People's Democracy

TWO major political developments took place during the course of the last week. One was the reiteration of the autonomy demand by the National Conference after Farooq Abdullah's son Omar Abdullah took over as the president of the party. The second is the intensification of the communal campaign by the Hindutva forces signalled by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's decisions at its Hardwar meeting and the appointment of former Bajrang Dal chief Vinay Katiyar - accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case - as president of Uttar Pradesh BJP.

The question of Jammu & Kashmir is hanging fire since long. Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has stated that Jammu & Kashmir is a key question affecting the relations between India and Pakistan. This view is based on the two nation theory. At the time of partition it was agreed to have a plebiscite regarding the status of North West Frontier Province, where Congress was a dominating force led by Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, popularly known as 'Sarhaddi Gandhi'. India lost the battle and NWFP remained in Pakistan. But, Jammu & Kashmir has a different status. The Mountbatten award permitted the states to remain independent of Pakistan and India if they so desire. Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir, supported by the predecessor of the present day BJP in the state- Praja Parishad wanted to opt for independence. However, the intervention by Pakistan through sending of the raiders changed the situation. The people of the state rose as one and everyone, including boys and girls under the leadership of National Conference took to guns and gave stiff resistance to the raiders. This forced Maharaja Hari Singh to sign on right of accession to India.

The National Conference was a symbol of the people of Jammu & Kashmir at that time since it had united Hindus, Muslims and various other communities living in the state. At this juncture the government of India agreed to provide a special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir, and for that purpose Article 370 was included in the Indian constitution. It was allowed to have its own constituent assembly, own constitution even while accepting the Indian national flag as a sign of being part of India. Thus Jammu & Kashmir became a symbol of unity and secularism as against the fissiparous tendencies of communal divide. It laid the strong basis for a secular India. This nobody can question.

But the Congress party which had for long enjoyed monopoly of power at the centre not only interfered and intervened in the affairs of the state, trying at times to position itself in power but also diluted the provisions of Article 370 and eroded substantially the autonomy enjoyed by the state. That could not be relished by the people of the state and trouble started. This once again brought the Jammu & Kashmir issue to the fore leading to a situation where various forces, particularly the US began playing their game. The US motive on Jammu & Kashmir has been to make it independent by which it could be influenced by them as a strategic state bordering Russia, China, Pakistan and India. The US is even today pursuing the same goal under different garbs.

The Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi agreement in 1975 provided restoration of the eroded powers provided under Article 370. But unfortunately this section was never implemented. In this background we have to see that many tendencies which raised their head in Jammu & Kashmir are mainly due to the refusal to recognise the identity of Jammu & Kashmir people.

However, it is obvious that the National Conference is making loud noises about autonomy with an eye on the elections. With its dismal track record in governance and its alliance with the BJP - which has been from the beginning opposing autonomy - the National Conference has got isolated from the people in the state. While the demand for autonomy reflects the people's sentiments, the NC is making these noises too late in the day giving rise to rightful criticism that it is all being done keeping elections in mind. Had it been serious about autonomy, it should not have allied with the BJP in the first place. The BJP's approach to the whole question is contrary to what the NC advocates. One of the main planks of the BJP has been the abrogation of Article 370. Even after the rejection by the centre of the autonomy resolution passed by the Jammu & Kashmir assembly, the NC did not make it a campaign issue.

President Musharraf, in an interview given to London's Independent has said that the Kashmir problem is another Palestine in the making. Contradicting his earlier assurance, in a separate interview to Newsweek the General said that he had not given any assurance of a "permanent" end to cross border terrorism.

The democratic forces must realise that the question of autonomy is a crucial one so far as Jammu & Kashmir is concerned. It will be wrong to compare it with any other state as has been explained above.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has called for the division of the state into four separate units -- separate states of Jammu & Kashmir and two union territories, one for Kashmiri pandits in the north east of Jhelum and the other, Ladakh. This call emanated from the VHP's Margdarshak Mandal which met in Hardwar for two days. A day earlier, the VHP did a volte face by backtracking from the assurance it gave in March 2002 to abide by the court verdict on the Ayodhya issue. The VHP leader Ashok Singhal has demanded that his written undertaking given to the government in this regard be handed back to him. He declared that the construction of a Ram temple was based on Hindu faith in which courts can not interfere.

