Men, Matters & Memories
M L Kotru
That the Mufti Government in Jammu and Kashmir is under pressure is as clear as the unseasonal rain and hailstorms that have dogged the Valley past few weeks; unseasonal, because this part of the year in the valley is considered to be the warmest, rains almost unknown, tourist spots teeming with men and women from the rest of the country; seeking pleasure in the outdoors.
The weather gods have for some months now – why, for quite a long time-been unkind to the valley. They were at their unkindest when they struck the State, the valley particularly, with an unaccustomed fury, resulting in the worst floods in the Valley for more than a century, the aftermath of which is still noticeable, unattended all these months. Equally visible is the failure of authority – in New Delhi and in Srinagar to intervene in a decisive manner.
Not the kind of reaction one would have expected from those in power in Delhi and with a capacity to undo the damage. More so when the BJP, ruling party at the Center is a part, also, of the government the State with Mufti Sayeed’s People’s Democratic Party.
Rarely, recall tells, has the dispensation in Delhi been so niggardly in rendering relief to a State hit by natural disasters as was Kashmir last September. One says this without any hesitation and avoiding drawing comparisons at the same time.
Roaming the streets of Srinagar, Anantnag, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, I was not surprised hearing the charge of discrimination against the State by New Delhi bandied about by business leaders and the laity. Cited instantly was the alacrity with which New Delhi had reacted to the natural disasters in Uttarakhand and more recently in the “Hindu” Nepal. An unfair comment on the face of it but which comes easily to Kashmiri flood victims when they compare New Delhi’s response to these crises and their own. “We are asked to draw consolation from the fact that Prime Minister Modi personally visited (aerially for the most part) the valley twice but what use have the visits been when seen in the context of the magnitude of the devastation caused by the floods, points out a leading Srinagar business man. Their houses in the city of Srinagar continued to wear a derelict look as if centuries old and about to collapse. Not all these houses were owned by the rich and the mighty; many were middle class-owned, representing a life time’s saving.
It is not uncommon to hear the grouse in the Valley that in the matter of rendering assistance the BJP government insisted on allotting a larger share of the available lolly to Jammu province which mercifully had been spared the kind of ferocity will which nature had hit the valley. Even the package announced by the Government earlier this week revealed this bias apart from the overall allocation being almost insignificant, considering the extent of destruction in the State.
Jammu province it is openly alleged is the favourite ward of the BJP-led Central Government simply because the electorate there had for the first time given the party a massive mandate, enabling it to make a debut as part of a ruling alliance in the State – the Mufti’s PDP had emerged as the single largest party in the State. If numbers is what really matters to the BJP in Delhi, then it should have extended to the Mufti’s party advantages similar to those given to the Jammu unit. Not just in the matter of allocation of flood relief funds but also in respect of all other advantages granted to Jammu in other spheres of developmental activity. The allocation of the AIIMS to Jammu on the insistence of Mr. Jitendra Singh, Junior Minister in the PMO, rankles. Why couldn’t Kashmir have an AIIMS or why is it being denied other specialised quality institutions like IIMCs, IITs.
The expected flood of tourists which has instead turn out to be a mere trickle so far – much to the disappointment of the Mufti, who is his own Tourism Minister, largely the result of uncertain weather conditions and the continuing separatist protests. The separatist Hurriyets’ resentment over the killings of young civilians and a ranking Jihadi supporter the Geelani faction of the Hurriyat in Sopore, has already seen a remarkably successful valley-wide bandh on Wednesday followed by a Sopore chalo march on Friday, adding to the atmosphere of uncertainty.
Tour operators believe the best part of the season has virtually ended on a very poor note; Amarnath yatra will be the focal point for the next few weeks, given its extended duration, leaving the tourism-dependent sector severely alone, to fend for itself. Add to this the increasing belligerence of the separatists, noisy perhaps, a political nuisance and an irritant capable of causing scare.
Worse the overwhelming sense of grievance among Kashmiri Muslims seems to be all pervasive and persistent. Floods apart, the Kashmiri Muslim believes that the Mufti government has really not lived up to their expectations. Not that they have yet wholly lost faith in its capacity to deliver. Only they don’t see much happening on the ground, given the internecine warring between the Mufti’s PDP and the BJP and its Hindutva baggage. The BJP’s role is written off as being no more than a reflection of the old saying of someone being a dog in the manger.
They wonder why the Mufti who has received an overwhelming mandate from the people is being so diffident, not sharing his view that while the coalition partners may be poles apart politically and ideologically but they do provide the only alternative in the prevailing political situation in the State ensuring for the present the presence of a stable Government with a capacity to push ahead with a significant developmental programme.
The Mufti, it is pointed out by some, including of his own party men, has missed out on things which were basic to his earlier tenure, namely, the healing touch. His Government has simply not been able to put pressure on the center to share the responsibility of rehabilitating the flood affected. Even a party MP has openly criticized the PDP for the “drift” which appears to have become a way of life for it. Others believe the party has been yielding ground to the BJP in the matter of the State’s overall development.
Mufti’s record during his earlier three-year spell, was seen as ideal for the development of the three regions constituting the State. There is no need now to be seen bending backwards over to the frivolous demands of the BJP. Indeed some fear the PDP may have to soon reconsider its position on continuation of the coalition. Critics from within the party are also concerned about the emergence of a three-man coterie around the CM who it is alleged are essentially non performers but have the Chief Minister’s ear.
The Chief Minister for his part believes the party continues to be in good health and capable of correcting its course wherever it has erred. He is on record criticizing Central assistance for flood relief including rehabilitation. He may not admit it publicly he does believe that the Center has been very tardy in offering financial support to the State.
All said and done I dare say at the end of my 16-day stay in the valley the stage is set for interesting times. The principal actors in the coalition drama may deny the existence of differences, the truth is that there is more that separates the two rather than bringing them closer. The high handedness of the Delhi based BJP leadership is simply not raising to the occasion. This may be one of the reasons that the coalition partners have yet to be seen as a committed, forward-looking team. The Chief Minister strongly denies the suggestion, arguing that 100 days is too short a period to determine the success or failure of the unique experiment he has initiated. Good luck to him and his disparate team.
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