TALES OF TRAVESTY
DR. JITENDRA SINGH
It is a strange dilemma! And a herculean paradox! Within the confines of Jammu city, the leaders of State’s socalled meanstream regional albeit Kashmir-centric political parties keep crying hoarse over what they perceive as divisive activism or divisive politics by certain Jammu based groups simply because the latter are not shy to be proud of their nationalist identity. But, in the context of Kashmir Valley, the same vociferous, irrepressible politicians develop cold feet and choose to go mum or turn media-evasive when anti-national elements hold Srinagar and surrounding towns to ransom sending out a clear message of divisive politics at the very cost of the integrity of Indian republic and virtually wage a war not simply to divide but literally to break the country.
No better reiteration of this phenomenon could have been visible than the manner in which the events unfolded in the aftermath of execution of Parliament convict Afzal Guru.
If during his lifetime, Afzal Guru made news for wrong reasons, in his death too, he made news for awkward reasons….one of them being the evidence his hanging brought forth about the overt but vulnerable nationalism incompatibly coupled with covert but compulsive separatism that characterises the politics practised by Kashmir’s socalled mainstream politicians. The most hilarious part of this expose is that the Kashmir’s socalled mainstream politicians, particularly in the ruling hierarchy, tried their best to convince the whole world that they were simultaneously in favour and against the hanging of Afzal Guru, that they sided with the Government in New Delhi in its decision to go ahead with Afzal Guru’s hanging and so never made any obvious attempt to obstruct it or walk out of the UPA alliance over the issue but at the same time they are also on the side of the people of Kashmir Valley in their anger and disapproval of the hanging of Afzal Guru. And, an even more hilarious tailpiece to this is that these socalled mainstreamers are convinced that they have convinced the whole world through the power of their philosophically phrased TV interviews.
Time and again it has been reiterated, often to the displeasure of many, that in the realms of Kashmir politics, there is a very thin line of demarcation between a separatist and a mainstreamer with the two frequently interchanging roles depending on the expediency of the situation and the two proverbially behaving as “two sides of the same coin.” For example, in the recent history of Jammu and Kashmir, there have been atleast three Chief Ministers in the past who proclaimed J&K as an integral part of India as long as they were in office but once out of office they overnight turned votaries of “Azaadi”, “plebescite” and what not.
Not very dissimilar is the case of many of the prominent socalled “separatist” leaders. A Geelani finds nothing wrong in availing pension as an ex-MLA from the Indian State of J&K but refuses to accept the constitution under the provision of which this Assembly exists. And a Yasin Malik claims to be a freedom fighter like Gandhi but while Gandhi travelled from foreign soil of S. Africa back to India to carry forward his struggle, Yasin travels from India to foreign soil of Pakistan to carry forward his “Azaadi” crusade.
Be that as it may. If one goes through the media statements issued by various Kashmir based politicians in the aftermath of Afzal Guru hanging, it is difficult to make out which one is from a separatist and which from a mainstreamer, which to believe, which not to believe, or as bard puts it “…Karoon Main Aaj Ya Na, Tera Aitbaar Karoon?” Meanwhile, common man has the last laugh as Umapathy raises a cheer to say “Afzal Guru exposes them all!”
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