No emotional blackmail please! Asma Khan Lone goes too far in defending her husband over his meeting Modi S ajad Lone’s wife, Asma Khan Lone, is, for obvious reasons, “ amazed at the antics, manipulation and desperate hypocrisy the present electoral process has thrown up.” This, especially, in view of this key question she has asked in her article in Tuesday’s edition of this newspaper: “ Why was a Sajad Lone at the receiving end of reviling tirade for meeting the Prime Minister when others have been indulging in greater sinister acts?” A very pertinent question indeed. Why should a Sajad Lone alone be in the line of criticism? More as Asma has made us believe that Sajad Lone is a Sajad Lone and not the Sajad Lone, she has essentially— and understandably for reasons emotional— tried to undermine the magnitude of the Sajad- Modi meeting. In matters emotional you can’t be rational. So Asma has exhibited a degree of over- emotionality while defending her husband, who, for all practical purposes, is a pro- India politician who can come in the line of criticism for his actions anytime. And to that extent, Asma will have to bear us out and she, and her husband too, will have to be ready and open for criticism. Because Sajad Lone is no sacred cow that he will not be written or spoken against, especially when he fumbles while treading his political pathway( s). Asma’s assertion that “ none of the major parties in the fray have shown any previous reservations for working with the BJP be it the NC- NDA partnership or the tacit understanding between PDP and BJP prior to the parliament elections earlier in May; why the false pretenses of Ideology and principles ( really?) now”, is a half- baked argument. While it is for “ these major parties” to answer why they haven’t shown any “ previous reservations”, the “ false pretenses of ideology and principles now” is, as politics has it, considering future prospects that all pro- India politicians, including Sajad Lone, have been keeping in mind over the years. Who knows BJP may come to power in J& K tomorrow! Like Sajad, why would a pro- India politician— knowing that they are all at the ‘ mercy’ of their ‘ lords’ at New Delhi— not resort to “ false pretenses of Ideology and principles”? Isn’t Sajad Lone’s quitting the pro- freedom camp and shifting to the pro- India camp “ false pretense of Ideology and principles now”? And his telling us azadi yesterday and “ elder brother and down to earth Modi” today is what has essentially brought him in the line of flak— something you are dubbing as a “ reviling tirade.” Yes, Sajad is “ a common Kashmiri hailing from a far- flung village,” as you’ve enlightened us. But that is not only what Sajad Lone is. Sajad Lone is a former “ pro- freedom” leader. Sajad Lone is son of the pro- freedom leader Abdul Gani Lone who quit pro- India politics and stuck to his stand until his killing in 2002. And a “ common Kashmiri hailing from a far- flung village” doesn’t have a privilege to meet a Prime Minister in his office at New Delhi! Sajad Lone is Sajad Lone who in 2008— when Geelani charged him with supporting three candidates in Kupwara during the then assembly elections— put his hand on the Holy Quran and said “ if Geelani proves one allegation, he will quit politics.” That was Sajad Lone, who would make us believe, most often on television news channels, how pro- Kashmir he is. So why does Asma want to hide Sajad’s past and his change in stance— right or wrong— under the carpet of “ an ordinary common Kashmiri.” An ordinary common Kashmiri doesn’t have a “ polished English and foreign degree”? Some specific queries that Asma has raised need specific answers: Why didn’t an Abdullah evoke the same contempt when lording over a SOG- Ikhwan apparatus that wreaked macabre blood- fest throughout the valley. Why not so much derision when Abdullah’s of different generations became party to approving the death warrants of innocent Kashmiris including hanging of Maqbool Butt and Afzal Guru . I wonder why Asma Khan feels that an Abdullah “ didn’t evoke contempt when lording over a SOG- Ikhwan apparatus.” It’s no secret that Abdullahs are— despite all the hollow talk of autonomy and good governance— remembered for having created the dreaded SOG or Task Force that unleashed brutality on Kashmiris in most cowardly ways: night raids, fake encounters, torture etc. So while they continue to be remembered for ills besetting Kashmir and Kashmiris, they have equally— and with a greater intensity than what Sajad has faced for meeting Modi— faced the ire of people for “ approving the death warrants of Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru.” Newspaper reports and every- year shutdown on February 9 and February 11 is a chilling reminder of how they facilitated Afzal’s and Butt’s hanging. ‘… why no denunciation when 1266 youth were booked under PSA during Mufti Saeed’s tenure as CM between 2002- 2005, when he ( through 2 senior ministers of his cabinet) was responsible for the illegal transfer of huge swathes of land and his party opened its doors to one of the most corrupt and inept membership? How come they still trot around as hallowed saviors?’ How has Asma drawn this conclusion that PDP men “ still trot around as hallowed saviors.” That is only a discourse floated by its supporters, both veiled and unveiled. On ground, the Peoples Democratic Party, which is floated as a “ better alternative”, has to its credit the transfer of 800 kanals of Kashmir land to Amarnath Shrine Board— the decision that led to killing of over 60 innocent civilians in action by police and paramilitary forces. That youth were booked under PSA during Mufti’s tenure is a commonplace talk. So where is the question of “ trot around as hallowed saviors”? It appears like that because the prism through which you are looking at it is “ mainstream”; not that of a Kashmiri who is only lured to believe the false talk of “ hallowed saviors.” The questions raised by Asma are only an attempt to justify two wrongs. But two wrongs don’t make a right. Why does Asma require citing wrongdoings by PDP and NC in an attempt to subvert Sajad’s meeting with Modi in times of “ elections” that Sajad is openly contesting from Handwara. If Muftis and Abdullahs have done “ greater sinister acts”, why does Asma want us to believe that Sajad’s meeting with Modi was a ‘ lesser sinister act’? And I am sure Asma, in all her wisdom, would try and understand what the BJP led by Modi is up to, both in India and J& K. That doesn’t go on to suggest that Congress is a lesser evil, but that doesn’t absolve the BJP of what it is doing or what it has done to Muslims in India; nor even PDP and NC for what they have done to Kashmir and Kashmiris; and, yes, not even Sajad Lone for what he has done. So there is no point being “ amazed at the antics, manipulation and desperate hypocrisy the present electoral process has thrown up.” Chickens have only come home to roost! COUNTERPOINT FAHEEM ASLAM mir_ faheem@ rediffmail. com
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 02:18:54 +0000
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