People's Democracy

JAMMU & KASHMIR

 Polls Open Prospect For Reconciliation: Tarigami

CPI(M) Central Committee member and its Jammu & Kashmir state secretary, Mohd Yusuf Tarigami, was recently re-elected from Kulgam assembly constituency in Kashmir valley, amid several odds and belying all predictions about his sure defeat. Nay, the party he represents has also improved its performance overall in the state. People’s Democracy recently interviewed Tarigami when he was in Delhi on October 12 to discuss with the central leadership the party’s role in the state in the days to come. Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: HOW do you view the assembly election results in Jammu & Kashmir overall?

ANS: The first thing to note is that the people of Jammu & Kashmir have expressed in very unambiguous terms their discontent and their total lack of confidence in the National Conference and also in the BJP-led NDA, of which the National Conference (NC) was a constituent part. It is a fact that when assembly elections were held in 1996 after years of militancy, the NC had a fund of goodwill among the people and the people voted for it despite the boycott call, despite all threats from the terrorists. At that time, the NC promised a responsible and transparent administration, and also that it would do its best to get the state’s autonomy restored to the extent possible. All this had a magic effect on the people at that time.

However, what happened in the state subsequently was quite reverse of what the premier party of the state had promised the people. When the NC came to power in Srinagar, the United Front was ruling at the centre. It had a very positive, sympathetic attitude towards the state and its people. The then prime minister, H D Devegowda, assured Dr Farooq Abdullah that the whole nation was with him.

Yet the fact is that, instead of making use of all this goodwill to get the state’s autonomy restored and the people’s burning problems solved, the Abdullah government simply wasted its energies. Not only that, its rule became synonymous with corruption. Over years, militancy had destroyed schools, hospitals, many other establishments, roads, bridges and culverts. Traditional handicrafts were destroyed. Tourism, one of the most important industries in the state, had come to a grinding halt. All this was causing a lot of woes to the common people. But the state government miserably failed to take vigorous steps to develop the state and create employment opportunities on any significant scale. Moreover, ministers began to auction jobs for money. The situation came to such a sorry pass that the people began to develop abhorrence for the state government. They said the NC had taken their 1996 vote as a blanket endorsement of whatever it wanted to do and that it would have to be taught a lesson…….    

Q: And what was the people’s reaction when the NC joined the NDA government at the centre?

ANS: Yes, that was another potent factor for the NC’s rout. For, when the NC joined hands with the BJP and jumped on to the NDA bandwagon, this came to our people as a big disappointment, as a shock rather. How come a party that had all along fought for the state’s autonomy, joined hands with a party that always strove to get article 370 scrapped! One that always opposed the demand for more autonomy, not only for J&K but for all the states! This was the question the people began to ask.  

There is also the fact that the BJP’s attitude to the Kashmir problem further deteriorated the situation in the state. May one ask what was the need to link the Kashmir question with India’s possession of atom bomb! This only helped US imperialists to intensify their intervention in the state and the region. But the J&K people saw through the game very clearly.

Then, on top of that, when the NC government got an autonomy resolution passed by the state assembly, the BJP-dominated central government did not think it was even worth the paper it was written on. It summarily rejected the demand --- without any consideration whatsoever. And the NC was part of a government that was led by such a party! In such circumstances, the longer the NC continued in the central government, the more it discredited itself. So much so that the people began to think the NC was an obstacle to any initiative for reconciliation.

Q: What was your poll plank in the state and how did you run your campaign?   

ANS: By “you” I think you mean the party, the CPI(M)! Yes, we did highlight the NC government’s unaccountable administration that lacked transparency, how it was neck-deep in corruption, how it had neglected the developmental work and the pressing need of job-creation. We did highlight the NC regime’s non-performance all around. At the same time, we also brought to the people’s notice the NC’s sheer opportunism in allying with the BJP, the intensified US intervention in the region, and other such issues….....  

