I was engrossed in my work to such an extent that I couldn’t takeout time to blog. I apologize for taking an off. During checking my blog, I came across a unique question in response to my post about “subdued politics”.

The person is eager about the results of Assembly elections in J&K scheduled later this year. The questioner want to know which political party would win majority of the seats. Well, I just want to tell my friend that I don’t believe in making assertions or what in media jargon is called ‘exit polls’.

As far as elections in this region are concerned, I don’t see the majority of population interested in this affair. So at the first place let me put it here that mass participation in election is a far of affair in Kashmir. People by and large prefer to remain aloof from such exercises after insurgency broke out in Kashmir in 1989.

The revival of elections in J&K took place in 1996 and subsequently in 2002. Each time people boycotted the polls. A low turnaround was recorded. However, governments were formed both the times. It is a mystery to me as to how governments were chosen despite the fact that majority of the people abstained from voting.  

Year 1996 saw National Conference (NC) emerging again on the political scene with two-third majority. The NC’s ‘victory’ came as a setback to the assertion that militancy in Kashmir was fallout of manipulation of 1987 elections.  Civil society groups and studies based on newspaper reports maintain that elections were held under the influence of gun.

The counter-insurgent group Ikhwan enjoying the patronage of Indian Army and government then forced people to cast the votes in rural Kashmir. However, across the urban centres complete boycott was observed. Again in 2002, elections were conducted under the shadow of gun.

I had been to many such polling booths during my assignment to cover the elections. I don’t remember coming across a place where I could have seen men in queues out side polling stations. Instead, I met people persuading journalists to ask soldiers not to force them to cast the votes.

I still remember that across the polling stations in South Kashmir, the votes casted were in between 10-25. I haven’t come across any polling station where in I could have recorded the number of votes casted around 100 or more.

Anyways, let us come to the point what good the so called governments have done to the people? A quick appraisal of the last decade does not make one to cheer, when seen in comparison to the period from 1989-1996.

Kashmir issue still continues to haunt the inhabitants despite much rhetoric about the ‘peace process.’ Development is as elusive as peace. Employment of the unemployed, better healthcare and education are other things people aspire for.

So let me come to the point that so far J&K has not seen any government that could end the miseries of common people.

Tail piece

Nowadays everyone is promoting himself as a politician, particularly the people with shady characters. They are heavily investing in stage managing rallies by purchasing the men for gatherings. Today there might hardly be any political party in rest of India that has not a unit in J&K. So in such a scenario what one can aspire in coming elections would be a broken verdict.