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| Grapes are sour for Jamaat and separatists | | | SUBHASH MALIK
Jammu, Dec 14: When the Amir of Jamait-e-Islami,Sheikh Ghulam Hassan.stated in Srinagar the other day that his organisation had not launched a campaign in favour of poll boycott the annoucement did not set the river Jehlum on fire.The reason being that the Jamaat has always distanced itself from the terrorist groups.Its leadership has not sided openly with the guntoting youth in the Kashmir valley.It has usually been against any form of violence.Not only this its successive Amirs had,since 1989 when the militancy took roots in the valley, remained on the sidelines of the ongoing Jehad.The Jamaat leadership has made it known that it had no political role to play because its aim was simply religious in nature.As part of its plan the Jamaat leadership has not either joined hands with those organisations that have been in favour of completion of the poll process or with those who have given call for poll boycott.
The way the Jamaat leadership has distanced itself from those hardliners in the separatist camp who were directly or indirectly working as a political face of a number of militant groups had resulted in a major conflict between the successive Amirs and Syed Ali Shah Geelani who has been a founder member of Jamait-e-Islami.About five years ago Geelani had been expelled from the Jamaat on charge of anti-party activities.This had brought the moderate element in the Jamaat in direct conflict with Geelani.Since Geelani had the support of majority of Jamaat activists the party leadership had to make amends for the way Geelani had been expelled from the organisation.He was readmitted and the Jamaat leadership announced that there was no confict between it and Geelani.Had not Geelani been taken back the Jamaat would have suffered both vertical and horizontal split.And had this split taken place Geelani's faction would have emerged quite strong.
When in 1990 Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was banned Jamait-e-Islami leadership had announced that it had nothing to do with Hizb activities.It had also declared that.Jamat-e-Islami was not a political face of the Hizb.Though the Jamaat Amir has said that his organisation had taken the decision on not taking part in the anti-poll campaign well before the election schedule was announced,why he found time to reiterate this stand on the election ?Reports said that the Amir had realised that the separatists call for poll boycott had not received any response from the voters he wanted to ensure that his organisation was not associated in anyway with those who had given the call for poll boycott.At the sametime Sheikh Ghulam Hassan has made reasons for his stand clear.He has said that no doubt elections cannot be a substitute for resolving the Kashmir issue but they are important for catering to the requirements of the people of the state.He has said that it is through the poll process the Government gets installed which looks after the problems of people.
He has also made it known that if the elections could help an organisation to demonstrate representative character the Jamaat would have then definitely taken part in the poll process.Well this way the Amir seems to try to hide the party's weakness in securing clear mandate from the people.Had majority of people in Kashmir been supporters of Jamait-e-Islami the Muslim United Front(MUF),which had direct support from Jamaat and a number of Jamaat leaders were in the poll fray as MUF candidates the Front would have not bagged only four to five seats in 1987 election.One can easily say that Jamait-e-Islami had got a chance to establish its credibility as peoples' representative in 1987 but it had failed.Since then the Jamaat has stayed away from poll participation and even the winner of a number of elections,Syed Ali Shah Geelani,has not participated in the election after 1987.In fact the Kashmiri separatists too hold the same view.They say since the election is not a solution to the Kashmir issue they do not participate in it.They say they represent the aspirations of people of Kashmir when asked why do not they establish their credibility of being peoples'representative by winning the Assembly election.So it is a convenient tool for them to cry grapes are sour. |
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