TALES OF TRAVESTY
DR. JITENDRA SINGH
A book published posthumously about a person whose life span got terminated by a death sentence.. whatever be the reason for death sentence.. atonce strikes a note of romanticism. And therefore, notwithstanding an overwhelming countrywide opinion in favour of belated death sentence to the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the 94-page book titled “Ahl-e-Imaan Ke Naam Afzal Guru Ka Aakhri Paigaam”’ (The last message of Afzal Guru for the faithful) released last week is going to be discussed for quite some time and precisely, for this reason, it is important to put the record straight and call the bluff of such socalled Kashmir protagonists who have already jumped in, finding the book as a handy tool to push forward their self-serving politics of “separatism” which serves neither the cause of a common Kashmiri nor that of India or Pakistan.
Incidentally, according to the book, Afzal himself points out several contradictions in the separatist leadership, saying that there is a clear contradiction between “thought and practice” and that the Kashmiris lack a proper “direction or roadmap”. Now, the protagonists of “separatism” may try to portray this in the colour suited to their vision and their agenda, but rationalists and objective observers could see this as Afzal Guru’s overall disillusionment with the socalled “Kashmir movement”, if at all there was a “movement” as such. One aspect that remains ambiguously unanswered is, whether after incessant introspection during several years of solitary confinement, was Afzal Guru any more genuinely convinced about the motive and direction of the perceived cause for which he went to prison ?
The publishers and promoters seem to have underplayed Afzal Guru’s lament that Kashmiris have no “roadmap” and his suggestion that intellectuals must offer a “proper explanation or interpretation” to the idea of “Azaadi”. Now, this inconclusive observation by Guru can be interpreted in different ways by different schools of thought, but one surmise could be that Guru was himself not fully convinced about the concept of “Azaadi” as is being propagated.
Significantly, according to the book, Afzal Guru denounced Sheikh Abdullah while seeking to emulate Mahatma Gandhi.About Sheikh, he says, “Kashmiris are cursing him (Sheikh Abdullah) for his betrayal.” Guru quotes Gandhi to say ” for great causes, great sacrifices are mandatory” but his reading of Gandhi seems incomplete and out of context, or else, he would also recall Gandhi’s disapproval of violence saying, what use is freedom or liberty if it leaves behind a trial of orphans, widows and deceased.
Be that as it may, a bitter truth is that the common man in Kashmir is getting wary of the hypocrisy with which separatist leadership has sought to use the name of socalled movement to fill their coffers and settle their own children in Indian metros or abroad while expecting the ordinary youth to join the “Jehad”. Now, this book is yet another attempt by the separatist camp to revive its weaning relevance by using the name of Afzal Guru…after death. Will the common man be taken in or will Umapathy rise on his behalf to rebuff …Kya Sune Unki Jo; Sahil-Kinaare Baithe, Maujon Ka Nazaara Karte Hain!
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