Shadow over the Valley

The current crisis in the National Conference does not bode well for Jammu and Kashmir, which of late has been showing signs of decisively emerging from a long, dark decade lost to militancy. Bollywood film crews are once again staging stunts and recording dance sequences in heady locales in the Valley — the touchstone of normalcy — and a liquor shop and cinema have reopened in Srinagar, prompting optimists to declare a revival of the languishing tourism industry. But as Tuesday’s blast in a Rajouri shopping complex, which left five dead, shows, any optimism must be cautious, what with the advent of summer bringing with it the threat of increased infiltration and influx of ever more sophisticated arms from across the border. But nothing could be more ominous for the state than the possibility of the bitter polarisation in the 12th Lok Sabha spilling over into Kashmiri politics. Add to this the intra-state dispute over a report advocating increased autonomy, and you have a volatile brew. The national andstate leadership alike would be advised to adopt a more mature approach to build on the successes of the past couple of years.

Chief minister Farooq Abdullah was perhaps left with no option but to expel Saifuddin Soz from his National Conference and it may ultimately create no new divisions within the party. But Soz’s flurry of accusations that Farooq has alienated the Kashmiris, that he has proven himself an undeserving legatee of Sheikh Abdullah, could revisit old wounds among an electorate which is just about coming around to embrace the democratic process. More importantly, by imparting a high-pitched bellicosity to political debate, Soz threatens to unravel Farooq Abdullah’s declared strategy of maintaining cordial New Delhi-Srinagar relations to ensure smooth coordination on anti-militancy and confidence building measures. As it is, charges have been flying thick and fast. The National Conference has accused the Congress of breaking bread with militant outfits to dislodge its government, while theopposition has charged ministers with turning a blind eye to alleged excesses by the security forces. Were this political battle to turn more vicious and alienate the population, separatist outfits would have a golden opportunity to step in and fill the vacuum.

Other contentious issues have also been thrown up. The report of the State Autonomy Committee, tabled last week in the assembly by the chief minister with a call for a national debate, recommends restoration of pre-1953 status to the state. In this scheme of things, the Centre’s legislative authority over Jammu and Kashmir would be limited to defence, communications and external affairs, with all other Central legislation passed since being inapplicable to the state. Besides resuscitating the fractious debate on Article 370, which has been on the backburner for a while, the report could aggravate intra-region discontent. Jammu and Ladakh have long argued that their struggle is aimed at autonomy vis-a-vis Srinagar, not necessarily New Delhi.Admittedly, major strides have been made towards normalcy, but complacency on new challenges at this point could be suicidal.