KASHMIR SITUATION

Harinder Baweja on the Electoral Farce in Kashmir

The farce unfolded just when things were showing signs of changing. When there was a faint glimmer of hope When disenchantment with militancy was finding a voice and when several former militant leaders were talking to the Indian Government in what appeared to be a rejection of the Pakistani card. And even as ordinary Kashmiris appeared to be in a mood to reject violence as the vehicle for azaadi and the slogan for independence was giving way to talk of autonomy, they found themselves being ushered into another period of alienation and anger. On May 23, when elections were held in Baramulla and Anantnag for two parliamentary seats, democracy once again took a severe beating in the Valley. Voters were herded to polling stations by security forces and forced to cast their votes.

In the run-up to the election, other militant groups had issued threats to stymie the process. They succeeded in some measure: candidates did not come calling on on voters. But those who did were the men in olive green. Descending on village after village in the early hours of May 23, their message was the same: Cast your vote, we will come back and inspect the marks on your fingers. And they were there in strength, ostensibly to guard the 26 candidates, mostly from among surrendered militants, contesting as Independents and several from the Congress and the BJP, which put up migrant Hindu candidates in the hope of getting them elected on absentee ballots. The National Conference and the Hurriyat had boycotted the poll.

The troops instilled not confidence but fear and n the loathing. They were out in strength - the Valley crawling with over one lakh of them, drawn from the army, the BSP and the CRPF. That's how the residents of Anantnag and Baramulla woke up that morning when tension ran high and the clouds hung low, casting a bleak shadow over the Valley. Still others woke up to announcements from mosques-a mohalla elder asking them to proceed to the booths. It was what they had feared and they had little choice in the matter.

Many residents who were forced to go to the polling booths said that security men had threatened that those who did not vote would never be allowed to open their shops again. And as more and more groups of frightened, fear-stricken people made their way towards the polling stations, it was clear that the elections after a violence-punctuated gap of seven years, were being held in the shadow of the gun.

The election was being rigged once again. Kashmir's history was being repeated. Ballot-boxes were not being stuffed like they were in 1987. But as in the past, candidates were being thrust on them. The decision was not theirs and the candidates chosen did not reflect aspirations.

The two constituencies of Baramulla and Anantnag saw unexpectedly high turnouts of 35 and 43 per cent but the voters came, not to give their "mandate for the return of peace and democracy". But only because of the fear of the gun- a refrain that echoed through the Valley.

It became clear that the administration had carefully plotted its strategy. Herding the voters to booths was only the first step in the drama that unfolded under the overcast skies. Rules were flouted and changed to accommodate the numbers lining up in serpentine queues were allowed to vote. At some places, they were told who - people whose names did not figure on the voters' list to vote for, and at others, some voters made their anger known by stamping four different symbols at the same time. They had no choice - for if they could have done as they wished, the turnout would have been 10 to 20 per cent as estimated by the Home Ministry and the intelligence agencies.

But the security forces-driven administration, spurred by a percentage game, came close to achieving a similar turnout as the elections held under normal circumstances. Determined to usher voters out of their homes, they first went for the men while the afternoon was reserved for the dead give-away that people were not coming out women who were brought out in the 'second phase' - a voluntarily. The troops returned to the villages, voter's lists in hand, to bring out the women and those who had not already voted. Why troops should be moving around with these lists.

This must have been the only place in the country where polling agents were not present in booths. The polling staff, brought in from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. all wearing bulletproof vests, were themselves quite surprised at the turnout. Expecting large-scale violence. they in turn, after staying in the protective custody of the security forces, revealed that the voters had been brought there forcibly and, aware of the fear that had gripped the Kashmiris, were quite willing to put the ink mark on their finger-nails.

Given the fact that it was the rigging of the 1987 election that saw the advent of the Kalashnikov in Kashmir, forcing voters into booths is hardly likely to contain the insurgency that was born of a farcical election. When election agents campaigning for the MUF decided to pick up the gun and launched the movement for independence.

