Lok Sabha elections 2024 ground report: A tectonic shift in the Kashmiri narrative

Mubaraq speaks suave and flawless English of the kind only long spells in a good old-fashioned convent school teaches you. Dressed in an elegant black sherwani, Mubaraq reveals a sophisticated and deep knowledge of what’s happening around him. He also happens to be the owner of the premium houseboat where the author stayed for three days at Dal Lake in Srinagar. Mubaraq sums up what people in Kashmir are thinking very insightfully: “You see. Some good things are happening. Some bad things are also happening. If you focus on the good, you will be optimistic. If you focus only on the bad, you will be bitter and cynical”.

Quite a few Kashmiris the author interacted with in the valley in Srinagar, Batmaloo, Bijbehara, Anantnag and Pehelgam seemed happy in the aftermath of August 5, 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated. The primary reason for their sense of optimism and hope has been the dramatic drop in mindless violence, stone pelting, hartals, weekly internet shutdowns, closer of schools and colleges and a pervasive sense of fear.

Of course, there were many more who had grievances with the government and were not happy by any yardstick.

But the author sensed a tectonic shift in the mood in Kashmir compared to his previous visit to the valley that was soon after curfew was lifted in the aftermath of the gunning down of Burhan Wani in an encounter by security forces. I listened to a whole range of complaints and grievances this time.

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One thing missing was the sullen and hostile looks you got at street corners. Second was the openly engaging manner in which Kashmiris talked with the author. The most important thing that struck the author was a sudden thought: but these are the grievances that I have been hearing about during my India to Bharat journey where I have already traveled more than a month through states like Assam, north Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh.

What were the grievances of ordinary people in these states? Lack of decent jobs and livelihood opportunities, an insensitive and unaccountable bureaucracy, very high prices of essential commodities, lack access to good facilities in government hospitals and the like. Surprisingly, these were the same grievances that ordinary Kashmiris have.

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For instance, Riaz says that things are so bad in the prestigious SKIMs hospital that patients have a higher chance of dying than living. That is not very different from Shyam Meena who lost his daughter even after she was shifted to a hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Sajid is a student at Amar Singh college pursuing a degree in mass communications and journalism. He says: “Our parents want us to stay in the alley and work. But where do I find a job here? I have no choice but to look for a job in Delhi or some other big city. “How different is he from any other youngster in Bihar? Tarique near Anantnag is fed up with repeated power cuts that can last for hours. That’s not very different from what Pawan Negi says in a village near Bheemtal in Uttarakhand. From seen hostility, the discourse has transformed into mainstream “Indian”. That, the author thinks, is a very big change.

But make no mistake. Kashmiris have “mainstream” grievances. But most of them are not emotionally integrated with India. A journalist, Haroon, gives one reason why: “for decades, ordinary Kashmiris were told that they had the option of opting out of India. This has been deeply embedded in the psyche. It is only in this age of social media that when Kashmiris see the desperate plight of fellow Kashmiris on the Pakistan side that they are reading they are much better off in India”.

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But the clock is ticking on Kashmiri patience. Even those who are happy to be Indian say that assembly elections and the restoration of full statehood are very important gestures that the Delhi regime needs to display as soon as possible. There have been no MLAs in Kashmir since 2018 and the last assembly elections were held in 2014. Ordinary Kashmiris feel deprived as a result. An indefinite delay in restoring statehood could mean they can also feel betrayed. That is not best way to win hearts and minds.

(This is the fifth in a series of 40 field reports from all corners of India in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections that aim to understand how the country is changing in fundamental ways.)