When 56-year-old Ghulam Nabi came out of the Duderhama polling station in Ganderbal, he was confronted by a group of angry men 8212; they favoured a poll boycott. A heated argument followed but this time the discord was limited to a verbal duel. Unlike in Kashmir8217;s recent electoral history, the political argument did not degenerate into violence, not even a fist fight.
A few years ago such disagreement could even have spelt death. Even as the spectre of the return of violence always looms, there are indicators that people are now ready to hear out an alternative voice. This new phenomenon was, in fact, visible across the villages of Ganderbal when that constituency went to polls on Sunday, November 23. Pro-poll and anti-poll villagers confronted each other on pavements and in street corners, debating the merits of their respective viewpoints. This time, they were armed only with logic and reason.
8220;We should realise what happened yesterday,8221; middle-aged Nazir Ahmad started the argument at Duderhama. 8220;Sixteen and 18-year-old children were killed yesterday in Baramulla. Were they not our children?8221; Ghulam Nabi 57 listened patiently. As soon as the volleys from the opposite camp stopped, he calmly replied: 8220;But vote is our right. Who will repair these roads? We have to elect a government8221;. The animated discussion continued 8212; friendly, sometimes intense, occasionally high-pitched. It ended with a remark from a bearded young man, sitting some meters away at a shop front. 8220;We villagers always mix issues. We always leave things halfway8221;.
One of the more interesting debates happened at Wakoora village, a National Conference stronghold, also the native village of a top militant commander. This time, the disagreement took place in front of television cameras and the two sides listened to each other calmly.
First Haji Habibullah Tantray 60 talked about the importance of the vote. 8220;We have to vote. We have to choose our own candidate and elect a government which will help resolve the Kashmir issue too. If we don8217;t vote, it will be a disaster. We will have people ruling us who have nothing at stake,8221; he said. 8220;I am with the National Conference and our party consistently makes it clear that these elections have nothing to do with the Kashmir issue. These elections are for local issues and nothing else8221;. Zahoor Ahmad Rather 25 listened patiently. 8220;This argument is flawed,8221; he said.
Ganderbal constituency saw several contrasts. At Kurhama village8217;s 37-A polling booth, 270 votes out of 903 were polled by 11.27 am. But the village also witnessed fierce anti-poll demonstrations as a number of men, women and children took to the streets, raising pro-8216;azadi8217; and anti-election slogans. The green flags and banners of the Kashmir Coordination Committee 8212; the separatist amalgam that called for election boycott 8212; fluttered in the village.
8220;This is not fair,8221; said a man, in his twenties, annoyed with the protestors as they traded insults with the Central Reserve Police Force personnel outside the polling station at Kurhama. 8220;If somebody wants to vote, why should anybody stop him?8221;
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The reply came from a 15-year-old protestor. 8220;If you want to vote, go. But we too have a right to protest. Why would anybody stop us?8221;
At Tulmulla village 8212; home to the one of the most revered Hindu shrines 8212; around 20 people assembled to raise pro-boycott slogans. 8220;No election, no selection, we want freedom,8221; the angry protesters repeated. But as a vehicle ferrying voters passed by, the contention didn8217;t go beyond some derisive hooting. The voters returned the gesture without any unpleasant incident.
Two kilometers ahead in Barsoo village of the Assembly constituency, inside the government primary school, voters, both men and women, waited in long queues for their turn. Outside, pro-boycott villagers raised pro-freedom slogans. Both parties exchanged smiles and occasional insults too.
It was not just pro- and anti-poll villagers who crossed arguments in peace. Supporters of different political parties too were engrossed in heated discussions, but in harmony. As long queues of voters waited outside polling station 74-A of Harkarpur Thirum, several middle-aged men huddled around a bonfire, each advocating the policies of their favourite political party.
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8220;Why should we vote for Omar Abdullah or Qazi Afzal? They didn8217;t work for us when they were in power,8221; said Bashir Ahmad Mir, a Congress supporter. 8220;Look at Ghulam Nabi Azad sahib8217;s work. He focused on development of the state.8221;
The NC supporter countered: 8220;Whatever you have today is because of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah sahib,8221; he responded. The discussion turned fierce and the group scattered only when one of them remarked: 8220;Voting is a right. Use it, no matter whom you vote for.8221;
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