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| Why is Geelani's release, arrest becoming a national issue? | | | ET Report
JAMMU, Nov 22: Separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been making a joke of both the rule of law and responsible civilian behaviour in the Valley for more than 23 years and ironically the hardliner's modes and shades are sustained by the State Government.
Both releasing and arresting the 84-year old separatist leader have been problems with which intelligence and security agencies in J&K and Delhi have been losing their sleep for quite some time now. There is no clear cut policy as to how the old man of Kashmiri separatist camp should be handled. He is kept under continuous house arrest for days without end and then he is released. It is a pathetic situation when a State Government that claims to represent the people tries to wear Geelani's release from house arrest as a medallion on its chest.
The State Chief Minister says if he keeps Geelani under arrest his rivals curse him and if he chooses to release Geelani then again his rivals curse him. Does the State Government work on knee jerk mechanism when it comes to handling somebody who is seen and believed to be an icon of the separatist campaign in Kashmir? Is the people elected government in office to earn brownie points over an issue that should be handled by the security agencies as it impacts militancy and overall law and order in Kashmir?
A straightforward answer to this question would also lead to how the State Government should handle this important issue. Now that Geelani has refused possibilities of any dialogue with New Delhi and also defended resort to violence by youths who join the militant campaign, things should become clear to those who oppose the law when it takes its own course against somebody who threatens the very edifice on which both democracy and democratic institutions are based in this country.
The separatists need to realize that their freedom of expression must end where it begins to threaten the lives and freedom of others. It is precisely for a reason like this that separatists of international repute like Nelson Mandela of South Africa joined elections during the White regime to democratically legitimize their campaign against a regime they opposed.
Those who claim to be Nelson Mandelas of Kashmir need to take a leaf out of his book. Or, would that expose them in the eyes of those very people whose voice they claim to represent. |
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