This is an open challenge to the Indian constitution and the law of the land. There is little doubt that the VHP is working in tandem with the RSS and the BJP and is seeking to whip up communal passions once again. The proposed plan to commence a campaign from July end to culminate in early 2003 will vitiate the atmosphere further. Given the fact that the BJP's mass support is fast dwindling, the BJP will seek to use this communal polarisation for its political benefit. The silence on the part of the BJP leadership to these utterances only confirms this truth.

The dangerousness of VHP's latest gameplan has forced some prominent sants and seers of Ayodhya to openly come out against the VHP. They have demanded a ban on VHP saying " the VHP's decision is violative of constitutional provisions and such open defiance of the constitution and courts should not be allowed as it will encourage the cult of religious terrorism".

Moreover, given the recent experience in Gujarat, where the BJP government indulged in genocide of the Muslim community, the Hindutva forces would like to carry this further into other parts of the country, much before the next elections slated to be held two years from now. This is no coincidence that VHP in its Hardwar meet has not only justified anti-minority pogroms in Gujarat but has also threatened minorities by saying that will have to live in refugee camps through out the country.

That the BJP leadership as a whole was backing Narendra Modi to the hilt was obvious. Despite several reports and findings of various teams visiting the state nailing the administration and the chief minister himself for their responsibility in contributing to this situation, the BJP has not shown any remorse or expressed regret. In fact, it has sought to justify what has happened. This was reflected in the Panaji meeting of the BJP. At Panaji, the BJP decided against removing Narendra Modi from office. Instead, it said that it would go for dissolution of the assembly and hold fresh elections under Modi's leadership. Prime Minister Vajpayee justified the mass killings of Muslims by citing the Godhra incident as the main cause.

Gujarat, which is considered one of the BJP's strongest bases, has in fact become a laboratory for sangh parivar forces. This was a state where it had conducted various experiments. It was in Gujarat that the state government lifted the ban on its employees participating in RSS shakas. But this base was gradually eroding, sending panic signals within the party.

With the BJP in power, there has been a systematic assault on the secular principle of the state and the penetration of the RSS into the state apparatus and vicious attacks on minorities. Moreover, there has been a systematic plan for communalising society through eroding the secular content of the educational system and an offensive on our composite cultural values.

Thanks to the parties which disagree with the BJP's communal agenda but remain part of the NDA due to their lust for power, the BJP is able to penetrate the administrative apparatus by posting its men in key positions, taking control of various institutions and academic bodies and propagate the Hindutva ideology, through education, culture, the media etc. The infiltration extends to the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, the post of governors, the educational system and even the armed forces

The reluctance to give up office in Uttar Pradesh saw the BJP arriving at an understanding with the BSP and making Mayawati the chief minister, forgetting all the accusations that they hurled at each other during the heated election campaign.

At a time when the minorities are still terrorised and unable to lead normal lives, the BJP unit in Gujarat has proposed to take out a `Gujarat Gaurav yatra'. The BJP has also announced that chief minister, Narendra Modi, will participate in the yatra for three days. This is a blatantly provocative step and will inflame the already sensitive and difficult situation in Gujarat.

The appointment of Vinay Katiyar as the BJP president in Uttar Pradesh is yet another signal of what the BJP has in mind. Katiyar is a former Bajrang Dal chief and one of the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case. A former RSS "pracharak", Katiyar said that his Bajrang Dal image would be his strength and his "ideal".

It is under the NDA cover that the BJP's allied outfits are pushing ahead with all the issues that do not form part of the NDA agenda viz building the temple at Ayodhya, attacks on minority rights etc. Though it is the NDA which is in government, the actual rulers are the BJP. Actually, the NDA is a convenient cover for the BJP-RSS combine to push ahead with its own agenda.

Of the twenty three state assembly and one union territory elections held since the 12th General Elections in 1998, the BJP and its allies could gain only a handful. With the tide turning against it, they think that only a strident advocacy of communal agenda would control the damage. The RSS, the VHP and its allied outfits have repeatedly made it a point to remind the BJP about it and to get back to its real agenda. The revival of the temple construction plans and the heightened rhetoric should be seen in this light.

These developments therefore are bound to influence the political scene in the coming days. The Left, democratic and secular forces will have to remain vigilant and foil all efforts to whip up communal frenzy in pursuit of their nefarious agenda.