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

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For one, the new government which takes over the reins of power in a changed landscape of Jammu and Kashmir with a truncated boundary and demoted status, will be involved in a constant tussle with New Delhi’s appointed Lieutenant Governor.

Secondly, the government will be weighed down by the peculiarity of the mandate, which is a decisive one in the Valley, giving the alliance a clear overall majority but is fractured along regional, to be more precise religious lines, within the Union Territory.

Decoding the Mandate

The NC-Congress alliance led in 49 of 90 seats, with NC securing 42, Congress 6 (five in Valley and one in Rajouri, and CPI(M) 1. BJP dominated 29 seats, all in the Jammu region and mainly in Hindu-majority districts, barring three in the Chenab Valley. Of the 47 seats in the Valley, the alliance won 41, ceding six to PDP, independents, and Peoples Conference. BJP had a clean sweep in the Hindu majority areas but failed to gather much moss in the Muslim majority belts of Jammu province.

The verdict needs to be decoded in its totality. There are many layers to unpack but for now, just an overview would suffice.

Breaking away from the tradition of boycotts and low to moderate polling, not only did the Valley witness brisk polling, but the voters also threw their weight behind one party, despite the many machinations, manipulations, proxies, and sentimental emotional baits. This conveys that the voters in Kashmir voted pragmatically to give a resounding response to the BJP, express their anger against the abrogation of Article 370 and demotion of the state to a union territory, and for change against the present status quo.

The same is true of much of the Chenab Valley, where the BJP won three out of 8 seats but two with wafer-thin victory margins, and the Pir Panjal region, where the BJP’s weaponization of ST status for Paharis completely collapsed.

The core aspirations of this mandate cannot be discarded or set aside. Yet, it’s not as simple as it seems.

If the mandate in Kashmir, Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley was a referendum for the restoration of special status, was the overwhelming majority of BJP in Jammu’s Hindi heartland an opposition to that?

The Troubling Jammu Knot

BJP’s impressive performance in Jammu is a culmination of three major factors – the gerrymandering of boundaries that carved out more Hindu majority seats, the abysmally poor performance of the coalition, particularly of the Congress, whose stronghold Jammu had been before 2014, despite a strong anti-incumbency factor, and the BJP’s shrewd ability to capture the imagination of the voter by diverting the anti-BJP anger into a fear of the Kashmiri domination or re-emergence of separatist sentiment.

Whether it was the use of the Rashid factor, seen as polarising in Jammu, or manipulation of the fear of rising terrorism incidents, which increased in the Jammu region under BJP’s watch, in an electoral battlefield left almost vacant by the Congress, the BJP was able to sell its narrative very effectively in Jammu.

Here lies a paradox: Despite the deepening resentment against BJP’s policies including the dilution of constitutional protections, though not necessarily revocation of Article 370, and the loss of statehood, voters in Jammu opted for the very party that brought this misery on them.

Jammu provides a knotty necklace that is difficult for anyone to untangle. The voters in Jammu chose their loyalty to BJP over their aspirations. Whether the deeply embedded aspirations in Jammu are similar to those in Kashmir or not, the fact is that the BJP, which represents a sentiment antithetical to that has a strong hold over Jammu and that cannot be ignored.

The task for the NC-led coalition government is how to reach out to Jammu and balance Jammu’s dilemma with the restless enthusiasm of Kashmir with BJP waiting in the wings to give a communal twist to every narrative.

While this is difficult, it is not entirely impossible. Minimalist aspirations in both regions – of freedom from the arrogance of bureaucracy, accountable governance, jobs, development, protection of resources, and end to drug abuse – are the same. These provide an ideal ground for building bridges and moving forward. The National Conference can leverage its tradition of pan-J&K acceptability and Farooq Abdullah, owing to his popularity in Jammu, may be better placed to do it.

This, however, cannot be done without Congress, which has been electorally decimated but its vote share has improved. For the sake of the region’s peace and stability, and the party’s legitimacy, it may need to do so some pragmatic thinking, and rejuvenate its cadres for larger and continuous mass contact programs.

However, there is a caveat.

Even if the NC-Congress coalition acts in all its wisdom and navigates this challenge ably, it is caught in a real-time game zone, where the challenges and the menacing dragons never end.

Constantly, the new government will be put in a situation where it faces pressures from within the region and outside.

The UT Framework

The NC-led coalition government will have to reckon with the new reality of operating within the new framework and rules. Unlike states that have autonomous powers and a federal relation with the union government, Union Territories, with or without an elected assembly, are directly controlled by New Delhi through an appointed administrator or a Lieutenant Governor.

Ahead of the announcement of assembly elections in Kashmir, the Indian government amended the rules expanding the role of the Lieutenant Governor, giving him more powers for oversight on the functioning of the local government including in matters related to transfers, security, and prisons.

According to these rules, any decisions taken by the legislative assembly, or the local executive would need to be vetted by the Lieutenant Governor, making the Union government the final arbiter even in the administrative affairs of the region, including control over bureaucracy, anti-corruption bureau, police, and public order besides influencing decisions on prosecutions and sanctions.

