from his native village in Hajan. He formed a political outfit under the name of Jammu and Kashmir Awami League along with other counter-insurgents and later contested the assembly polls in 1996 when he was elected to the state legislature from Sonawari constituency in Baramulla district. Parray contested last year’s assembly polls but lost to National Conference candidate Mohammad Akbar Lone.

But this did not deter the militants from using the unfenced areas such as Londi, Mareen, Bobiya, Narote and Pansar to enter India. A clandestine network of militants/ex-smugglers exists here. Many former smugglers help militants in smuggling arms. In some cases, they operate for the official agencies of both countries.



CM appeal to Pandits

Urging Kashmiris to forget the past, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said all the communities have to march together towards a promising tomorrow.

Addressing a gathering of Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) from Kashmir, Jammu, Delhi and other areas who were in the state to take part in the launch of a Rs. 13.51 crore project for the development of the holy shrine of Khirbhawani, Sayeed talked about the trauma the minority two per cent of the Kashmiri population faced. He said: ‘’We (the majority community) failed to come upto their (Pandits) expectations and prevent their migration.’’

Sayeed appealed to Kashmiri Pandits to forget the past and consider returning to the Valley where their roots lay. He said both Kashmir and Kashmiriyat (the ethos of Kashmir) are incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits and these views were shared by everyone. Referring to his moves to create a conducive atmosphere in the Valley, he said the reality was that it was not the gun but the people who can turn around the situation.

He said his government is working for the honourable return of Kashmir Pandits to the Valley but there was no question of segregating them from their brethren. He said: ‘’The Palestinian model is not our cup of tea’’ and that Kashmiriyat is a common heritage and would continue to be so ruling out its division on religious lines.

Meanwhile, the Army has decided to will conduct a special drive for recruitment of Kashmiri Pandit youth as a part of its contribution in eradicating unemployment within the minority community, Defence Minister George Fernandes has disclosed in Delhi. Speaking at a function organised by Kashmiri Samiti Fernandes said that he agreed with almost all the demands including that of providing representation to the minority community in the state Assembly and parliament.



Doctrine of freedom movement

Any uprising that aspires to qualify as a freedom movement needs to create a dynamics of its own well within the walls of its political doctrine. Discussed below is the thesis by Firdous Syed, President, Kashmir Foundation for Peace and Developmental Studies.

According to him, sentiments and emotions do play a role in nurturing such movements, but any sentiment and emotion that is bereft of producing a practical political doctrine, a popular leadership, an organisation and a mass support base, cannot qualify as a freedom movement. It is bound to give birth to chaos and confusion.

It is criminal when sacrifices are sought on the basis of chaos and disorder. Nobody can deny that the uprising in Kashmir in the Nineties was unique as far as mass support is concerned. Kashmiri masses, one and all, were on the streets, driven by extreme emotions and sentiments. But it is equally true that even after 13 years and huge sacrifices, it could not create a political organisation that would consist of a sound political ideology, a strong leadership. It is ironic that the secessionist leadership has not been able to articulate what it stands for. What is being advocated is a sentiment and it is a pity that the recently split Hurriyat Conference, that claims to be the fountainhead of the movement, is on record having said that it represents only a ‘sentiment’.

In the present context of a peace initiative between India and Pakistan, the Hurriyat, including all the secessionist groups of Kashmir, is striving hard to secure a role for itself. Of late, a lot of debate has come up regarding the idea of Hurriyat’s representation in the peace initiative. But even after the huge sacrifices made in the name of the freedom movement, the conglomerate has not been able to carve out any prospective role in the proposed peace talks between India and Pakistan. India seemingly is not interested in including the Hurriyat, probably because of the internal intransigence, which the umbrella group exhibited each time the Indian leadership came up with some new proposal or initiative. Besides that, the lack of consistency in the opinions of the Hurriyat leadership has partially isolated it.

The organisations that champion the cause of independence have to do a lot of convincing. It is essential to make known its political doctrine in a well-defined manner, with a concrete plan of action and statement of what the movement stands for. There is lot of ambiguity within the ranks of the secessionist camp not only about the contours, but also the fundamentals of their ideology. Though at the level of rhetoric, the independence of the whole state in the shape of pre-Partition era is sought, it boils down to the Valley only.

There is no real movement for the same in the northern areas (under direct Pakistani control) that include Gilgit and Baltistan. The situation in PoK is more or less the same.

Two important components of the population, Dogras and Ladakhis, do not subscribe to the idea of an independent J&K. This brings to the fore a dilemma and at the same time poses a genuine inquiry: what is the basis for the notion of independent Kashmir? It is a matter of fact that all the regions of the erstwhile princely state peruse a different political aspiration. Language is not a binding factor here. Even Kashmiris who belong to the same ethnicity, language and heritage have different faiths. As such they do not share a common vision of their political future.

The protagonists of an independent Kashmir movement will have to come with a clear-cut policy vis-‘-vis the following:

* The role of religion in determining the future of Kashmir.

* The significance of democratic ideals and polity.

* The plural and inclusive nature of Kashmiriyat.

* The negation of the role of violence, not only as tactics and strategy but as a matter of principle.

If these ideals don’t provide the basis for any political action, a situation of anarchy and social strife is bound to be created. In that case, the propagators of the independence will have to accept the reality that this movement is/was bound to fail due to its inherent contradictions.