Hindutva leaders in Jammu claim that the revocation of the land transfer is an affront to Hindu ‘religious rights’ — a claim as bizarre as that of Islamists who claimed the transfer was part of a conspiracy to alter Kashmir’s Muslim-majority character.
It is not as bizarre as it sounds. For one thing, the land transfer was originally agreed upon owing to the reasonableness of the request. The opposition to the transfer was no doubt bizarre but once the transfer was revoked under pressure from the Kashmiri far right, why is it so unusual to suggest that it was not an affront to minority Hindu rights? If the majority in Kashmir did not hold the key to power in the state, would the government have revoked it nonetheless in deference to a regional sentiment? Let us take an easier case. When Mulayam Singh announced a 27% OBC quota throughout the then-undivided UP, a strong anti-quota agitation was launched in Uttarkhand. The result? Absolutely no concession. Mulayam refused to even consider the idea of lifting the quota in response to it. The reason the reverse happened in this instance is precisely because of the power that Kashmir enjoys. And when that power is used to advance a xenophobic agenda, why do the minorities not have a right to resist? They most certainly do.
It is a reflection on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s cynical political agenda that it refused to call for calm or endorse Governor N.N. Vohra’s appeals for dialogue. BJP leaders must reflect on the grave implications of the course they have taken in India’s most troubled and vulnerable State.
Of course the BJP which has no base in Kashmir is not going to endorse a call for calm if nothing is conceded by the government. If you want change, asking people to calm down amounts to endorsing the status quo. Its that simple. Yes, the state is vulnerable but does pandering to extreme and false propaganda of the kind witnessed recently in Kashmir make it any less vulnerable? The Islamist far right will declare victory and become emboldened to demand even more. Where does that leave anyone?
The Hindu is out advising and criticizing everyone it can find - BJP, PDP and the Congress. All except the venerable Left are of course to blame (the lone CPI(M) MLA Mohamed Yusuf Tarigami has surprisingly not been getting the big coverage he got earlier in The Hindu).
Posts