These changes have resulted in a power structure similar to that of Delhi, which enjoys a limited statehood status, and other Union Territories with legislatures with trimmed powers. Delhi’s recent controversy over the sacking of bus marshals and the ‘dramatic’ image of Aam Aadmi Party’s minister Saurabh Bharadwaj holding the feet of a BJP legislator in desperation is a sign of the times to come.

BJP has already enjoyed the reputation of a systemic assault on the federal principles of the constitution by trampling over the rights of states ruled by the opposition and jailing chief ministers of opposition-ruled states. Jammu and Kashmir has had a long history of systemic political manipulations from New Delhi by successive regimes.

Given these facts, in all probability, the Omar Abdullah-led government will be engaged in constant firefighting with the nagging terrier on its heels.

BJP’s Wounded Pride

The problems could be far more complex. Even as the BJP is bragging about its splendid show in Jammu, the mandate suggests both an electoral and moral defeat for the party. Despite the change of rules, the redistricting of boundaries to its advantage, the alleged plotting of conspiracies, and the use of its immense resources, it is way below the halfway mark and in no position to form a government. The verdict has ripped bare its false narrative of peace, development and progress in Jammu and Kashmir. This cover now lies in tatters.

The BJP’s pride is wounded and a wounded tiger is dangerous for itself and the others. Powered by a destructive ideology that is inherent in its DNA, there is no telling to what extent the BJP could go to salvage its lost self-esteem.

There can be no room for complacency.

Will Voters’ Hopes Be Dashed?

The victory for the National Conference is huge but it is momentary. The challenges ahead are far too gargantuan to overcome.

While the government formation revives some hopes, a vital question is whether this would restore democracy in the region long starved of it or end up being a mere political theater. Would the limited powers of a prospective assembly, and the inter-regional and inter-religious frictions turn this democratic exercise into a charade that could prevent the government from delivering?

In that case, it could push the people of this restive region with a troubled history into irreparable despair. Driven by the desperation of disenfranchisement, lack of constitutional guarantees and emerging security threats, the Ladakhis are already sitting in protest in Delhi after a long foot march marching to India’s capital. Despondency in the entire region spiraling out of control will be immensely dangerous.

The new government must tread with extreme caution, wisdom, sensitivity, and agility.

Courtesy: The Kashmir Times

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Hindutva forces, as allies of Western imperialism, are unleashing everyday street violence against Muslims in India in the name of creating an exclusionary Hindu state (Hindu Rashtra) by dismantling the egalitarian citizenship rights granted by the Indian Constitution.

Amidst the backdrop of the othering and ghettoisation of Muslims, the victory of Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate and communist leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami in the Kulgam constituency of Kashmir in the recently concluded elections offers hope, as it shatters both imperialist propaganda on the international stage and Hindutva campaigns within the country.

Despite the dominant narrative of religious and majoritarian identity-based political campaigns, the communists managed to retain their electoral victory in Kulgam, largely due to people’s trust and political efforts led by the Communist Party under the leadership of Tarigami, who focused on addressing the everyday issues of the people.

Although the majority of people in the Kulgam constituency are Muslims, they did not vote along religious lines. Instead, the Muslims of Kulgam rejected religious polarisation by defeating the hardline, Jamaat-e-Islami-supported candidate. This marks Tarigami’s fifth victory in Kulgam, having also won the constituency in the 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014 elections. By voting for communist leader Mr. Tarigami, the people of Kashmir have rejected the religious politics of the Hindutva-PDP alliance, instead choosing secular politics.

The victory of the CPI(M) candidate reflects the fact that the Muslims of Kulgam opted for class politics over majoritarian religious identity politics of dominance. This election result offers hope for the future of class-based politics in Kulgam, Kashmir, and India as a whole.

The victory of class politics in this Kashmir constituency also reflects the democratic resilience of the communists, who are fighting against all odds in the contemporary political landscape of regional and national politics in India. However, mainstream media portrays this victory as the isolated success of a leftist leader, aiming to undermine the political consciousness of voters and their support for the Communist Party in the elections.

Such a ruling-class agenda serves to perpetuate stereotypes against Muslims. This victory of the communists in Kulgam dispels two dominant myths about Muslims: first, that Muslims vote along religious lines, and second, that Muslims are not secular.

Mr Tarigami has always believed and argued that “the tradition of Kashmir has always been the sacrifices of the working class, and we are hopeful that it will continue. The Zaldagar martyrs of 1865 laid the foundation of a struggle against the exploitation and atrocities on the artisans, a prominent section of the working class. The Shawlbaff protest launched at Zaldagar against the ruling class has given vent to numerous movements of the working class which are awaiting successful culmination.”

Such a political approach underscores the historical foundations of working-class politics represented by Mr. Tarigami, rooted in a legacy of solidarity and radical struggles for livelihoods, human rights, and better working conditions in Kashmir and beyond.

