Brig Anil Gupta
The Gupkaris of late have suddenly developed special love for the Dogras, Dogra pride and heritage notwithstanding the fact that the Jammu region, abode of Dogras, has been the victim of worst type of discrimination under their rule. Infact, they have been the wreckers-in-chief of the Dogra pride and heritage and architect of regional cum religious discrimination leading to groundswell of dissatisfaction among the local populace as is evident from their ever-declining vote share. The sudden U-turn is the result of their growing frustration due to shift of power from signature Gupkar Road to the villages, blocks, towns and cities and recognition of the fact that the centre of gravity of JK politics has shifted from Gupkar Road in Srinagar to Jammu. The Srinagar Declaration, an attempt to keep the flames of secession burning and idea of separatism alive, has failed miserably and has become another reason for their frustration. The latest delimitation of electoral constituencies has added further to their frustration because of the realisation that their political survival no longer depends on tunnel-vision politics catering to the needs of a particular region and community. For realisation of their political dream and safeguarding of dynastic politics they need to woo and win the confidence of Dogra voters.
The frustration has become so deep rooted that one of the constituents of the Gupkar Alliance has gone to the extent of proclaiming that the residents of JK face existential threat. Rather than directly advocating the cause of Pakistan, it has chosen to flog the dead horse SAARC. It claims, “revival of SAARC can genuinely make India Vishwaguru.” Again, the frustration is evident, while on the one hand it criticises India’s presidency of G20 while on the other advocates revival of SAARC, which became dysfunctional due to the adamant attitude of Pakistan which wanted to turn it into a platform for political slugfest rather than the economic booster for the region. Growing frustration is drawing the Gupkaris closer to Pakistan as a few members of the Alliance want to fill the vacuum created due to the Hurriyat becoming irrelevant. However, their political compulsion to woo the Dogra voter is curtailing their open love for Pakistan, the preparator of jihadi terrorism and radicalisation in JK, thus the veiled approach via the SAARC route.
It is also ironical that while a realization has dawned among the intelligentsia in Pakistan which acknowledges India’s rise as an economic and strategic global power and are critical of the self-destructive path adopted by Pakistan, the Gupkaris still continue to bat for Pakistan. A well known Pakistani analyst Shahzad Chaudhry in an article in the leading Pak daily The Express Tribune dated 04 May 2023 writes, “Such has been the monumental change in India’s fortunes as a State and a player principally in Asia and broadly on the global stage. Modi may be despised in Pakistan, but he has done something to brand India which none before him was able to manage. Importantly, India does what it feels and to the extent she needs. We are delusionary and deceptive in assessing our standing and employ double-speak as an art, vilifying the US a popular pastime while whingeing when it accosts India. Two opposing military superpowers of the world claim India to be its ally. If this isn’t diplomatic coup, what is?” He further writes, “The gap between India and Pakistan is now unbridgeable.” As far as Kashmir is concerned, he admits that Pakistan was politically out-manoeuvred by India on Kashmir by rescinding 370. It’s high time that the Gupkaris accept the reality and come out of the time warp otherwise it only will multiply their frustration. The Gupkaris need to realise that Pakistan is the sole and main cause ‘prima causa’ of the turmoil in Kashmir. Thus, Pakistan is the problem as far as Kashmir is concerned and the problem can never be the solution. If they sincerely desire peace and betterment of Kashmiris, they will have to divorce Pakistan.
Blaming Bharatiya Janata Party for plundering the resources of the UT and equating it with “East India Company” is another visible sign of frustration and separatist mind-set of the Gupkaris. East India Company plundered Bharat’s wealth and resources and filled the royal coffers in London, a foreign land. Does Mehbooba and her ilk consider the remainder India a foreign land? She is living in a time warp. The constant reference by the Gupkaris to other Indian citizens as “outsiders” is a ploy to woo the locals without realising its ramifications. Post 05 August 2019, all people residing in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir are Indian citizens irrespective of origin. It’s a settled issue. Everyone being an Indian citizen, enjoy equal rights. I am reminded of my recent visit to Goa. At one of the popular beaches in Southern Goa, I came across four shops owned by the Kashmiris. During conversation it emerged that their parents had shifted to Goa in eighties and they have had their education in Goa and are happily carrying on with the family business. I thereafter introduced myself and expressed happiness on belonging to the same state, he crisply replied, “I am a Goan first and a Kashmiri later.” I was surprised but he qualified by saying that “I suffer no discrimination here and enjoy the same privileges as the native Goans.” There is a big message in this for the short-sighted Gupkaris who continue to spit venom on the issue of “outsiders.” Imagine what can happen to thousands of JK residents who are happily settled in various other parts of the country, if the locals and leaders there develop the same mindset as the Gupkaris.
The latest example of fake sympathy for the Dogras is the statement of a senior leader of Gupkar Alliance raising the issue of non-hosting of G20 event in Jammu. A sustained campaign has been launched against the scheduled G20 meet in Srinagar in the last week of May. The Gupkaris are hurt not because it’s not being held in Jammu but the fact that it is being hosted in Srinagar. The successful conduct of the global event in Srinagar will take away the wind from their sail and they no longer will be able to sell their false Kashmir narrative to global community as well as play the victim card. Thus, they are trying all tricks in the bag to derail the event. It is not their new found love for Jammu but the frustration of their future that is compelling them to create a rift in the hope that it may be cancelled in Srinagar as well. “Messaging” is an important component of global diplomacy. By holding the G20 meets in Leh and Srinagar the Government of India wants to send a cryptic and unambiguous message to Pakistan and China. For those Jammuites, who have fallen prey to the propaganda of the Gupkaris, my only appeal is not to sacrifice national interest for shallow regionalism which the frustrated Gupkaris are trying to promote.
The growing frustration is also obvious from the statements made by the leaders of Gupkar Alliance post the Bhatta Durian terror attack. Rather than condemning the terrorists, their sympathisers and their aka Pakistan, they tried to give it a communal angle. Home Minister Amit Shah exposed the Gupkaris by stating, “We will not buy peace but will establish peace,” an obvious reference to the tactics adopted by the Gupkaris when in power.
Gupkar Declaration is not worth more than a piece of paper now. It’s proponents need to acknowledge that they can’t change what has already happened and they need to concede to the reality. Every statement made in frustration will be one more nail in their coffin.
(The author is a Jammu based veteran, columnist, and security and strategic analyst)
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