Oped-picEr Nazir Ahmad Nazir

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah is often blamed for acceding Kashmir with India, but hardly anybody talks about his contemporaries, or erstwhile congressmen who were instrumental in eroding the basics of the accord reportedly signed by late Maharaja Hari Singh, for their vested interests paving way towards a complete merger.

One version is that Maharaja was never in favor of accession with India and the document does not even bear his actual signature. So the facts have remained a mystery.

These things have been shrouded under mystery by adopting a dual and shrewd policy merely for the sake of gaining power.

Since the independence of India and despite disputed status of Kashmir, several regimes came to power immediately after the exit of Dogra rulers and conditional accession with India. The present PDP led regime doubtlessly came into power, in 2002 and now, with the kindness of some front ranking separatist organization whether advertently or inadvertently.

But then, probably by their indirect favour or by not enforcing elections boycott as they used to do, the misfortune has befallen upon Kashmiris in the shape of BJP-PDP coalition.

They are the same people who used to cry on top of their voices that elections held in Kashmir are a meaningless exercise. It was the same in 2002 as well. Fortunately people realized their mistake and rejected PDP in 2008 elections.

Late Bakhshi Sahib was right to assert that every leader enjoys peoples support equally!

Before 2014 elections Mufti Mohammad Sayeed impressed people with his rhetoric claiming to solve Kashmir issue if voted to power. But nothing happed. The only thing that he did was he became the CM and is enjoying power, that too at the expenses of people’s miseries. We all know how Mufti forced elections on flood devastated people of Kashmir. I am sure if the elections would have been delayed by six months, things would have been different now. There were chances that NC would have regained its trust among people, and made a comeback to power. But Mufti was too eager to have elections. After floods, unlike NC, Mufti or his party men had no stakes or never even tried to help devastated populace. Interestingly most of the PDP men left Kashmir for safer places while people were struggling on ground. But once the waters receded PDP was back on scene to exploit people’s sentiments. They, instead of helping people in their time of need, literally forced elections on us. During elections they promised sky. But after the elections, when they came in power, they conveniently forgot everything.

It is clear that neither we have become politically conscious as we claim, nor there is any effective leadership to guide people. We always fall in a trap. Despite difference of opinion and public anger, or his political follies, we need a mass mobilizer like Sheikh Abdullah.

Yes, we have attained some economic independence and are not that poor as we were some decades ago. But there is no dedication, no sense of sympathy and respectability in our social or political system. Lust for power and money has prevailed upon all walks of life. The more this tendency grows, the far away we will go from our struggle.

Note: Author can be reached at: [email protected]

2 COMMENTS

  1. Yes, the author is right in asserting that Sheikh Abdullah wasn’t the only politician who devastated kashmir, but devastation started with him. For nehru he favoured accession to india and started deflowering the tree called Kashmir. Bakshi, Sham Kath did the debranching and Kasim and sadiq did the uprooting. So all dogs had their bites and because of these bites, Kashmir is still bleeding that even Three years old toddlers are spared.

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