One of the distinguishing aspects of the recently concluded Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections and National Conference-led alliance’s victory was that it was anchored on a secular plank for restoring J&K’s statehood.
Free from religion or any other polarising narrative as an election campaign plank, the alliance represented a sharp and refreshing contrast to the unabashed use of Islamophobic statements by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindutva leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to appeal for votes.
It is tragic that the Modi regime, which in 2019 revoked the special status for J&K under Article 370, dissolved the state assembly and took the unprecedented step of downgrading it to a Union Territory. For 10 years, the Modi government did not conduct elections in J & K and routinely put internet shutdowns in place, in violation of the Supreme Court’s observation that any such shut down infringed fundamental rights.
All these years, the people of J&K struggled for the conduct of elections and restoration of statehood, with their movement rooted in secular values.
On the contrary, it was BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah who often sharply attacked the Congress for its so-called appeasement politics to mobilise Muslim voters. Shah himself attempted to appease the Muslim community of J&K by stating that during Eid and Muharram they would get two gas cylinders free if the BJP were to form the government. In contrast, the NC and its allies, while demanding the conduct of elections and restoration of statehood, stayed away from invoking religion.
The Modi regime and the BJP, which leveraged the revocation of J&K’s special status as an election strategy to gain votes across India, have never set a clear timeline for conducting elections in the reorganised Union Territory despite assurances.
Prime Minister Modi, who likes to boast about India being the ‘mother of democracy’ national and global events, failed in restoring the democratic and political process in J&K.
Eventually, it was the Supreme Court that, in its judgement on 11 December 2023, while upholding the revocation of the special status under Article 370, pointedly stated, “Direct elections to the Legislative Assemblies, one of the paramount features of representative democracy in India, cannot be put on hold until statehood is restored.”
“We direct that steps shall be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by 30 September 2024,” the court said. It proceeded to add, “Restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible”.
It is doubtful thus that the Modi government would have allowed elections in J&K had the Supreme Court not mandated it.
The formation of the elected government in J&K, with Omar Abdullah as chief minister and Surinder Kumar Choudhary from the Jammu region as deputy chief minister, alongside Abdullah’s statement, “I fulfilled the promise of giving representation to all the regions equally; our endeavour will be to walk together,” embodies the spirit of Kashmiriyat, a sentiment which is all inclusive and remains integral to the secular credentials and democratic spirit that define India.
Twenty-seven years ago, when elections were held in J&K and an elected government was formed after a long and tragic period of terrorism that devastated the state, President K. R. Narayanan addressed the convocation at the University of Kashmir in November 1997. He spoke of the liberal and tolerant spirit of the Kashmiri people, remarking that “…it was inevitable that Kashmir would get over the unhappy period of intolerance and turbulence it has passed through….” He added, “We rejoice in this outcome, in the restoration of normalcy and elected democratic Government in the state,” while congratulating the leadership and paying tribute to the resilience of the people.
Narayan invoked Mahatma Gandhi, who, at the time of unprecedented Partition-related communal violence in several parts of India, had pointed to the Muslim majority Kashmir that was devoid of any religious riots. Gandhi appealed to people in the rest of the country to learn lessons of communal unity and solidarity.
In June 1947, while speaking at a prayer meeting in Delhi, Gandhi recalled the history of Kashmir and said: “In days gone by, when accompanied by Hindus, Zainul Abideen Budshah (he was the Sultan of Kashmir, a contemporary of Rana Kumbha of Chittor, the great grandfather of Rana Pratap Singh) set out on a pilgrimage of Kashi, he got repaired all derelict temples he passed on the way. The name of Allah is inscribed on the Victory Tower of Chittor”.
Against such a historical backdrop, elections in J&K following the secular struggle of the people and, of course, on the direction of the Supreme Court, offer vital lessons for the rest of India which is confronting polarised narratives spun by Hindutva forces and peddled by BJP leaders.
Professor Zoya Hasan very sensitively observed, “This election took place in the backdrop of the region’s ongoing struggle to regain statehood, but it is noteworthy that religion does not form the basis of this demand. It is animated by a common history shared by Jammu and Kashmir”.
Shortly after taking office, the J&K Cabinet in its first meeting passed a resolution for restoration of statehood and the Lieutenant Governor accorded his approval to it. Keeping in line with this and the Supreme Court judgement, the Modi government must honour the people’s secular assertion for statehood by restoring it without any further delay.
S.N. Sahu served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India KR Narayanan.
This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.
