Bharat Bhushan - In Kashmir, New Delhi is searching for a modern day Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad
In keeping with a
Dogra tradition initiated by Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1872, the Darbar in the
now Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will
move from the summer capital of Srinagar to the winter capital of Jammu from
November 4. But a more significant shift that should not go unnoticed is the
firm and relentless displacement at ground level of bureaucrats appointed from
the Prime Minister’s Office as control passes into the hands of the Union Home
Ministry.
The Governor and most
appointed to run the state have been shifted out. Satya Pal Malik, who was
expected to continue to hold joint charge of J&K and Ladakh as Lieutenant
Governor has been moved to Goa. Also gone are his advisors appointed by the PMO
– retired police officer K Vijay Kumar, former bureaucrats Khurshid Ganai and K
Skandan and Farooq Khan, a retired police officer and former BJP Secretary. Dineshwar Sharma, a
former Chief of the Intelligence Bureau and Kerala cadre police officer like
the National Security Advisor, was PMO’s Interlocutor for J&K. His inputs
developed from forays into J&K will have little relevance as he has been
moved away as far possible as Administrator of Lakshadweep. Only Chief Secretary
B V R Subramaniam, remains from the ancien regime.
The first Lt. Governor
of J&K, G C Murmu is a former Home Secretary of Gujarat and considered
close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He was also principal secretary to the
chief minister of Gujarat when the post was held by Narendra Modi. He was
questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) about an attempted
cover up of the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter case. Murmu is also alleged to have
helped those who were involved in the “Snoopgate” case regarding the
controversial surveillance of a young woman.
There is an attempt
apparently to put together an “Executive Council” or an advisory council to
assist the new Lt. Governor. It is likely to comprise some pliable and
power-seeking Kashmiri politicians. The government has
suggested that a new political leadership will come from the elected
representatives of the panchayats and Block Development Councils, the indirect
elections to which have been recently concluded. Such leaders are unlikely to
have much heft. The elections were patchy if not a total charade. These
representatives have no party affiliations and no organisational or public
speaking skills. Those from the Valley are unable to even visit their
constituencies and are living in hotels in Srinagar at state expense. Clearly
such newbies cannot form the core of a new political leadership in J&K.
They can at best be a part of a chorus once the lead singers have been chosen.
No wonder then that
Delhi is in search of a modern day Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. Bakshi had conspired
against Sheikh Abdullah to oust him in 1953 and ruled as the head of state (the
Chief Minister was then called Prime Minister) thereafter for nearly a decade
while Sheikh was jailed. Possibly the renegade
Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) leader Muzaffar Beig is being groomed for this
role. Initial indications of this came when Beig attended a lunch hosted by the
National Security Advisor for a bunch of largely right-wing MEPs (Members of
European Parliament) on a “Potemkin tour” of J&K. Another disgruntled PDP
leader Altaf Bukhari and a former Congress general secretary in the state Usman
Majeed also attended.
Whoever assumes
political leadership, unlike Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, will not have to topple
the government of the day. The job has already been done. Real and potential
challengers have also already been imprisoned. All he has to do to assume power
is to go to bed with those ruling from Delhi. Beig fits the
description. Earlier he played facilitator in the unnatural alliance of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the PDP to form a government in the state.
Now, he again seems eager to break bread with it. He hinted at forming a new
political configuration, “either a new one will come up or an old one could be
revived.” That suggests that either a faction of the PDP could be broken away
or a new party or platform could be yet formed.
He has suggested that
for a new political alternative to be put in place, there would have to be
“some agreement on the agenda”. The ‘big’ agenda for Beig has also been decided
in advance by those who require his services – a demand that they can concede
-- the restoration of full statehood for J&K. As if on cue, Beig has
declared, “We will tell the Government of India, not with belligerence –
nothing will come out of belligerence – I believe that we have to gently tell
them we want statehood in future, not today or tomorrow but in the foreseeable
future.” He has also offered to take leadership in this effort and talk to others.
One of his colleagues in the PDP has apparently been already told to fall in
line or choose a prison of his choice – Central Jail in Srinagar, Kot Bhalwal
in Jammu or Tihar in Delhi.
The speed with which
the political platform will be put together or its final form is uncertain. It
is possible that some of the willing politicians may initially be appointed to
the Lt. Governor’s nominated Executive Council or a similar body. Later, they
may bloom into a full-fledged political party. Using pliable politicians
to run J&K from Delhi in the past has had short term success. After all
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad’s rule is considered by some as the golden period of the
state’s development. But such experiments
do not have a lasting impact. They are recognised by the people for what they
are – projects for manipulating them; warped and contrived, pretending to be
the reflection of what people want. Real issues have their own way of surfacing
and at their own time.
