After three months of intense street protests,65 killings and the complete failure of the elected government,Kashmirs biggest hawk who spearheads this latest campaign has now emerged as a formidable voice of moderation. Syed Ali Shah Geelani,considered by New Delhi to be the biggest hurdle in its forward movement on Kashmir has made a significant move,providing the Centre with a rare chance to directly engage with separatist hardliners and thus lay the foundations of a meaningful and comprehensive process to resolve Kashmir.
Geelanis statement on August 31 exhibits a noteworthy downscaling of his traditional position on engagement with New Delhi a phenomenon thats always blamed for the failure of the Centres dialogue with moderate factions within the separatist Hurriyat. In a clear departure,Geelani did not seek the involvement of Pakistan or make New Delhis prior acceptance of the right to self-determination a condition for beginning engagement. In fact,for the first time ever,Geelanis statement didnt even mention Islamabad or its role in breaking the current impasse in Kashmir. An objective analysis of Geelanis single page statement will reveal that the biggest hawk in Kashmirs separatist politics has watered down his position significantly on the issue of direct engagement with New Delhi even as his language may still sound hawkish when compared with the euphemisms that doves among separatists use.
The five demands that he has made of the Centre begin with his long-term posture of acceptance of Kashmir as an international dispute an issue that could be resolved by a slight shift in rhetoric from New Delhi,rather than through any major change in stance.
The other four demands are linked to creating mere atmospherics and are not only doable well within the current political climate,but necessary,too. Geelani has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs public commitment that the troops on ground should be asked for absolute restraint. The prime minister must commit publicly and ensure practically that henceforth no killings and no arrests shall take place. It should also discipline troops and order them to stop humiliating people and destroying public and private property, Geelani said. The next demand is release of our children and political prisoners besides withdrawing cases against youth that are pending in courts. Then Geelani sought a process of punishing the perpetrators of state violence and asks for conviction of those responsible for the recent 65 killings during the street protests.
Geelani also besought New Delhi to announce and begin the process of complete demilitarisation,to be monitored by a credible agency. Earlier,Geelani had made demilitarisation a pre-condition,but this time around,he wants New Delhi to announce and begin the process another shift. This demand,with a slight change in semantics,has been put forth not only by the moderate Hurriyat but the Peoples Democratic Party and the National Conference as well. While the separatists and the PDP called it demilitarisation,the ruling NC termed it as troop withdrawal.
These demands are,thus,neither new nor limited to the separatists alone. The moderate separatists led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,as well as both the major mainstream political parties have been insisting on these measures to create a conducive atmosphere for talks. The choice of language in Geelanis statement may sound hawkish but the content is an absolute departure from his earlier pre-conditions for any engagement.
Remember,Geelani has always been against any direct engagement with New Delhi,making Pakistans involvement compulsory for any dialogue. This time,though,Geelani has sought these five steps to facilitate the creation of a conducive atmosphere enabling the Jammu and Kashmir leadership to meet,consult and consolidate public opinion for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute. This provides a rare chance for the separatists across the hawk-dove divide to begin a process which can help New Delhi to engage them in a credible and comprehensive process of dialogue,rather than talking with one faction which in itself has been a recipe for disaster because of the opposition to such engagements from within.
Now that Geelani has spoken,New Delhi needs to seriously look at his five demands and begin a process that would not only find a way out of protests in Kashmir but also lay foundations for a political resolution. The hawk has finally come around to faith in a drawn-out dialogue rather than expecting New Delhi to deal directly with the Azadi and accession issue. If responded to constructively,this can open up a new window in Kashmir considering that Geelani currently enjoys far more confidence among Kashmirs people than any other leader. Besides,Geelanis overture also offers a rare opportunity for an across-the-board political consensus,not only among separatists but among major mainstream parties too.
For Geelanis new opening gambit is a set of demands which resonate with every political party in the Valley,including the ruling National Conference. The ball is now clearly in the Centres court and what shape Kashmirs separatist movement takes will depend on how New Delhi reacts to Geelani.
muzamil.jaleel@expressindia.com