And it is with the use of the gun that the security forces made yet another blunder that has only added to the complexities of the Kashmir crisis. By fielding former militants and giving them all-out support, the army and the BSF only reinforced the sense of alienation.

By encouraging surrendered militants to don the political mantle, the men in olive green are only creating more problem areas. The surrendered militants are now behaving like mini warlords... And it is with the help of these surrendered militants that the security forces came up with impressive turnout figures 50 to 60% in some segments.

Kashmir is back at a crossroads, with the people feeling dejected, defiant and alienated. The militants have found an emotional issue - something that the movement had been lacking in the past one year - to try and bring people out of their homes once again. An assembly election too will be pushed through, what seems to have been pushed instead are the Kashmiris who have only emerged with one feeling - not being given the chance to make their own decisions during an election. The poll percentage has shot up from 5 per cent in 1989 to 40 per cent in 1996 a figure that represents neither the aspirations nor the will of the people.

Sabina Inderjit on Election in J&K

 "People came on their own and voted, and in large numbers" was the state government's statement, while the refrain among the Kashmiris was "we were threatened, taken out of our homes and forced by the Army to vote".

Amid these claims and counter-claims, polling was. held in the Baramullah and the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituencies under unprecedented security. Uniformed men could be seen swarming the districts in the Valley as media persons travelled through towns and villages in the area. The state government, however, denied all involvement of the security forces in the polling process. It maintained that "there had been no incidence of violence, no rigging, no booth capturing and no complaint by any candidate". The Army was only ensuring an environment for elections.

(Source: The Times of India, 24 May, 1996)

This inaccurate image of Islam became one often received ideas of Europe and it continues to affect perceptions of the Muslim world. The problem has been compounded by the fact that, for the first time in Islamic history, Muslims have begun to cultivate a passionate hatred of the West. In part this is due to European and American behavior in the Islamic world. We should also remember that 'fundamentalism' has surfaced in most religions and seems to be a worldwide response to the peculiar strain of late 20th century life. It is wrong. therefore, to assume that Muslim extremists are typical of their faith."

Muhammad - A Biography of the Prophet; by Karen Armstrong.

Abida Samiuddin on the Myth of the Muslim Growth Rate

Will Muslims outnumber Hindus in near future? "A minority can become a majority only when three conditions are jointly met: the minority constitutes significant proportion of the population, the population growth rate differential is large and the duration long says Malika B. Mistry. Thus, even if differential growth rate of the two communities remains as it is (an unlikely contingency), she maintains, "Muslims cannot become a dominant group in India in the foreseeable future".

As a matter of fact a number of studies have found differences in fertility of Muslims and non-Muslims due to socio-economic differences rather than religion. Once these differences are accounted for, the fertility differences between Muslims and other religious groups will disappear. "Rele and Kantikar (1977) utilizing data from Greater Bombay observed greater reduction is fertility differentials between other religious groups once the socio-economic variables were controlled. Many studies have shown that education is one of the most important social factors affecting fertility behavior."

(Source: The India Today, 15 June, 1996)

The projected image of Muslim women that they di not respond to the changing socio-economic circumstances must be understood in the backdrop their literacy rate. According to a 1995 survey the literacy rate of Muslim women is 22% In comparison to the Hindu counterparts which is 44%.

It is also worth noting that majority of the Muslim live in pockets and in most of the urban slums the family planning services do not exist. According to a survey conducted by Shahida Latif (1990) in nine major cities lack of education and employment were the maje problems of Muslim women. Further, there is an inverse correlation between fertility rate and income: higher the income lowers the fertility. Economic backwardness of the Muslim community needs no supporting statistics; it is a established fact.

Different religious groups are undergoing demographic transition at varying paces. Improving the socio-economic conditions of the community, changes in the social institutions, ameliorating the status of Muslim women and their work participation will help check the rising Hindu Muslim fertility differentials.

(Source: The Nation and the World)

Gandhiji on Motherland

"All those who are born in this country and claim her as their Motherland, whether they be Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Christian, Jain or Sikh, are equally her children and are, therefore, brothers, united together with a bond stronger than that of blood." (Source: Harijan, 8.9.1946)