I don’t think so. Whatever wrong
is happening in Kashmir is being
carried out at the behest of Central
government and its agencies.
Take the case of the attack on
non-local labourers and truck
drivers. At a time when the economic
condition of Kashmiris is so bad,
how can anyone kill their own truck
driver or a labourer? Aren’t we further
damaging our own economy? That’s
not possible. All of this is being done
so that nobody raises a voice in
favour of Kashmir.
Kashmir is known for mass protests.
Why do you think there were no
widespread street protests against
the hollowing out of Article 370?
Before August 5, we had an
inkling that New Delhi was up to
something. At the all-party meeting
that took place in Gupkar in Srinagar
in the first week of August, everyone
stressed on the fact that whatever
the case, people have to be careful.
We had apprehensions that if
the people came out on the streets,
the government would slaughter
2,000-3,000 in a few minutes.
People knew that their lives were
in danger if they came out on the
streets. And what purpose would it
have served if 3,000 people had
been killed?
Many in Kashmir now fear
demographic change. How real is
that fear?
The fear is 100% correct. And
whenever those fears are raised,
they raise the issue of Kashmiri
Pandits. There’s no doubt that
whatever happened to them was
wrong. But, at the same time,
Kashmiri Muslims were being
slaughtered by Indian forces in
various massacres.
It was a very different time and
it enveloped everyone. Nobody
forced them out deliberately. The
1990s unravelled in Kashmir like a
doomsday and Kashmiri Muslims
bore the brunt of it. Why doesn’t
anyone talk about that? Does
anyone have an idea about the
January - 2020
number of Kashmiri Muslims killed
since 1990 or how many houses of
Kashmiri Muslims were destroyed?
Do you think leaders like you, part
of the old guard which took part in
electoral politics, have become
vulnerable to violence and public
anger?
I have never felt the threat of
militants. Even today, I don’t have
a threat from anyone threat except
the Central government and its
agencies. Not only us but entire
Kashmir. There’s no other threat.
Killing of shopkeepers or non-local
labourers or burning of non-local
trucks in Kashmir is being done by
these agencies.
Many argue that even before
August 5, electoral politics, dubbed
the political ‘mainstream’ in Kashmir,
was in crisis. Is the mainstream now
under further stress?
I don’t think there was any
crisis in the mainstream. Those
ruling us have a different thinking
altogether. For them, the life of an
animal is more sacred than a
human. In Kashmir, only the BJP is
doing politics these days, through
the barrel of a gun.
I don’t think it will be difficult for
the mainstream in Kashmir. Kashmiris
are politically conscious beings.
They are mentally alert. They know
what they have to deal with.
The BJP also says it has
resolved the Kashmir issue once
and for all...
They are living in a fool’s
paradise. If the fire in Kashmir had
subsided to some extent, they have
given it a new spark. And with it, they
have brought their own destruction.
Your father rejected the two-nation
theory and supported a conditional
accession with a secular India. Do
you think it was the right decision?
These kinds of assessments
are always made in retrospect. At
that time, it [accession] was
necessary. It was a correct decision
under the circumstances of that
time.
But with people from the BJP
and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh at the helm, it’s worrying.
Minorities don’t exist for them.
How’s that acceptable?
But you still consider yourself
Indian?
I am an Indian of that India
which my father joined. Not the
current India, which doesn’t have
space for anyone.
In 1953, you saw your father arrested
and dismissed from the office of
prime minister of Jammu and
Kashmir. Do you think the situation
post August 5 is different?
When they arrested Sheikh
Sahab or my husband in 1953, they
didn’t go after or harass their
families. There’s no widespread
crackdown. No children were put
behind bars or detained in jails
outside the state. In the current
situation, every Kashmiri has been
terrified and suppressed. If BJP had
its way, they would kill or burn
everyone.
But it was under the Congress that
the erosion of Jammu and Kashmir’s
special status began...
It was the Congress which
started it. We have to accept it. But
I don’t think Congress would have
dared to touch Article 370.
These [BJP and RSS] people
are outright murderers. They don’t
care about anything. If a home
minister stands up in Parliament
and lies to the country then we can
imagine what the condition of the
rest of the party is.
What do you think needs to be done
to ensure peace in Kashmir?
India should just leave us alone
and let us be. We will take care of
everything on our own.
Are you suggesting that Jammu and
Kashmir should no longer be a part
of India?
It’s they who have brought to
that level. Because of what they
have done to us, we will prefer
going to hell than being with an
RSS-ruled India. Who’ll want to be
contd. on page 20
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