National Conference (NC), we are told is ‘Sharminda’ (embarrassed) for “the party’s failure to stop their (Kashmiri Hindu) migration (forced displacement) in the 1990s”. Nice sound bite from a party that propagated ‘Jagmohan Theory’. No matter how cunning one may think she or he is the Truth ultimately prevails. The greatest deception, and the deepest source of unhappiness, they say, is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility.
Jagmohan Theory
Former Chief Minister and party president Dr. Farooq Abdullah is on record to “blame then former Governor Jagmohan for the exodus” and said that he “took them away” on the false promise of ensuring their return within three months” (The Wire August 03, 2020). He has repeated it numerous times and in front of his workers from the Displaced Community forcing most of them to leave the party.
Expressing his deep hurt one former NC leader Anil Dhar issued a statement against “the hurtful, malicious, and motivated propaganda and the blatant lie about former Governor Jagmohan having engineered or facilitated the migration.”
National Conference was leading the narrative that exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 was a sudden event in Kashmir’s chronology. But was it? A resounding no is the answer. This narrative, promoted globally by the echo-system, was only to white wash the multiple factors at play for long that contributed to one of the most painful human tragedies in India’s history.
One among these was the NC leadership’s effort to defend compromised return from the “political wilderness” after a pact with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, by letting the radicals overrun the Sufism of Kashmir in mosques and among the masses. The ‘Operation Topac’ of Zia-ul-Haq and the 1987 election after the disreputable Farooq-Rajiv accord for power also proved to be a significant contributory factor.
National Conference, by pushing the Jagmohan theory, was also struggling to shield people who openly claimed the responsibility. In February 1990, after the exodus, Amanullah Khan – the person responsible for the execution of Operation Topac- told an interviewer, “Yes, it was [a long-term plan]. It had to be well prepared.” (India Today March, 2022)
“So, we actually started political planning in 1986 and continued till the end of 1987 for one and a half years we were planning our strategy and it began in July 1988,” he added.
Post 1989-90
Let us for a moment forget about pre- Exodus part of the history and pay attention to the conduct of NC as a party that claims to represent entire Jammu and Kashmir and all sections of its population. NC and its alliance partners of INDI block have represented the three parliamentary constituencies of Kashmir valley all these decades including the years minority KP community has been in exile. How many times did these Hon’ble Members of the Parliament raise issues confronting the exiled community?
Did they put in any effort to mitigate any of their problems? A cursory look at Parliamentary digitised record suggests that till 2014 when New Delhi saw a shift in ruling party from UPA to NDA there is hardly any mention of the displaced community by these worthies. Yes post 2014 some references are there, but more as taunts than any genuine concern for the victimised community.
There is hardly any evidence available to show that party has used its official platform to raise the issues confronting the Displaced Community. There are, however, glaring examples available to show how consciously they declined to recognise the suffering and victimisation of the KP community.
Condolence Resolution 1996
We are aware that election to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was held during September-October 1996. National Conference under Dr. Farooq Abdullah, which had boycotted General Election to the Lok Sabha in same year, formed the government and assumed office on October 9, 1996. Dr. Abdullah as Chief Minister moved a resolution condoling the death and killings in Jammu Kashmir.
The official report of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly secretariat reads that after customary mention of Former Presidents, Prime Ministers and members of Constituent Assembly and Legislative Assembly prominent persons were mentioned. Relevant excerpts are here:
Dr. Farooq Abdullah moved the following motion:- “ That this House places on record its deep sense of shock and anguish at the untimely demise, during the period of last sitting of this august House and Today, the first sitting of this newly reconstituted House, of two Ex-Presidents of the Union of India, ……. as also two Ex-Prime Ministers of the Union …..”
We Pay our Homage to the dynamic personalities of various fields of our life in the state among those are such renowned religious leaders as Maulana Mohammad Farooq, Qazi Nissar Ahmad, academician Prof. Mushir-ul-Haq (Ex-Vice –Chancellor of our University) Prof. Ab. Ahad Wani, men in the field of medicine, Dr. A.A. Guru and Dr. Ashai.”
These are excerpts of the official report and clearly indicate that NC and its alliance partners were ignoring the KP community and other parts of the state even in a condolence motion. Leave alone political personalities. Why were men like Pt. Lassa Koul Director DDK Srinagar, Pt. Neel Kanth Ganjoo District and sessions Judge and scholars like Pt. Sarwanand Koul Premi and Lawyers of repute like Pt. Prem Nath Bhat ignored? Will NC leadership blame someone else or circumstances for such a brazen bias? And shall people believe that?
NC, not Muslims
NC leaders have been willfully diverting attention from such prejudiced lapses by equating the criticism of the party with the admonition of the Muslims of Kashmir. That is their political strategy as they are conscious of their sectarian politics revolving around the dynasty. When NC leadership was enforcing social boycott against political rivals, who were the victims of their vicious campaign? Were they not Muslims?
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) senior leader Dr Mehboob Beg in 2019 reminded NC vice-president Omar Abdullah against any attempt to politicize the human tragedy in south Kashmir for petty political gains. In a harsh statement Dr Beg said, “Omar casting aspersions on our party does not dilute the fact that his family and his party – the National Conference have been the single largest source of political oppression and suppression on the people of the state.”
“No one in south Kashmir has forgotten what NC did to workers of Jamat-e-Islami in 1970s” he added.
There are numerous similar examples where NC leaders have demonstrated, a) intolerance towards their opponents irrespective of their religious faith, and b) pitting one community against the other for political gains.
Action, not excuses
NC leadership has to understand that they can no longer deceive people by their holier than thou stances. People, the Displaced Community in particular, realize all these statements are short lived and change faster than the changing colours of a chameleon. What the citizens of Jammu Kashmir need is a firm stand on issues confronting them? If the NC party and its leadership is really apologetic they must first apologize for propounding Jagmohan theory followed by an ingenuous apology for deliberately ignoring the community in 1996 condolence resolution. The NC leadership must accept the facts publicly and tell the world that targeted killing of minority Hindu community of Kashmir started in 1988 with the assassination of Pt. Keshav Nath ji of Vicharnag. That when they were in power Pt. Tika Lal Taploo was assassinated so was the Pt. NeelKanth Ganjoo and several others including Pt. Prem Nath Bhat on December 27, 1989.
Party should recognize and apologize for subverting implementation of PM’s Employment package announced by Dr. MM Singh under pressure from the Department Related House Committee headed by Smt. Sushma Swaraj along with the court case by AIKS through battery of Lawyers headed by Late Arun Jaitley ji ( Case no 534 of 2006) .
Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences, says Francois de La Rochefoucauld.
(Author GL Raina is former Member of Legislative Council of Jammu Kashmir and spokesperson of BJP JK-UT)
