The people of Jammu and Kashmir experienced significant relief as they participated in assembly elections for the first time in a decade, marking the first electoral process since 2014 and following the abrogation of Article 370 along with the much talked about Delimitation process. The longing for democratic representation had been a pressing issue for the populace of Jammu and Kashmir. A notable aspect of this election was the competition for the Kulgam assembly constituency in South Kashmir, where the contest was primarily between Mohd Yousuf Tarigami of the CPIM, widely recognized as Comrade Tarigami, and Sayar Ahmad from Jamat-e-Islami (JeI). Prior to his candidacy, Sayar Ahmad was a prominent preacher for Jamat-e-Islami and led their “educational wing.” Contrary to the predictions of numerous analysts, the election results were not unexpected; Tarigami secured victory with a lead of over 7,800 votes despite a campaign characterized by communal tensions and polarization spearheaded by Jamat-e-Islami. Out of ten candidates vying for the Kulgam seat, the principal rivalry remained between Comrade Tarigami and Sayar Ahmad, with Tarigami receiving 33,390 votes compared to Sayar Ahmad’s 25,639. This victory marked Tarigami’s fifth consecutive term representing the Kulgam constituency, having previously won in the elections of 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. In this election, he was the favoured candidate of the India Alliance, which ultimately achieved a decisive majority to establish the government in J&K.
Even though the central government had banned the Jamat-e-Islami (JeI) in 2019, it puzzlingly allowed the banned hardline group to contest elections on multiple seats in Kashmir valley. Many experts are of the opinion that the JeI was allowed to contest elections and run a communally vitriolic campaign by the BJP so as to scuttle the chances of the India Alliance candidates, and thereby give advantage to the BJP and its proxies. However, as the result shows, the people have rejected the BJP and its proxies besides the Jamat, and have overwhelmingly given the mandate to the India Alliance which ran on the promise of restoration of constitutional rights for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Coming to the Kulgam constituency which turned out to be a real ideological battleground with two sharply opposing ideologies in the fray, the electorate there has shown the way to everyone in the country especially at a time when reactionary or far right forces seem to be capturing the public imagination everywhere. Through electing a leftist candidate in the face of a communally vitriolic campaign by Jamat-e-Islami, they have preferred secularism, democracy and sanity, and have out rightly rejected the regressive and reactionary politics of far-right Jamat-e-Islami like they have been doing since 1996. They have put people’s politics over everything including appeals to the hardline Islamist identity as Jamat-e-Islami did. Jamat-e-Islami freely used the pulpit and appeals to Islamist identity to garner votes even though the law of the land prohibits the use of religion for electoral gains. Jamat kept repeating that it is fighting the election for the sake of Islam and to defeat secularism. Despite fighting elections in a secular country like ours and under a secular constitution, Jamat, in its rallies, kept projecting their opponents as “enemies of Islam” and equated secularism with “kuffur”(anti-Islamic). For instance, in a campaign rally at Kulgam Fruit Mandi on 12-09-2024, Sayar Ahmad provocatively stated, “If, God forbid, I lose tomorrow, people won’t say that Sayar Ahmad lost, but that Islam lost. It will be said that the followers of Islam, those who recite Azaan lost. It’ll be said that Islam lost, and followers of Allah and Hazrat Muhammad SAW lost.” Just prior to the voting day, he called upon his followers to celebrate another Eid on the Election Day after voting for him. There have been accounts indicating that activists and members of Jamat-e-Islami visited numerous homes in the region, carrying copies of the Holy Quran. They requested individuals to pledge by the sacred text that they would exclusively cast their votes for Jamat-e-Islami. Minority sects were also targeted and cajoled to vote for the Jamat for “restoring Islamic glory back in Kulgam.” In certain instances, individuals who have been charged by law enforcement agencies as Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and terror recruiters, and who were convicted under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and are currently out on bail, have been observed actively campaigning for Jamat-e-Islami. Reports also indicate that numerous Jamatis persuaded the extremists who questioned the Jamat’s abrupt shift on elections by asserting that their participation in the elections was merely a “tactical maneuver” and that Jamat-e-Islami would steadfastly uphold its foundational ideological principles.
