Receding hopes

8220;If Hurriyat budges even slightly on its separatist ideology, its very existence will be in danger,8221; a Political Science teacher in a Srinagar college said. 8220;If around 38 pro-independence and pro-Pakistan outfits have come together, it8217;s only on the plank of secession from India. And majority of them will not do anything without the consent of their friends across the border.8221;

Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani is very clear. 8220;There is no question of any bilateral talks with India. If they are sincere to initiate negotiations, it has to be a tripartite conference between India, Pakistan and the representatives of Kashmiris,8221; he said. 8220;How will we agree to any Hurriyat-Delhi negotiation when we are even against bilateral talks between India and Pakistan?8221; Geelani does not accept the Centre released Hurriyat leadership from jail with an intention to ease tensions and start negotiations. 8220;We were released only because there was a lot of international pressure on the Government,8221; he said.

Whether negotiations or not, Hurriyat calls it a win-win situation for the conglomerate. 8220;It was for the first time the Government of India recognized Hurriyat. They had never named us before and it is definitely an achievement for us,8221; Geelani said. For the Hurriyat chairman, who is being projected as an Islamist ideologue like Hasan-al-Turabi of Sudan and Hukmatyar of Afghanistan among Jamat-e-Islamia circles worldwide, the first and foremost priority seems to safeguard that image. 8220;There are only two ways in such struggles. Either surrender before the imperialist or carry on the fight for the noble cause. There is no third alternative and no question of a surrender,8221; Geelani said. 8220;Even coming to a negotiating table with India amounts to throwing away the sacrifice of thousands of our people.8221; Geelani does not agree the foreign militants could create problems for their political conglomerate if they involved themselves in any negotiations. 8220;They have come to help and are in no way a party,8221; hesaid.

Even if the Centre comes up with an unconditional dialogue offer, Geelani still wants a number of measures to be taken before they would discuss the offer in the Hurriyat executive council. 8220;They must call the Army back to the barracks, release all prisoners and stop raids, crackdown operations and arrests,8221; he said.

The moderate leadership in Hurriyat, like Abdul Gani Lone, too is not for a direct dialogue with the Centre. 8220;We can join a dialogue which is meaningful in resolving the basic dispute for all times to come,8221; Lone said, referring to a tripartite negotiation involving Pakistan as well. Lone, however, is very clear about the role of foreign militants. 8220;If there is any hope that we will achieve our goal peacefully, we will not allow anybody to jeopardise it,8221; he said. 8220;Hum naak pe rasa nahin maanenge we won8217;t allow anybody to guide us,8217; he said.

The Hurriyat leadership, in private, agrees that unless Pakistan is involved, they will not be able to join any talks even if they want to do so. 8220;How will we ignore Pakistan? It is very difficult even if we want to do so because pro-Pakistan elements in the conglomerate and also in militancy are strong as well. And also the base camp of this entire movement is in Pakistani territory,8221; said a second-rung Hurriyat leader.

However, the emergence of two powerful pan-Islamist outfits Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba, which now hold sway in Kashmir, has added another dimension to this vexed problem. As they give scant respect to a negotiated settlement, chances of fruitful results of even any tripartite talks are bleak. Both Harkat and Lashkar are literally out of the control of Pakistani establishment. Their parent groups are basically religious organisations with a pan-Islamist agenda and deep roots not only in Pakistan but in Afghanistan and other neighbouring Islamic countries as well.

Though this latest trend has hardened the approach of the separatist political leadership as well, a mechanism that has evolved during the past several years is basically preventing any dilution of the separatist ideology. In fact, whosoever tried to dilute his separatist stand in Kashmir could not survive long. They either had to eat their words and deny having taken a softer posture or were forced to change sides and join mainstream8217; politics.

The man on the street too wasn8217;t enthusiastic about the Centre8217;s offer of talks. This, despite Kashmiris by and large desperately looking for some sort of respite from this daily dose of violence. The general feeling is that the negotiation offer was more or less a diplomatic exercise aimed at garnering the support of the international community. 8220;If they Centre were sincere in any sort of peaceful settlement, the first indications should have been on the ground in Kashmir,8221; said Mohammad Ismail, a grocer in downtown Srinagar. 8220;On one hand they released the Hurriyat leaders, on the other, there was firing on a demonstration killing seven villagers. If there is a shift in the policy, it should necessarily bring respite to the common people,8221; he said.

A farmer, Ghulam Hassan Khan, in a remote South Kashmir village of Utroosa, too feels the same. 8220;I bother more for relief. Let there be no checkings, no crackdown operations, no violence and no killings,8221; he said. 8220;If that happens, I feel half the problem is over. Let them hold talks.8221; Many other villagers, who gathered around him, also felt the most important thing for them was to see an end to this daily death and destruction.

The Centre wants negotiations strictly within the ambit of the Constitution, the separatist Hurriyat is only ready for tripartite talks involving Pakistan while the fourth party the pan-Islamists believe in no dialogue. And with every passing day, the Kashmir imbroglio gets more and more complex, only adding to the woes of Kashmiris.