Q: All that is clear. Do tell us how many candidates the CPI(M) had put up, how they fared and what the people’s response was like.

ANS: You see our party is a very minor force in the state. Moreover, our pockets of influence are confined to the southern part of the Kashmir valley but this is also one of the most terrorism-affected area in the state. As the terrorists don’t like to listen even to the word communist and as they have no love lost for our principled position, they have always been targeting us. As a result, we have lost dozens of our valuable cadres.

Yet, despite all this, we ran a very energetic campaign in the state. We fielded 7 candidates this time, more than the last time. Six in the valley and one in the Jammu region. Of these, 2 won. I was re-elected, and we won the Wachi seat for the first time. Khaleeq Naik of our party won here. Then, we were number two in 2 of the seats and at number three in Pahalgam. This means we forged ahead in more assembly segments than at the time of the last Lok Sabha polls. We will try and do hope to consolidate our position in these areas. Also, we supported an independent candidate in Bilawar in the valley, and he has won.

As for the people’s response, let me quote the example of Kulgam from where I won. Here, the Jamaat-e-Islami J&K concentrated its ire against me and against the communists in general. It ran a very vicious campaign against me and propagated as if I was going to lose, which meant that the people must not vote for me. The terrorists who support the Jamaat also directed their fire against us. Before the election process began, they had killed one of our leading comrades in the valley. During the election process also, they killed three of our comrades. At Munad Machua in my constituency, there was firing all day and no voter could come out. They launched two rocket attacks in Hangal Buch Batehpura, but the people did come out to vote here. At Arigantu, the terrorist firing injured two police personnel, but the people did come out. Overall, there was over 52 per cent polling in Kulgam and you would agree that this was no mean thing in the circumstances. It is certain that if the terrorist threat had not been there, our party could have polled more votes than we did.

Q: What is your reaction to the poll process as a whole?

ANS: Overall, it was definitely a positive development in the midst of extremism and all-round turmoil. The Election Commission successfully took some steps to restore confidence among the people, and a strong message has gone that, given a chance, the democratic process can indeed deliver the goods.  

Q: How do you view the BJP’s rout in these polls?

ANS: You see the BJP is not a new entry here. Even before independence, the RSS was active in the princely state under the name of Praja Parishad and actively assisted, sometimes with arms, in the Maharaja’s game plan of carving out an independent state. Since the first general election in 1952, the Jan Sangh had a sizeable presence mainly in the Jammu region. But this time the BJP has posted its lowest ever tally in the state. It lost all its 8 sitting seats, though it won one lone seat in another part…...  

Q: What is the political significance of this development?

ANS: The significance is plain and simple. Though the BJP is controlled by the RSS, the latter had floated here another outfit, called the Jammu State Morcha (JSM), to press for its nefarious trifurcation plan. But the people have thoroughly rejected the BJP-JSM alliance. This development means that even the people of Jammu region have rejected the RSS plank of separate statehood. But yes, there is truth in the BJP’s contention that its defeat was a victory for democracy. Here at least, they are correct. (Laughs.)

Q: So what direction the state is likely to take now?

ANS: It appears likely that the state will have a coalition government of the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), supported by some smaller parties and independents. As for us, we will extend to the government issue-based support. If they take vigorous steps for the state’s development, for putting the J&K economy back on rails, for job creation, they will indeed have our support. If they move for conciliation, they will have our support. Let’s see how far they go in these directions.

But one point must be noted. The BJP and its central government are posing as if the holding of the elections in the state will solve the Kashmir problem, by itself. This is sheer nonsense. The elections have only opened the prospect for a fair, democratic resolution of the problem. But this opportunity must not be wasted --- at any cost. You see several such opportunities were lost in the past; that folly must not be repeated. So making efforts for a satisfactory resolution of the Kashmir issue within the framework of India’s unity and rushing immediate relief to the people are the two most pressing tasks today. The CPI(M) will extend support to any such sincere effort. Now it is upto the new government to show that it is sincere in these regards.