It is important to note that Jamat-e-Islami had refrained from participating in elections for the past three decades due to its association with the Secessionist movement and its pro-Pakistan stance. Numerous scholars and government officials have alleged that the organization has supported Hizbul Mujahideen, which is considered its militant faction. A significant portion of the population in Kashmir, along with members of the security establishment, accuses Jamat of facilitating militancy and the assassination of political activists, particularly those affiliated with the secular formations like National Conference, Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), during the tumultuous period of militant violence in the 1990s and 2000s, which was heavily endorsed by Pakistan.
In response to the highly vitriolic campaign and communal slurs of Jamat targeting him and his party, Comrade Tarigami stood his defiant ground. His campaign reflected decency even while Jamatis and their ally Engineer Rashid, were hurling vilest of abuses at him in the public. Tarigami was civilized and refined in his campaigning as ever, and continued to talk about Kashmiriyat, pluralism, farmers’ and working peoples’ rights especially Apple farmers as he has done in the past. He continued to talk about the constitutional rights and federalism which have come under assault in J&K as a result of BJP’s actions and policies. He was no way going to be caught in the communal trap which was being set by BJP through its unholy proxies like Jamat. Since August 2019, Comrade Tarigami has taken an unequivocal stand against the anti-people policies of BJP and against the unjust dilution of the special status of the state. He continued to raise voice against the unjust policies of BJP on the campaign trail in a fearless manner. Recently, he led a protest of his followers in Srinagar against the genocidal actions of Israel in the Middle East, the sole politician to undertake such a protest in the state. Comrade Tarigami continued to talk about the statehood which has been deprived in the most unconstitutional and brazen manner. On his campaign trail, he continued to talk about the people who had been left at the mercy of the bureaucratic rule which was creating immense hardships for them. In this scenario, the people of the state were facing problems from all corners as there was also a stagnation happening on the front of livelihood and development. The Governor administration with its apathetic bureaucratic raj had completely failed to address the issues of the people of the state. All this had resulted in a deep sense of anger and betrayal among the people in the state in general and valley in particular. While Comrade Tarigami campaigned on these most pressing issues, his opponents like Jamat-e-Islami avoided talking about issues like special status abrogation, downgrading of statehood and even assault on the fundamental constitutional rights of the people of J&K. They had no concrete programme to offer and their only talking points were brazen communalism and sectarianism besides attacks on the secularist stance of Tarigami. It appears that JeI was merely adhering to the script of the RSS-BJP which led to their rejection by the people of Kulgam. Despite the Takfiri (radical extremism) ideology espoused by Jamat-e-Islami, majority of the people of Kulgam, like in the rest of valley, continue to follow the humanistic and pluralistic ethos of revered Sufi figures such as Lalla Ded, Sheikul Alam, Syed Simnan, and others.
Born into a farmers’ family in 1949, Tarigami became drawn to communist ideology at the age of 18 when he and his friends organized a protest advocating for an increase in the intake capacity at Anantnag Degree College. Influenced by prominent Kashmiri leftist figures such as Abdul Kabir Wani and Chaman Lal Kantroo, he subsequently engaged in numerous farmers’ movements throughout Jammu and Kashmir. His first imprisonment occurred in 1967, following his leadership in a protest against the forced procurement of rice, and he faced incarceration again in 1975 while advocating for the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people. During his time in prison, he suffered the loss of his wife. The residents of Kulgam continue to regard Comrade Tarigami as their genuine representative, recognizing his lifelong commitment to fighting for their basic rights both within the legislative assembly and beyond. By electing Comrade Tarigami for an unprecedented fifth consecutive term, they have reaffirmed their support for pluralistic and people-centered politics, simultaneously rejecting the communal and sectarian agenda of Jamat-e-Islami. They have thus shown the way to the rest of the world where unfortunately far-right reactionaries seem to be increasingly swaying the peoples’ imagination.
Aqib Inshaab, Research Scholar, University of Kashmir
Courtesy: Counter Currents