new Delhi. As ‘The Kashmir Files’ continues to shake the nation, several details of the period have emerged, triggering different debates. A veteran journalist who has covered Jammu and Kashmir for more than five decades, he has a lot to tell. In the two-part series, 87-year-old Brij Bharadwaj talks about the rise of terrorism in Kashmir, the weakening of the administration, political conspiracies and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.
As a journalist for a leading national daily, Bhardwaj was first posted to Kashmir in 1971 and closely watched the many ups and downs of the political and administrative pillars of democracy in the erstwhile state.
They say that terrorism in the Valley is a direct result of the continuing failure of the political and administrative system at the Center and in the state.
“Instead of putting the entire blame on the separatist elements in Pakistan and the Valley, the internal failures of the regime are more responsible,” the veteran journalist told -AnyTV News.
Recalling back-to-back political events that took place over five decades, he says that the political class has driven the Valley into the abyss.
political swamp-
Bhardwaj said, “As a journalist, I saw the events before my eyes. Twice the National Conference and the Congress compromised, once in 1975 between Sheikh Abdullah and Indira Gandhi and again in 1986 between Farooq Abdullah and Rajiv Gandhi. But the fact is that there was never trust between the two.”
“After Shaikh’s death, his son Farooq became the natural heir. However, a constant conflict within the Sheikh’s clan saw Farooq and his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah enter a bitter power struggle, and eventually Shah became chief minister in 1984 and two Took the reins for a year.”
“Shah’s two years were tumultuous and he came to be known as the Curfew Chief Minister. During his tenure the first organized attack against Kashmiri Pandits was carried out in South Kashmir in January 1986. Shah was sacked by Governor Jagmohan. His first term was from 26 April 1984 to 11 July 1989).
“Then, there was Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose political career spanned different parties – from different groups to the Congress, the Janata Dal and back to the Congress and finally he formed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). For a brief period of time Mufti Sheikh Abdullah was watching. It added to the rivalry in Kashmir.”
“There was a lot going on behind the scenes and politically it was getting messy day by day. The leaders wanted to be in power by any means. There was political uncertainty in the state most of the time. And common people got affected by this. There was a feeling that they had no choice, everything was done by the Centre. Leaders were saying something in Srinagar and something else in Delhi, which was deepening the nail. “
Rigged voting and the rise of terrorism
Bharadwaj says elections were hardly fair in the Valley, especially in rural areas.
“Elections in the Valley were always considered rigged. Common people knew that elections were rarely held freely, except that elections were held in 1977 with the late Morarji Desai as prime minister. The setback came in 1987 when the Muslim United Front (MUF) It was a coalition of Islamic Kashmiri parties and it was considered to have huge public support, which upset established and experienced politicians. The elections were badly rigged, and this time it happened in Srinagar and that too. A large number of people did not like it.
He said, “I remember a relative of Farooq Abdullah thrashed a MUF candidate who later became a top terrorist leader and is in Pakistan today. All the MUF candidates who lost the election later became terrorists and went to Kashmir. The rise of present-day terrorism started from here.”
“State governments continued to be dismissed and reinstated regularly. It was endless. During the VP Singh government, with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed becoming the Union Home Minister and Farooq Abdullah as the Chief Minister, terrorism had really begun in full swing. became normal and many people were killed by terrorists. The administration was weakening.”
Withered administration-
Bhardwaj says that if the political system is always in bad shape, then the administrative system is badly affected.
“There was so much corruption in the state. Even the local administration was deeply in the corrupt trap. There was no investigation.
“When the Indian Airlines plane from Srinagar to Lahore was hijacked in January 1971, which was the first terrorist act, he was helped by some personnel.
“When many youths were crossing the LoC for arms training in PoK, who was turning a blind eye and why? It was corruption. If the political class was firm, such things would not have started.”
“Farooq Abdullah was not a competent administrator and he made a mistake. He left everything open. But it was Jagmohan who dealt a big blow to the set up. He changed the appointment rule in the sense that the Center had a thread from the Centre. 50 per cent of IAS and IPS were promoted from cadre and 50 per cent local officers from network. But they changed it to 75-25 per cent ratio which weakened the whole system. Local representation was reduced. And that’s when terrorist movement started. “The administration was completely paralyzed. There was a police force but no local officials, which meant there was no contact.”
“Mirwaiz Farooq, an important religious leader of Kashmiri Muslims, was shot dead at his house on May 21, 1990. His body was brought to the police station for post-mortem, but a huge crowd entered the police station. and took him in a huge procession. Panicked by the crowd, a head constable opened fire on the procession. Mirwaiz’s coffin was also riddled with bullets and then it was publicized by vested interests that the Mirwaiz was killed by Indian security officials. Dala, which was not the case. The administration was present and functioning systematically, a strong leadership would not allow this to happen.
The veteran journalist lamented, “But the administration and the political system, at the Center or in the state, had completely collapsed in Jammu and Kashmir in the late 1988s.”
(Ongoing.. )
—AnyTV News
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