Kashmir Jama’at and Elections By Dr. Sheikh Showkat Hussain Contrary to the expectations of some analysts, the Jama’at-e-Islami has finally decided to continue with its policy of not participating in elections – a policy it has been following since 1987. For those familiar with the Jama’at, the decision is nothing but a process of confirming a foregone conclusion. For the brief-holders of the establishment and some media men, it was the end of suspense. The suspense was concocted out of a statement by the Amir-e-Jama’at after its Islamabad district ijtimah that the organization had not taken any decision, and that the decision would be taken by its Central Advisory Council, the Majlis-e-Shura. Some analysts concluded that the Jama’at was reconsidering its policy of non-participation. The reality of the issue, however, remains that the Jama’at is an institution having various forums for making different types of decisions, and it is only the Central Advisory Council which could take the decision on such a vital issue. The Amir-e-Jama’at is simply an executive who has to implement the decision. This is unlike so many political formations that exist and revolve around the whims and wishes of individuals who can make instant decisions at their sweet will, and thus entertain the media with fast food of their choice. For the Jama’at, it has always been a lengthy process to arrive at decisions, and once a decision is made it is also a point for the organization to make sure that it gets implemented. Almost all decisions related to elections have often remained in line with the decisions taken in this respect by the main resistance groups. Although the Jama’at came into existence prior to the Mahaz-e-Rai Shumari (the Plebiscite Front) led by Mirza Afzal Beg and patronized by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (1955-1975), it remained aloof from elections as long as the Mahaz did. It was only after the decision of the Mahaz-e-Rai Shumari to participate in elections that the Jama’at too decided to do so in the early 70s. The immediate reason for local resistance groups to participate in elections was their effort to emulate the experiment of the Awami League in East Pakistan by using elections as a tool of secession. The Indian state understood it and immediately imposed a ban on the Mahaz in order to block its participation. The Jama’at and the Awami Action Committee were left untouched on the assumption that they were too insignificant to pose any serious challenge. The Jama’at did participate in the elections directly. Contrary to the expectations of those who believed it to be an insignificant group, it managed to secure five assembly seats in 1972. This despite the bungling that has remained part and parcel of the electoral process in Kashmir. The same way, it posed a formidable challenge to the candidates of the Congress party in parliamentary elections. These elections were followed by a U-turn by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and the Mahaz-e-Rai Shumari, leading to the transformation of the Mahaz into the National Conference (NC). The U-turn also culminated in the Indira-Abdullah Accord leading to the NC assuming power. The emergence of the Jama’at as a political force unnerved the status quo forces. The organization was banned in 1975. The immediate provocation for the ban was the Jama’at’s decision to oppose the Indira-Abdullah Accord and contest elections against Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Mirza Afzal Beg from Gandarbal and Qazigund. Feeling offended by the challenge, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah made it a point to implement the ban ruthlessly. Most of its leaders and workers were arrested and all schools run by the organization closed down. All the five members of the Jama’at faced trial for challenging the accession. The ban on the Jama’at was lifted in 1977 as a result of the defeat of Indira Gandhi and her Congress party. The Jama’at continued with its policy of contesting elections. It did realize that it wasn’t possible for it to pose a serious challenge due to the ban, yet it used elections as an avenue of mobilizing the masses against the assimilationist policies of the NC. In the 1977 elections, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who was contesting from Sopore, was the only Jama’at candidate to win. The results of this election would have been altogether different had there been collaboration between the Jama’at and the Awami Action Committee. Instead of affiliating with the Jama’at, Mirwaiz Molvi Farooq was made to support the Janata Party of Morarji Desai by his mentor of those times, Maulana Masoodi who was the convener of the Janata Party. The Jama’at too shares a part of the blame. Instead of trying for such an alliance, its Qari Saifuddin and Hisamuddin tried to work out a seat adjustment with the National Conference, an exercise which was bound to fail because of the acrimony between the two parties and their ideological incompatibility. The Jama’at-NC confrontation reached its climax in 1979 when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was executed and the NC cadres used it as a pretext to settle scores with the Jama’at. Scores of villages having affiliation with the Jama’at were torched, and property worth billions was destroyed. The buildings that were set on fire included hundreds of schools and Islamic libraries run by the Jama’at in the countryside. Sheikh Abdullah tried to contain the unleashed terror but only after much damage had been done. The NC too had to pay for this mischief heavily after the eruption of militancy. These acts of devastation crippled the potential of the Jama’at to confront and contest elections against its ruthless adversary, the NC. The Jama’at, however, became part of an alliance against the NC in the form of the Muslim United Front in 1987. Despite the support of the Mirwaiz to Farooq Abdullah under the Double Farooq arrangement, the Muslim United Front managed to mobilize masses in a big way. The NC resorted to manipulating the results, leading to complete disillusionment of the masses with the electoral process. The candidates of this election and their supporters, including Mohammad Yousuf, alias Syed Salahuddin, and Yaseen Malik, became the fore-runners of militancy. After the eruption of militancy, the Jama’at was banned in 1990. Ever since it continues with its policy of non-participation in elections and that is what it has affirmed through its shura decision of August 29, 2013. There have been allegations against the Jama’at that its workers tacitly supported the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the two previous elections. The allegations came from the NC which, instead of attributing its defeat to its collaboration with New Delhi, wanted to find a scapegoat. Others who made such assessments are the ones who are unfamiliar with the voting pattern of villages in Kashmir. Kashmiri villages were divided between pro-NC and pro-Muslim Conference vote banks since pre-partitions days. Those affiliated with the Muslim Conference traditionally voted for the Jam’at once the Muslim Conference was banished to Pakistan Administrated Kashmir. What brought this vote bank close to the Jama’at was its anti-NC approach. Once the Jama’at got out of the scene, this breed voted for the PDP not out of any affection for it but simply because of the fact that they found in it a potential rival to the NC. It seems that the Jama’at is consciously determined to avoid such confusions this time. That is why the decision has been taken after taking its rank and file into
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 12:42:15 +0000
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