Iqbal Khan
ERSTWHILE “Lion of Kashmir” Shaikh Abdullah’s dynasty is not well reputed amongst the Kashmiri people. As long as chief ministership of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) is within the family, they lick the boots of whosoever rules New Delhi. The moment mantle passes on to someone outside their family, they start talking about greater autonomy. Whatever Jammu and Kashmir is today and whatever it is not, credit or discredit largely goes to Abdullah clan. With the post-August 05, 2019 political order, Sheikhs are likely to become irrelevant. Now as the political fate of dynasty hangs in the balance, Sheikhs are jockeying between options. While elderly Farooq Abdullah wants restoration of pre-August 05, 2019 status quo ante, young Omar Abdullah is twittering around that he won’t ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution. See how shamelessly, dynasty wants to keep all options leading to CM House open.
With this background Farooq Abdullah gathered pro-India Kashmiri politicians at his Gupkar road residence in Srinagar, to make public their future course of action. Gupkar Declaration-II was announced on 22 August, it was a follow-up to pre-annexation Gupkar Declaration-I of 04 August 2019. Farooq Abdullah had presided over the meeting of pro India political parties leading to Gupkar-I on 04 August 2019. Meeting was attended by the representative of: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference; Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party; Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference; Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee; Communist Party of India (Marxist); Peoples United Front; Awami National Conference. All these parties are focused on autonomy of India annexed Kashmir within the ambit of Indian constitution. Participants had deliberated on the then prevailing political situation triggered by massive deployment of security forces, the multitude advisories issued, the abandonment of Amarnath Yatra midway and forced removal of tourists from the Valley.
It was unanimously resolved: “That all the parties would be united in their resolve to protect and defend the identity, autonomy and special status of J&K against all attacks and onslaughts whatsoever; That modification, abrogation of Articles 35A, 370, unconstitutional delimitation or bifurcation of the State would be an aggression against the people of Jammu & Kashmir as well as Ladakh; That the parties participating in the meeting resolved to seek audience with the President and Prime Minister of India and the leaders of other political parties to apprise them of the current situation and make an appeal to them to safeguard the legitimate interests of the people of the State with regard to the guarantees given to the State by the Constitution of our country”. They pondered over the unwholesome consequences bound to follow the unconstitutional violation of these guarantees; and resolved to remain together and stand united in their struggle for safeguarding the identity, autonomy and special status of the State. So far they have kept their word.
However, before they could implement the decision of the Gupkar Declaration I, most of them were thrown in jails or were kept under preventive detention with the abrogation of Article 370. For a year, no political activity was seen in IIOJ&K, except some membership drives by BJP. Many political leaders, including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti are still under detention, while some, including, Farooq Abdullah, have been released after signing a bond of compliance with the government. Now on 22 August 2020, a new resolution termed Gupkar Declaration-II was circulated in media. This was the first combined statement issued by the political parties after more than a year. Acknowledging the difficulties in bringing out a resolution of all political parties, it stated that the signatories to Gupkar Declaration-I, “have barely managed to establish basic level of communication with each other” in face of a series of prohibitive and punitive curbs.
The Gupkar Declaration II enlists three points (demands) only in 122 words: “That all the parties would be united in their resolve to protect and defend the identity, autonomy and special status of J&K against all attacks and onslaughts whatsoever. That modification, abrogation of Articles 35-A, 370, unconstitutional delimitation or trifurcation of the State would be an aggression against the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh; That the parties participating in the meeting resolved to seek audience with the President and Prime Minister of India and the leaders of other political parties to apprise them of the current situation and make an appeal to them to safeguard the legitimate interests of the people of the State with regard to the guarantees given to the State by the Constitution of our country”. The Gupkar Declaration-II has cleared its ideology of peace by mentioning that “We don’t believe in bullets and bullet and stone throwing politics”. This is very significant as the Gupkar Declaration has separated itself from those fighting with arms. Farooq Abdullah blamed the Prime Minister for creation of a new chapter of peoples’ alienation in J&K. Every decision is taken at PM level. Only response to the Gupkar Declaration came from the J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina, who launched a scathing attack on sponsoring political parties, especially the National Conference and the Congress for enacting the instrument of Gupkar Declaration to demand reversal of Abrogation of Article 370. Rana charged that those who want to fight the nullification of Article 370 and demand for the restoration of special status to the erstwhile state are supporters of Pakistan.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has stated that the second declaration was “not an ordinary occurrence but an important development”. Reacting sharply to Pakistan hailing the recent Gupkar Declaration II Farooq Abdullah asserted that “we are not anyone’s puppets”. “Pakistan has always abused mainstream political parties of Jammu and Kashmir but now suddenly they like us.” In response to a question by Press Trust of India on cross-border terrorism, Abdullah said, “I would urge Pakistan to stop sending armed men into Kashmir. So Sheikhs know it well, where their bread resides and which side of that bread is buttered. According to senior journalist and Indo-Pak peace activist Chanchal Manohar Singh, “After almost a year, the resolve of all major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to reiterate the demand of the implementation of the Gupkar Declaration of 04 August 2019, has finally reflected the signs of dissent against the “unconstitutional” and “unilateral” abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A. And “Gupkar Declarations proves Kashmir is experimental lab for [Indian] politicians”
—The writer is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