The victory of class politics in Kulgam demonstrates that the struggles of the working class are central to various communities and their efforts for effective political mobilisation for democratic, secular and scientific transformation aimed at achieving social, economic, and political justice and equality. Religious politics domesticates individuals and their creative labour, serving to uphold the interests of both ruling and non-ruling elites.

Voting for religious politics within an electoral democracy often facilitates capitalist interests, which are contrary to the needs of the working masses. In contrast, working-class politics can truly uphold and realise the aspirations of the people while promoting the sustainability of the planet.

The rise of class politics is essential for defeating imperialist geopolitics, religious fundamentalism, and terrorist violence in Kashmir, which undermine peace in the region. Grassroots activism focused on the everyday issues faced by people can ensure peace and prosperity while deepening democracy and empowering inalienable and universal citizenship rights as outlined in the Indian Constitution.

For now, it is time to celebrate this significant victory of class politics in the Kashmir elections.

Author is Scholar based in UK

Courtesy: CounterView

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SKM leaders said that its constituent organisations would conduct door-to-door campaigns and appeal to people to not to vote for the saffron party as it failed to deliver on its promise of minimum support price (MSP) as per the suggestion of Swaminathan Commission recommendations of paying 1.5 times the comprehensive cost.

Constituted in 2004, the National Commission on Farmers, headed by leading agriculture scientist late M S Swaminathan, had recommended that farmers must get 1.5 times of the total cost incurred on inputs in agriculture.

Farmers’ groups have maintained that the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), the central body responsible for announcing the MSP for acquiring foodgrains from farmers, has been employing a wrong methodology for calculating the input costs of seeds, fertiliser, herbicides, pesticides, diesel and harvesting. While the CACP has used the A2 + FL formula, the farmers have been asking for C2+ 50% for fair returns on the produce. A2 covers major costs, such as fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and diesel among other costs and FL implies unpaid family labour. C2 refers to comprehensive costs, which also cover rents and forgone interest on land, apart from traditional costs.

Mahapanchayat in Hisar

The SKM’s Haryana unit said it would organise a massive meeting of workers, farmers and employees (permanent and contractual) in Hisar on September 7, to launch the campaign in the state.

Inderjit Singh, one of the key functionaries of SKM, told NewsClick over the phone that although the decision to hold such a campaign was in the agenda of SKM’s national executive meeting on July 10 in New Delhi, it was formally cleared on August 20 in Bhiwani where all constituent organisations gave their consent.

“We are very clear that we will expose the government’s corporate-communal nexus; their anti-farmer and anti-worker character and punish by defeating them,” said Singh, who is also a leader of the All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS).

The septuagenarian leader went on to add that the joint programme had been convened with active participation of Central Trade Unions. “We snatched five seats (from BJP) in Lok Sabha elections (in Haryana). We will repeat the Assembly elections too,” he added.

‘Haryana CM Misguided us’

Suresh Koth, leader, Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Union, told NewsClick over the phone that farmers were agitated because the promises made during the farmers’ movement were not fulfilled. “Consecutive CMs kept misguiding us over MSP. The police cases registered during the agitation have still not been withdrawn,” he added.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision of repealing the farm laws, the Centre, through its Secretary (Farmers Welfare) Sanjay Agarwal, had assured the SKM leadership that it would form a committee, including representatives from the Centre and state governments, agriculture scientists and farmer leaders from different unions with the mandate to devise methods to implement MSP.

Agarwal’s letter dated December 9, 2021 also noted that the Union government in principle agreed to withdraw criminal cases by its agencies for participation in the historic struggle and it would appeal to the state governments to withdraw the cases, too. The Centre will also hold a discussion on the provisions impacting farmers in the Electricity Amendment Act, the letter added.

In a statement, SKM said, “The massive setback suffered by BJP across India in the just concluded 18th Lok Sabha elections — NDA lost in 159 rural constituencies — was mainly due to the anger among farmers, workers, youth and marginalised sections including Minorities, Dalits and Adivasis against the pro-corporate policies imposed by the Modi Government. Another drubbing to BJP in these Assembly elections will amount to a litmus test for farmers to make certain their victory in the struggle across India against the corporatisation of agriculture and in defence of their livelihoods.”

On Haryana, the statement said, “The Haryana Chief Minister had attempted to misguide the farmers by falsely claiming MSP for 24 crops consciously hiding the fact that the procurement rate is not based on C2+50% but the current rate of A2+FL+50%.

“The C2+50% rate of paddy, one of the major crops of Haryana is Rs.3012/qntl while the current rate is Rs. 2300/qntl means less by Rs.712/qntl. Paddy farmers alone in Haryana had a loss of Rs.3851.90 crore in the year 2023-24.”

The SKM said similarly, the workers’ movement was also consistently in struggle demanding minimum wages of Rs.26,000/ month, rolling back of four pro-corporate labour codes and regularisation of jobs in schemes, including Anganwadi, Asha and Mid-Day Meals.

The BJP-led state government in Haryana and the Modi government that rules over the Union territory of Jammu Kashmir through the Lieutenant Governor, had brutally ignored these huge mass sections of the working population, it said.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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