National Highway

[An edited version of this article by me appeared in Sakaal Times on 3 July.]

In Valley it is V for Victiory
Srinagar, 2 July:  The writing is on the wall: the Kashmiri demand for independence from India is not over yet. Separatist leaders and commoners alike have hailed the withdrawal of the land transfer order as the victory of the Kashmiri people and called for revitalizing the azadi movement. This is clearly a turning point in the 20 years old militant struggle. There is also talk of boycotting the forthcoming assembly elections and reunification of the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference.

The mood was reflected in every local daily’s frontpage headlines. “PEOPLE WIN,” said Greater Kashmir.” “Kashmir Savours Victory,” said the “Kashmir Observer”. “Kashmir win,” said “Amroze Kashmir”.  “VICTORY!” shouted the “Etalaat”. “People win, Order revoked,” said the “Kashmir Monitor”. The Urdu “Srinagar Times” had a cartoon showing a common Kashmiri with a ‘V’ sign, the caption reading “Man of the Match”.

The emphasis that it was a people’s agitation rather than one of leaders is shared by everyone. The sentiment is shared by every taxi driver, shopkeeper, houseboat-owner, journalist – too widespread to be brushed away as anybody’s political gimmick The agitation was lead by the ACALT committee which had, apart from Hurriyat leaders, apolitical religious leaders, representatives from trade and transporters’ organization’s, the Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and the Bar Council. Vehement support was given by the Valley’s Sikhs and most Kashmiri Pandit organizations as well.

The biggest winner is Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who was the first to begin mobilizing the public with a signature campaign. He held a press conference this morning in which he emphasized the non-violent nature of the agitation, the widespread support of youth who took to the streets.

“This punctures New Delhi’s theory that our movement is standing on Pakistani support,” he said, adding, “Did you see a single agitator using violence?” He announced a special gathering on Friday at the Hazratbal shrine which would be addressed by him as well as Mirwaiz Omar farooq, leading to speculation that Hurriyat reunification is on the cards. “The movement lives on in the hearts and minds of the people,” he told Sakaal Times.

The relatively smooth rule of the PDP-Congress coalition and the decline in militancy had led observers to believe that people’s participation in elections could increase. “Nobody will vote now,” said Etalaat editor Zahiruddin. In fact NC’s Omar Abdullah is believed to have said as much to the NSA in his meeting with him in Delhi.  “Mainstream politicians in the Valley who believed the movement was on its deathbed have got a rude jolt,” he said. “This is very unpleasant for the Indian government and intelligence agencies who were already talking of a post-conflict scenario,” says human rights activist Parvez Imroz.