| Mainstream politicians in Kashmir become militant fans | | Running with the hare, hunting with the hounds | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 11: The partisan approach of the mainstream political groups in Kashmir is coming to the fore with each passing day, and in latest example is the tweet of former Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti mourning the death of a Pakistan-backed militant.
"Today a Ph.D. scholar chose death over life & was killed in an encounter. His death is entirely our loss as we are losing young educated boys every day. It is high time that all the political parties in the country realise the gravity of this situation and try to facilitate a solution through dialogue with all the stakeholders including Pakistan to end this bloodshed," Mehbooba said in her tweets.
What is ironic is that the line drawn between the mainstream camp and those of the secessionists is turning blur in the militancy-infested region of Kashmir.
On one side, these mainstream groups enjoy the facilities including posh bungalows, high tech security and what not by the government of India, the costs of which are borne by the tax payers of the country.
On the other side, they are brazenly eulogising those who are at war with the country. The simple saying that you are either a part of a problem or a part of solution is being undermined in an outright way by these politicians who despite enjoying luxuries on government expenditure are hailing those who are against it.
"The reason is simple. They want to pose themselves as champions of the people and want to keep their loyalties with both sides. They want to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds. Nowhere in the country, except in Jammu and Kashmir, will you find such a bizarre trend," says a netizen based in Srinagar.
This is not for the first time that the politicians based in Kashmir Valley have hailed the militants in open.
On January 28, this year, PDP legislator Aijaz Ahmad Mir described Kashmiri militants killed by Indian security forces as martyrs and added that their deaths should not be celebrated. "Militants who are from Kashmir and get killed are martyrs, they are our brothers, and some of them are minors who don't even know what they are doing," Mir had said.
"We should not celebrate the killings of militants, it is our collective failure, we feel sad when our security forces are martyred as well, we should sympathise with parents of jawans and with parents of militants as well," he added.
On December 23, 2015, some PDP leaders during a rally termed Burhan Wani an icon for the youth in Kashmir and accused the previous regimes for suppressing youth and pushing them to pick up arms in Kashmir.
"This is indeed a dangerous trend. The mainstream groups who have been mandated to strengthen the Indian constitution in the state are siding with those are against it. There are even mainstream leaders who have in open hailed the separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani with a sole objective to hoodwink people," says a Kashmir-based political commentator. |
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