Amdist “Quiet” Hurriyat Going Pakistan?

PUNCHLINE

QUIET AND TOSSUP POLITICS

Z.G. MUHAMMAD

Quiet it is.   Britain has recognized that by lifting its travel advisory to the state after a gap of twenty years. Germany and Japan have already declared the state as a safe haven for its citizens. In coming days and months, this recognition is perhaps coming to the state from many more European countries – in all likelihood, Washington will also follow the suit- the louder terse and simple message that has gone to the world is:  Peace has returned to the state.
Quiet, with both note of exclamation and interrogation suffixed to it has set into motion ‘discourses’ with difference. Hundred and odd tour operators and hoteliers have been rejoicing it. It might have impacted the state economy as well- how much I have no idea, so far no figures are available about its contribution to the State’s GDP. In best of its times, the state claimed that tourism contributed ten percent to the state GDP. That for uncertainties always looming large in the state was a debatable.
The sleepy Kashmir University campus   has become hub, more of political rather than academic activities.   Some political parties have chosen the campus as a recruiting ground for strengthening their cadres for fighting the coming electoral battles and ideological wars. In late sixties and early seventies, the Pradesh Congress leadership with two of its ministers in the vanguard had made such an endeavor by extending its political activities to the campus. It had succeeded in alluring some students to its camp. Nevertheless, it had humiliatingly boomeranged with embarrassingly disturbing the farewell function of the Chancellor of the University, then Governor Bhagvan Sahi and latching the doors of campus to ministers and politicians for many years.
Quiet has also prompted some New Delhi based “nongovernment organizations” to pursue their agenda of conjuring alternative discourses in collaboration with some willing partners from the campus.  Some of them have almost made it their second home.  Some academia   to use Edward Said’s phrase “in the misguide hope” of reorienting the peoples discourse are engaged in reinterpreting the history of the land and redefining the peoples’ sentiment. Some institutes are out and out busy in the task of reinterpreting the thoughts and ideas of the icons of this land and synchronizing them with the “dominant discourse”. The ideas that have moved this land for centuries and shaped its culture and social ethos   are resilient enough to deflect any interpolations in the Kashmir discourse with repugnance. Nevertheless, there underlies a danger in tuning them to suit the ‘dominant discourse’, such endeavors have the potential of importing influences     and thoughts from outside that can impair our social rubric.
Quite, has also caused a spurt in cultural activities.   Genuine cultural activities grounded in social and cultural ethos of this land are a good idea. Encouraging revival of folk theatre for fighting societal ills and evils is equally good but using it as medium of propaganda for strengthening alternative narratives with political agenda is a dangerous game.
Quiet, has also had its impact on the globally recognized lexicon of Kashmir. Some frequently used  phrases and idioms   about Kashmir in international media like, ‘trouble-torn-state’, ‘dangerous place in world’, ‘nuclear flashpoint’ , ‘world’s highest militarized zone’,  ‘Kashmir a blind spot in regional security’, ‘Asian Powers in Kashmir’ etc have now for past one year have been blue-penciled. Kashmir, as the state is popularly known in the world for over past decade and half had globally caused lot of academic interest in some major international universities. From Brookings Institute to the Harvard University and from the Chatham House, to Royal Institute for Defence and Security Studies almost every important institution connected with global peace has been debating and discussing the Kashmir. True, some researcher continue to be engaged in Kashmir studies but during past one year no major Kashmir related conference was reported in Srinagar press.
