The Hindu Business Line : Kashmir: What lies beneath

Tourists are coming back to Kashmir, lifting spirits and the economy. The militants are lying low for now, perhaps because of Operation Sarp Vinash. But all is not as placid as the waters of the Dal Lake, and there are undercurrents that one has to guard against, as Rasheeda Bhagat finds out from Omar Abdullah in Srinagar.

The National Conference president and MP, Mr Omar Abdullah... Scathing criticism of the Mufti Government. — Kamal Narang

ON ALL counts, things in the Kashmir Valley seem to be looking up. The trickling in of tourists, mostly domestic , which began a couple of months ago, is becoming a steady flow. Evening finds shikaras moving gently on the Dal Lake, tourists enjoying the Valley's spectacular beauty after a long while. The houseboats are getting customers, though they have had to halve their rates. The return of the tourist means that fewer people are clamouring for government jobs, as the Kashmir economy offers scope for little more. The confidence is slowly coming back that Srinagar, Pahlegam or Gulmarg are safe enough to visit. And what better proof of this than the sight of several army and paramilitary officers turning out with their families to take rides in the shikaras on Dal Lake, although guarded by a gun-toting security persons?

Perhaps, the credit goes to the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's visits to various cities, and holding road shows, urging tourists to return to the Valley; businessmen and industrialists to invest in the State, and even Bollywood to revive its romance with Kashmir.

He himself is euphoric, not only about the return of the tourist to this "jannat (paradise) on earth", but also, as he told Business Line in an interview, the return of the children of Kashmiri Pundits, "who are here now, rediscovering the beauty of Kashmir. They tell us they want to come back." A statement that would be music to any J&K chief minister's ears.

But while it is easier for the Pundits to pour into the Valley in thousands to take part in a religious mela, as they did recently, and to be welcomed by the Kashmiri Muslims, and for their children, who are now adults, to be nostalgic about what used to be their home, the reality on the ground is quite different.

Queried on what steps he was taking to get the Pundits back, the Mufti himself admits that "first, a conducive atmosphere has to be created for their return." This is easier said than done. But while the Kashmiri Pundits can only yearn for Kashmir, for a visitor Srinagar looks much more relaxed.

The Mufti quotes a general secretary of the Telugu Desam Party, who recently attended a marriage in Srinagar, saying that he was amazed to find the guests coming in to the Hotel Grand Palace Intercontinental in Srinagar "up till midnight."

Even a member of the Awami Action Committee, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference, grudgingly admits that "while earlier shops used to close by 5-30 p.m., today they are open till and beyond 8 p.m. "So, visibly, things have improved here, and the Prime Minister's visit and his offer of yet another dialogue with Pakistan, where Kashmir would be discussed, has also helped a great deal in reducing tensions here. The President, Dr Abdul Kalam, too, is expected in Srinagar in a couple of days.

But is everything really hunky dory, and have the militants been put on the back-foot? "Of course not," snaps Mr Omar Abdullah, President of the National Conference and MP, in an interview with Business Line.

"Let me take you back a few years. Had you visited Jammu and Kashmir just prior to Kargil, you would have known how relaxed things were then. I had not seen J&K like that since 1987-88. The place was full. The hotels and houseboats were full, the lake was packed, and what happened?

"Overnight, the situation changed. This situation is not of Mufti Sayeed's making. There have been lulls earlier also. The problem is that we tend to get so relaxed and become so complacent that when it hits us, it hits us so hard that we don't know what to do."

He is apprehensive about the threat from militants, who are now lying low because of the launching of `Operation Sarp Vinash' by the Indian Army. "Only 23 militants have been killed. Hundreds have moved out to other areas. They will regroup, and God help us when they do, because they are not going to go back to Pakistan. They are going to Rajouri, Poonch, Shopian, and other places."

Asked whether he thought the operation itself was a hoax, as reported in a section of the media, he said angrily: "The hoax is that what were you doing till now? My father will tell you that he has seen files — intelligence files — warning of the presence of these bunkers for the last four years. There was concrete evidence of these bunkers and staging points. But the Centre, in its wisdom chose not to act."

Was it acting now to help the Mufti Government? "It is certainly not going to help him if it is going to scatter these fellows all over the place. My feeling is that it is a lull before a storm. There is nothing on the ground to convince me that we should expect an overnight end to terrorism. Tourism, at the best of times, is the most fickle industry."

Scathing in his criticism of the Mufti Government, Mr Omar Abdullah says the PDP's poll plank was "peace with dignity (izzat key sath aman), and two jobs for every household. There was to be an end to custodial killings and a dialogue between separatists and the Government. It has so far scored a zero on all counts. The State Government signed a fresh agreement with the Government in January extending a ban on recruitment for two years. So where are the two jobs per family going to come from?"

He charges that custodial killings and human rights violations are as rampant as ever. "The Government has admitted that so far it has not been able to curb human rights violations. This Government came to power with the promise of being different on all these counts. Unfortunately for the people of J&K, there has been no difference. The only difference is that while these acts of violation did take place earlier too, we did concentrate on governance. But in this government, administration has come to a standstill. Basic governance itself is questionable. It is impossible to get anything done at the Secretariat, where every minister is his own chief minister."

On the media, in general, and the Kashmiri media, in particular, giving full marks to the Chief Minister for being accessible and listening to the people's grievances, he retorts: "What is the use of being accessible when you cannot provide an administration that works? I want this government to do what it is supposed to. The pity is that they take the people for a ride."

He gives the example of the recent golf tournament for diplomats. "Great. But what happened to the poor people who worked during that tournament, carrying the bags, cleaning the balls, and so on? Neither the caddies nor anybody else who worked in that tournament has been paid so far because the file is bouncing around the Secretariat from table to table.

"And the person who is starving is not Mufti Sayeed but the poor fellow who worked during that tournament. He is not getting paid because this government cannot clear his file. Anybody can go to Pulwama, stand on the road and talk to 10 people. Governance is not that; it is ensuring that you deliver what you promised. And what does it take to pay those poor people? You don't have to open the treasury or get Rs 2,500 crore from Delhi," is his scathing comment.

At the moment the Mufti is in a comfortable position and, as he told Business Line, is getting "total co-operation from Delhi." When asked how long his honeymoon with Delhi will last, the NC chief says, "As long he keeps talking what Delhi wants him to say. So long as he does not start crying for autonomy, and does not insist on the Hurriyat talking to Mr N. N. Vora, or, does not come out with `wild' schemes, as my father did. On converting the LoC into the international border, which is the only practical solution. The day he becomes harsher on human rights violations, his honeymoon will end quickly."

Another problem, points out Mr Abdullah, is that the Mufti cannot afford to be too close to the BJP "because already the Congress(I) is wondering why he is so close to Mr Vajpayee. He is an ally of the Congress(I), not the BJP!"

Mr Abdullah maintains that the NC had paid a price in J&K, where it lost the last Assembly election, even while emerging as the single largest party, because of its allying with the BJP and not withdrawing support to the NDA government after the Gujarat holocaust.

He says that Mr Sayeed "also needs to be careful. There is much less acceptability in J&K of parties that align themselves closely to Delhi, than he would like to believe. And, today, having the Prime Minister sitting on one shoulder and Ms Sonia Gandhi on the other might be good for him, but politically it is not so. That is why you still find Mehbooba Mufti making these semi-secessionist slogans about State terrorism being still rampant under her father's government. So much so the next day Mr Sayeed had to come out and say what a wonderful job the Army is doing!"

(Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)

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