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Journalism of Courage
Mumbai is no stranger to newsmakers. Indias commercial and entertainment capital frequently plays host to presidents of powerful nations,CEOs of global corporate giants and Hollywood A-listers,not to mention many of their local counterparts. Yet,the city has sometimes been removed from the politics and turbulence in the countrys own backyard such as Jammu and Kashmir or even the northeastern states. The fourth edition of the Express Adda,a series of conversations that The Indian Express Group organises with people at the centre of change,sought to bridge that to an extent by bringing Omar Abdullah,the young and articulate Chief Minister of J&K,to Mumbai last weekend. Going by the turnout and the quality of the discussion hosted at the Olive Bar and Kitchen in Mahalaxmi,Abdullah seemed like a speaker for whom Mumbais corporate leaders,bankers,entertainment industry and advertising professionals had been waiting for. Moderated by Shekhar Gupta,Editor-in-Chief of The Express Group,and Associate Editor Muzamil Jaleel,the Adda spanned a wide range of topics from dynastic politics and Indias relations with China to the return of normalcy to Kashmir and the role of social media. Excerpts:
Shekhar Gupta: Tell us about what it is like to govern a state like J&K.
Its one of the scariest jobs a person can do. So much of what happens in that state is not within your control,but you are answerable and accountable for it. For instance,I have two neighbours China and Pakistan. Obviously none of us have any control over them. I have a huge component of security forces. They have been very responsible,but still theres no guarantee that something wont go wrong. Then there are the militants. If I go to sleep at night in the same frame of mind I woke up with,I think its a great day and a day I can be fairly satisfied with.
Anil Dharker,columnist: Given the problems you wake up to every morning,why do you want to be the CM of J&K?
There have been times when I have asked myself the same question,but so long as I can contribute positively,I want to continue to do what I am doing. We have contributed positively this year more than the last two years. We had panchayat elections in J&K for the first time in more than 30 years with a phenomenal average turnout of 85 percent. The last time we had a functioning panchayat in J&K was when I was 13.
Alyque Padamsee,theatre personality and ad filmmaker: In a democracy,do you believe we should have dynastic politics or meritocracy?
If dynastic leaders are appointed to a position only because of their family then I am the last person to be in favour of it. But at the end of the day no matter what family you belong to,if you run for elected office,you test yourself in perhaps ways in which most other people dont. On the face of it,I dont see anything wrong with it provided there is an element of accountability and the people are given a choice.
Deepak Parekh,HDFC Chairman:
For the last two decades,we have only heard of two families in J&K as politicians. We have not heard of the second line. Who can take over from you?
There is no shortage of young political talent in the state as a whole. On the mainstream side you have Mehbooba,you have myself,there are young politicians in the BJP and the Congress. The recently held panchayat elections have brought out an incredibly talented lot. We had a young boy who was a model here in Mumbai. He came back for the panchayat elections. We have a few boys and girls who have done their MBAs in the US,are engineers and doctors. They are all panchs and sarpanchs now.
Shekhar Gupta: Just going by the experience of other states that have had a history of trouble,when formal peace descends on J&K a new line of politicians will emerge out of todays militants,and the first elections after the peace would be the toughest for Abdullah.
I have no problem with competition. As a politician you never learn more than you do when you lose an election. Honestly,I would never have learned as much as I did about myself and about my state than I did if I hadnt lost the 2002 election. I often joke with Rahul (Gandhi) that if he loses an election he will probably learn a lot more than he does by winning.
Poonam Dhillon,actor: Kashmir was like a film city for years,but now places like Switzerland have taken over. Shouldn’t we do something about it now that peace has come back to J&K?
Levels of violence in the valley are less than 5 percent of what they were in 2002. So its not that the place is unsafe,its just the perception that has to be broken. Whatever support the state government has to provide,we will be more than happy to do that. But,I dont want the sort of movies that reinforce the stereotypes about Kashmir. I dont want to see cartons of apples blowing up and I dont want to see militants falling out of buildings shooting people. So if we can get movies like Rockstar then I am all for it.
Dipika Roy,actor: How has your experience been with social media,new media?
I am actually deeply concerned about the direction in which social media is going because there is no medium I have seen that is used as irresponsibly as I am seeing social media being used today. I have seen for myself the sort of reaction that comes from re-tweeting something that is completely untrue. I mean a morphed picture of something that is believed to be blasphemous put on a Facebook page can spark off a protest faster than I can get that page taken down. A video put on YouTube is treated as the gospel truth that it may not be. My own experience with Twitter has been great. I have really enjoyed it. I have been on the receiving end of trouble from time to time but it has not dissuaded me from using it as a medium.
Prasoon Joshi,lyricist and ad filmmaker: Do you think the media is responsible for creating a perception about J&K being unsafe?
More often than not you will hear about J&K when it is a bad story. Any other state government that had delivered a panchayat election after 30 years with an average turnout of 85 percent would have been talked about everywhere. I have to struggle to be heard on this count. But,if I put a full stop in the wrong place on Twitter tomorrow,I will read about it more than I read about the panchayat elections in my state.
Shaina NC,fashion designer and Mumbai BJP leader: You have worked with the NDA and the UPA. Honestly,who is it easier to align with?
Honestly,its easier for me to be with the UPA. The BJP has some great people but the party also comes with a lot of baggage. I paid a very heavy price politically for continuing to remain allied with the NDA after the Gujarat riots. I had offered to resign,but my resignation was rejected. At that time if I had pressed for my resignation,I think its very possible that the results in the assembly elections of 2002 would have been different.
Muzamil Jaleel,Associate Editor,The Indian Express: There is a massive disagreement between you and the armed forces about the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). At this point of time also,a struggle is going on about whether the political authority in J&K is supreme or is it the armed forces.
I believe that there is a very sound argument for why the AFSPA should be gradually removed from parts of the state. The fact of the matter is that the areas we are looking at removing the AFSPA from have absolutely no army operations. So if there are no army operations why do you need powers? We are not suggesting that we will take these powers away from areas where the army has active operations going on. But unfortunately,logical arguments are more often than not met with emotional replies. And thats the situation that I am grappling with now.
Transcribed by Manasi Phadke
