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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Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Former member of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, YousufTarigami who was under house arrest for over a month in Srinagar after the Centre abrogated Article 370 said at a press conference in Delhi that, “the bond that was created by the hard work of the leaders and the people of Jammu and Kashmir has been assaulted today.”

Expressing concern at the government’s decision to invoke the Public Safety Act (PSA) against former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah, CPI (M) leader MohammadYousuf Tarigami, who is in Delhi for treatment, on Tuesday said the NC chief is not a terrorist and condemned the move.

YousufTarigami was addressing a press conference in New Delhi. Tarigami had also been put under house arrest for a month when the Centre scrapped special status to Jammu and Kashmir, said, “I am not a foreigner nor are Farooq Abdullah and other leaders are terrorists. The situation in Kashmir is bad not because of the people of Kashmir but because of all of us politicians and politics.”Tarigami is the first leader to conduct a press conference after facing detention in Kashmir.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also said Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami would approach the Supreme Court on behalf of the party challenging the dilution of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Tarigami further said the unity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir had been disrupted due to the decision of the government. “I feel shocked by the situation of Kashmir and how one decision has changed what the leaders of Jammu and Kashmir had negotiated with the founders of the Constitution.”“The bond that was created by the hard work of the leaders and the people of Jammu and Kashmir has been assaulted today. The people of Kashmir want nothing but a chance to march with the government, a chance to debate and discuss,” Tarigami further said.

On September 5, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to shift the ailing CPI(M) leader from Srinagar to AIIMS in New Delhi. The SC ruling came on a habeas corpus petition filed by Yechury, who was allowed to travel to Srinagar to visit the ailing leader last month. Yechury had filed a report, as directed by the Court, on his visit to the state.

On Monday, yesterday, the Supreme Court said Tarigami was free to return to his house in Srinagar. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and comprising justices S A Bobde and S A Nazeer, said the ex-MLA does not need any permission to return home if doctors at AIIMS considered him fit enough to do so.

Sabrangindia’s co-editor Teesta Setalvad had interviewed Yusuf Tarigami in July 2016. The interview may be heard here.

Then again in 2018, as the BJP pulled out of the state government, we again spoke to this fiery communist from the Valley. That interview may be heard here.

The opposition party, the CPM on Tuesday rejected the Centre’s claim of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and said it is planning to move the Supreme Court on the latest situation in the erstwhile state after the government’s last month’s decisions.

Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was accompanied by his party leader from Kashmir valley, Yousuf Tarigami, told a press conference that the party was filing a writ petition in the Supreme Court raising all the issues related to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two Union territories.

The court has fixed the first week of October for the hearing on several writs in this matter, he said.

“The real issue over there is of unemployment. For more than 40 days people are unable to earn daily wages. Secondly, the lack of public transport is forcing people who are employed to stay off from their jobs.”It is clear that the ground situation is completely the opposite of what the government is claiming, the feeling is that the state has been insulted by bifurcating it into two Union territories,” Yechury said.

He thanked the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi for allowing him to visit Kashmir and for allowing Tarigami to come and get treated at the AIIMS. The court has said he is free to decide when to return to the valley and what he wants to do, Yechury said. Concurring with Yechury’s statements, Tarigami said he would only speak on what the “average Kashmiri is feeling.”

“We have seen difficult times in Kashmir, disruptions, death and everything … l we have seen it all. But this is perhaps the most gloomy time. When I see the very foundation of unity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union of India is getting assaulted by those who are mandated to protect those, I feel nothing but shocked,” he said.
 
He also appealed to the people of the country to listen to the voice of the Kashmiris and said the problem could be solved only through political discourse.

“I want to appeal to all citizens to India to listen to the voices of Kashmiris. They have been listening to just one version for all this while. The average Kashmiri just wants a chance to march with you. I had told Modi in 2016 too that the Kashmir crisis was not created by soldiers and it cannot be solved by them. It was the blunders of politicians,” he said.

Expressing disappointment with the way in which the decisions were taken by the Centre, and what has followed since, Tarigami said, “We did not have many expectations from this regime but we never thought this could become so desperate. They say there is normalcy in Kashmir, 40 days have passed now. Try this anywhere else. Try this in Delhi. Shut off the internet for seven days, disrupt all communications and see what happens.”
 
Related Articles:
Yusuf Tarigami – Kashmir’s Communist
 

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‘We are not asking for a paradise. We just want the opportunity to walk along with you,’ said former MLA from Kulgam, Yousuf Tarigami at a press conference in New Delhi. At first such an event after the abrogation of Article 370, Tarigami spoke about the clampdown in the erstwhile state and sufferings of the Kashmiri people.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

The post Kashmiris Also Want to Live: Yousuf Tarigami appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Yousuf Tarigami is a member of the central committee of CPI (M) and was also the MLA 4 times of the J & K Assembly which has now been dissolved.

Yousuf Tarigami has been unwell from some time and is now under detention. Yechury had tried gone to Srinagar on 9th August but was denied entry in the city and detained at the airport.

Article 32 of the constitution gives the rights to individuals to move the supreme court and seek justice if any of their right has been violated or deprived. The matter is likely to be heard on 26th of August.

Courtesy: Two Circle

The post CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury files a writ petition to produce Tarigami J & K CPI(M) member appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Excerpts:

• With the Amarath Yatra set to begin on June 28, we had expected (wrongly) that the BJP would wait at least two three months before taking this step, in the larger interests of the people of the state, the yatris.  We expected this out of respect for the Yatris. But they are concerned only about narrow political consdirations
• It is the tradition of the Kashmiris to lend a hand and support to the Yatris and we are sure this will continue but the overall atmosphere of tension and fear cannot help
• The decision to end the alliance is meant to help their campaign for the 2019 elections since the state government has no favourable record to show
• Jammu and Kashmir is headed for troubled times. This government, with separate agendas of the two alliance partners before the elections came together in such an opportunistic way after the election results and has a poor performance.
• Kashmir is bleeding, on fire, needs now more than ever the understanding, love and affection of the people of India

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