Pragmatic Euphony  

Making sense of the internal contradictions of separatist politics undermining prospective peace talks in Kashmir.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is trying to reassert a role for himself in the peace process, which he believes is rightfully, and solely his in Kashmir. The statements by and the stance of Mirwaiz since his return from the US — and after the declaration of a new OIC envoy for Kashmir — betray his keenness to appropriate the role of the internationally acceptable face of Kashmiri separatism. This impression has been further reinforced by his statement which emphasised that China is a stakeholder in Kashmir. His public declaration of intent to visit China is another ploy to further this aim.

Mirwaiz really has no serious competitors among his fellow separatists for that position, bar Yasin Malik to a certain extent. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, with his public support for al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, and calls for imposition of the Shariah, is and will remain an anathema for all liberal, western democracies. Others like Shabbir Shah and Professor Abdul Gani Bhat lack the suavity and communication skills to impress an international audience while Yasin Malik — despite his romantic militant-turned-peacenik tale — doesn’t have the lineage and the socio-religious authority of the Mirwaiz.

However, it is this very quest for an internationally acceptable role that puts Mirwaiz in a very uncomfortable position internally. Other separatist leaders, who have no desire to be sidelined by the Mirwaiz, continue to hit at his credibility by invoking unreasonable preconditions for commencing any peace talks with India. And Mirwaiz soon follows suit in this game of competitive separatist populism, making it inconceivably difficult for the Indian government to initiate any talks with him — quiet or otherwise.

Other separatist leaders also grudge the fact that the Mirwaiz has little political base in Kashmir. Syed Ali Shah Geelani can boast of the support of the Jamaiti cadre in the Valley, and he certainly continues to hold sway over Sopore. Mirwaiz’s influence on the other hand, does not extend beyond certain sections of urban Srinagar, more owed to his hereditary position at the religious seat of the Jama Masjid than to any substantive political activity. Other separatist leaders also suffer from a similar disadvantage vis-à-vis Geelani and are thus willing to defer to Geelani — as seen during the Amarnath agitation last year — rather than accept Mirwaiz as the first among equals.

The situation is further complicated by the role of the two mainstream political parties in the Valley — National Conference[NC] and the People’s Democratic Party[PDP]. Most observers believe that NC would be happy to see Mirwaiz being accepted as the spokesperson of the Kashmiri separatists. While some people assume that it is due to the superficial similarities in age, lifestyle and personal world-view between Omar Abdullah and the Mirwaiz, there are more substantive political reasons for this support. PDP, a rather new party on the Kashmiri political firmament, has drawn its strength from the Jamaiti cadre during the elections. Thus it owes Geelani a favour, which is reflected in the incessant demand by the Muftis to involve Geelani in the peace talks. Moreover, if some kind of agreement leading to participation of the separatists in elections were to come through, Mirwaiz and his band of moderate separatists would be in direct competition with the PDP and its soft-separatist plank for the same electoral base. The recent statement by PDP’s Muzaffar Baig condemning Mirwaiz for his statement on China is further proof of who the PDP considers to be its real enemy among the separatists.

As far as the Congress party is concerned, it has been reduced to a marginal player in Kashmir valley where it seems to have accepted the role of a junior partner to the NC. The grassroots membership of the Congress party in Kashmir — with the tacit support of their ambitious state-level leaders — are thus not very keen on seeing Omar Abdullah succeed. If Omar Abdullah were to succeed as CM — leading to a strengthening of the NC-Congress alliance in the state — it would sound a deathknell for the political ambitions of these local workers and the state leaders of the Congress party. Many have observed the subversive role of the local Congress workers in belittling the state government, in which their own party is a partner, during the recent Shopian incident. This reaction from the Congress workers is likely to be replicated in the future as the peace talks progress and the separatists’ involvement in the electoral process becomes a real possibility.

Although it sounds counterintuitively passive, New Delhi’s silence on the current developments in Kashmir is the most prudent course of the action by the Indian government. It is a period of churning among the separatists. While the government continues with its back-channel engagement of the separatist leadership, it must continue to keep a ear to the ground to quickly identify the leaders being thrown up during this churning.

Meanwhile, New Delhi needs to continue with its investment in infrastructure in border regions of the state, even though it may be ostensibly for the purpose of promoting tourism. And the proposal to allow foreigners to visit Turtuk is a welcome step which signals normalcy and helps build favourable international opinion. Whatever may be the fate of the talks with the separatists, the state and the central government must come up with more such welcome initiatives.