Around this time a year ago, the Jammu and Kashmir government was celebrating a major feat. It had succesfully conducted elections for local bodies in the Valley after a gap of 27 years. The enthusiasm shown by the Kashmiri people, braving militant threats to come out and vote, surpassed all previous experiences with democracy since the beginning of militancy in 1990. On March 13, 2005, when 364 elected members of Srinagar Muncipal Corporation, three muncipal councils and 31 municipal committees took oath of office, they were presented as proof of the triumph of Indian democracy.
With the shooting of two commanders of Harkat at the residence of councillor Nisar Ahmed in Shopian just Tuesday, many people are asking as to what happened in less than a year to turn these representatives8212;who came into office riding a wave of hope, and braving militant bullets8212;into suspects in the eyes of security forces. Tuesday8217;s incident was just the latest example of the militant-politician nexus in the state, with investigations into fidayeen attacks turning up links with elected representatives.
The answers to this lie in the one-year history of the elected local bodies. When these elections were held, there was massive enthusiasm at both the state as well as Central level. The success of these polls meant that neighbourhood democracy was now a reality in Kashmir8212;a state where the credibility of every assembly or parliamentary election had been questioned earlier. While the people saw an opportunity to change issues that actually affected their daily lives, the government saw in it a chance to showcase its democratic credentials internationally. And, as it hoped, there were congratulatory messages from the US, UK etc to the people of Kashmir.
In the exercise, many people lost their lives8212;two people were killed when militants threw a grenade at an election rally while there were a dozen attacks on candidates and councillors, leaving two dead during the campaign while four were gunned down later.
But as soon as the euphoria surrounding the municipal elections evaporated, so did the government8217;s interest. It failed at the first test of its long-term commitment to democracy: elected members who faced threat from militants were not provided adequate security. What it gave was one personal security official per councillor, a joke by J-K standards.
Soon the militants started attacking the municipal councillors. Even their families were targeted. Militants abducted the son of the president of Sopore Municipal Council, Ghulam Rasool Dar, and forced him to resign in exchange for his release. The intelligence wing of the J-K police did submit a report to the government recommending a review of councillors8217; security, but nothing happened.
8216;8216;We lost two of our prominent councillors in Srinagar to militant bullets8212;Mohammad Maqbool Shah Khaksar and Mohammad Ashraf Bhalla. And everyone else is living in constant fear,8217;8217; Mayor of Srinagar city, Ghulam Mustafa Bhat, told The Indian Express. 8216;8216;As soon as the elections were over, the government left us to fend for ourselves. We were not even provided proper security and hardly anybody was given secure accommodation.8217;8217; Bhat added that he had to intervene at his own level to help the councillors in Srinagar. 8216;8216;A majority of our councillors live in downtown city, where they were left to be slaughtered one by one. I had to intervene personally and put 27 of our councillors in Devi Aangan where we had some accommodation.8217;8217;
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The security situation is worse in rural Kashmir. Riyaz Ahmad Nago, a councillor from Baramulla who was attacked by militants but escaped, is a bitter man. 8216;8216;We were sacrificed for this sham process. Militants had no grudges with us earlier, we became targets after people participated in these polls,8217;8217; fumes Nago. 8216;8216;Despite being elected representatives, we have to beg before government officials. We involved public in a democratic process, and that was the biggest success, but we failed to do anything for them after being elected8230;We are now planning a demonstration outside Parliament.8217;8217;
Other councillors, however, say that what bothers them more is that not only are they sitting ducks, they are also lame-ducks. The J-K government has been avoiding empowering these elected institutions and the Centre has shown no interest either. The state government8217;s reluctance is understandable, given that a powerful local body will mean more accountability and transparency in utilisation of funds.
8216;8216;We have completely failed to deliver, we are like puppets,8217;8217; said Bhat. 8216;8216;We were told that the main essential services departments would come under the Corporation8212;Roads 038; Buildings, Power Department, PHE Public Health Engineering, Police, UEED Urban Environment and Engineering Department, SDA Srinagar Development Authority, Health, Food and Supplies. But we were given a partial role in a defunct UEED where we can do nothing because all these departments are interlinked.8217;8217;
The Deputy Mayor of Srinagar, Ghulam Mohammad Hajam, lost two of his supporters when militants threw a grenade at a campaign rally. Now he asks how he can show his face to voters, who elected him with a huge majority. 8216;8216;Before we assumed office, the annual budget of the municipality run by the government directly was Rs 10 crore under the Capital City Development Fund and Rs 5 crore under the National Slum Development Programme,8217;8217; he pointed out. 8216;8216;But we have been allocated just Rs 1.5 crore and our corporation has to take care of a jurisdiction spread across 415 sq km.8217;8217;
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Hajam also noted the discrepancy between his position and that of a J-K MLA, Raman Matoo, who won securing 300 votes in a constituency of one lakh people and now enjoys all State facilities. 8216;8216;I won my municipal corporation seat by securing 2,800 votes in a constituency of 5,500 voters,8217;8217; he said.
Bhat concurs with Hajam, asking how they were expected to even pay the councillors given the funds at their disposal. 8216;8216;The only renumeration that the councillors get is Rs 300 for attending a meeting8230;How can anybody expect us to start developmental programmes with such meagre funds?8217;8217;
Given the conditions in which they function, many reason out the militant-politician nexus in private, even though in public their lips are sealed. 8216;8216;How can a councillor expect a lone policeman to protect him and his family from militants? Everybody wants to survive,8217;8217; a councillor told The Indian Express.
Sources in the police too admit that many of these concillors were joining hands with militants under duress. Including, they believe, the Congress councillor from Shopian, Nisar Ahmad, who allowed his home to be turned into a militant hideout to buy peace for him and his family.
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Sadly, with the PDP-Congress coalition government and the state bureaucracy both reluctant to share the power pie with the local elected representatives, the ranks of concillors joining hands with militants might only swell.
Concluded
PART I-Bullet-proof 8216;monks8217;
Mail the author at muzamiljaleelyahoo.com
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