India After Modi by Ajay Gudavarthy

Author:Ajay Gudavarthy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Kashmir: Is It Also a Question of Internal Colonization?

Kashmir has remained in turmoil and simmering since the current regime under Mr Modi took over the reins in the centre. It remains central to the agenda and strategy of Hindutva in the rest of India. What has been the dominant mood in the valley under the current regime? And what has been the ‘Kashmir policy’ of the BJP? Why did the BJP align with a pro-separatist party such as the PDP and why did the alliance not last its full term? What was the nature of the hidden tension between the PDP and the BJP that eventually led to the dissolution of this unlikely coalition?

In many senses, the mood in all these states tells us about the direction of democracy in India. In a survey, that I carried out in Kashmir Valley, after the coalition government of BJP-PDP took over, we found a few surprising opinions (add the details of the survey here). Jammu & Kashmir held assembly elections in November-December 2014, soon after the BJP formed the government at the centre in May. The elections witnessed an unprecedented turnout. The BJP swept Jammu region with 25 seats but failed to open its account in the Valley. Afterwards, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP, most unlikely of partners, came together to set up a coalition government. In the Valley, the overwhelming agenda was to defeat the BJP, which the electorate succeeded in doing, with most BJP candidates losing their deposits. The post-poll BJP-PDP alliance, however, has been seen in far more pragmatic terms by the people of Kashmir. It is interesting that while a majority in the Valley sees the BJP as a ‘Hindu’ party, they nevertheless think that Kashmir can benefit in terms of development and governance with the BJP in power. In fact, a majority said that having close ties with a party in power in the Centre would benefit the Valley. The stance is partly because the Valley has a Muslim majority, whose confidence in PDP and Mufti Sayeed as a ‘local person’, responsive to ‘local sentiments’, is strong. It is also partly the result of fatigue with militancy and a perceptible decline in pro-Pakistan sentiments.

Voices from the Valley

The majority of those surveyed saw Pakistan as a ‘failed state’ and said that Kashmir could not afford to align its future with it. At the same time, however, most of them staunchly supported Article 370 and were confident that the BJP would not tamper with it. One middle-aged gentleman said, ‘Duniya ki koyi taqat Article 370 ko hata nahi sakthi. Jo ye hateyenge, us waqat inquilab ayega’ (No force in the world can remove Article 370. Whoever removes it will face an uprising.) Many said the force of the response to any attempt to remove Article 370 would be bloodier than 2008 when the Valley saw the violent ‘Ragdo Ragdo’ protest against allotment of land to Amarnath pilgrims.

A surprising majority of respondents said that Armed Forces (Special

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