Quiet, has also enabled the powers that be to “silence” the voices of dissents by putting embargos on their activities but the question that bothers me is this quiet synonym for the peace that New Delhi for past many years has been looking for  for resolution of the Kashmir problem. Ostensibly, there has not been any move except a nongovernmental organization bringing Muzzafarbad within ambit of its activities by conducting a group of socialite women across the LOC.  India and Pakistan under   canopy of the Chaophraya Dialogue,   joint   track-two initiative undertaken by the Jinnah Institute, Pakistan and Australia India Institute (AII) at Melbourne India and Pakistan have had couple of meetings but Kashmir for being counted  as a spoiler was not talked or discussed.  Some Pakistan’s civil society members and visiting New Delhi have tersely making it clear to Indian leadership that the government in Pakistan is inclined to freeze in Kashmir.  A top Indian lawyer, in his meeting in August with a group of columnists, writers and member’s of civil society state that Asma Jehangar, a Pakistan activists and President of Bar Association visited India with group of about hundred lawyers with a candid message that Pakistan intended to improve relation with India without allowing Kashmir in its way.  He also asserted that the team of lawyers visited this message with the approval of Pakistan President. In this bizarre scenario  four out of seven members of the Hurriyat Conference Executive Council are traveling to Pakistan on November 17, 2012 for a five-day visit. Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi months back had invited the Hurriyat leaders’ of both the factions to Islamabad. Is the four members proposed visit of Mirwaiz led Hurriyat faction to Pakistan also a fall out this “quiet”- will be a wild guess but the ‘quiet’ perhaps can influence its thinking.
The visit however, has thrown up many a question. One, is this good well visit or political visit- if political what would be agenda for talks, will these talks have any bearing on future India and Pakistan talks. Two, timing of the visit, when Pakistan is about to go for the elections, Islamabad is bogged with terrorism and the security scenario in the region is cloudy. Three, why only four out of seven executive members have been included in the delegations and five how substantive can be these talks be when the other faction of the Hurriyat and leaders outsides the umbrellas are not on board.
In June 2005, when nine members of the Hurriyat Conference (M) delegation crossed over the LOC on a fifteen day sojourn to AJK for meeting Pakistan President General Musharraf the agenda was more than obvious; building a consensus on the four point formula. Syed Ali Geelani in his 17 April 2005 meeting with General Musharraf had made his cards open by seeing the four-point formula against the  ‘aspirations’ of people of the state as enshrined in UN resolutions. Mirwaiz during year 2005 had five meetings with Pakistan President. On April 17,, they met in New Delhi  when Musharraf was there to watch a one-day cricket match between India and Pakistan.The two met again on June 7, when Kashmiri separatist leaders crossed over to PoK on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus.On September 17, they met  in New York, when Musharraf was at the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and the Mirwaiz had to participate in an OIC conference.On December 8 last year, the Hurriyat chairman called on Musharraf on the sidelines of a two-day summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Mecca, Saudia Arabia. Musharraf was keen to rope in support to for his four point formula from Kashmir leaders. He not only brought on board  Mirwaiz and his like minded Kashmir leaders but also for the first time Pakistan took on board pro-India Kashmir leaders. In the history of Pakistan for the first time a Kashmir Chief Minister was accorded a red carpet reception. In 1964, even when Sheikh Abdullah, then towering Kashmir leade but a former Prime Minister of Kashmir visited Islamabad, there was debate in Ayub Khant cabinet, if he could be accorded an official reception or not. Other, than the Hurriyat (M) and some like minded parties there was an opposition for the four point formula. Kashmir civil societies are organized couple of seminar, where formula was overwhelmingly opposed.

Notwithstanding, the civil society largely rejected the four point formula- the the 2005, meetings had  as an agenda  against there are no terms of reference  in public domain for the November 2012 visit of the Hurriyat Conference (M).  If one looks in retrospect the Hurriyat Conference  meeting with Indian leaders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advaini and Manmohan Singh were with no proper terms of reference or agenda. The meeting with Advani boiled down to the release of one persons. Manmohan Singh in his on May 3, 2006  made a critical remark and for lack of an agenda asked the Hurriyat Conference to come up prepared next time. In my column then I had seen the meeting as Kindergarten class teacher meeting his pupil for the first time In fact the Hurriyat .Conference believes in tossup politics- leaving things to chance.This politics is like a whirl pool that is going to suck up this organization at any point of time.

Zahidgm@greaterkashmir.com

Abridged version published in GK on