Far away from the ideal perspective, success in politics demands one to have the ability to control truth and lies and, more importantly, the middle ground between the two. These days, the politicians of Jammu and Kashmir are clearly following this ‘success mantra’. We see them cautiously choosing their words depending upon the audience they are addressing. In the valley, they pose as the messiahs of the people, trying to warp the listeners with their politicking of deceit and double-talk. Elsewhere, they conjure tricks up their sleeve: When in Rome do as the Romans do. While ‘autonomy’ and ‘Kashmir struggle’ become a dominant part of their glossed glossary here, elsewhere, it is ‘Kashmir belongs to India’ parroting that defines their boondoggle of political careers.
Be it the leaders of National Conference or Peoples Democratic Party, their seemingly heartfelt gestures on and about Kashmiris and Kashmir these days are a perfect example of this paradox. Few would dispute with the fact that politics of deception has become a fundamental technique for survival in politics. This is practiced by almost all the politicians in the state. In the midst of all this experimentation is the commoner in Kashmir finding him/herself turned into a lab-rat, peeled and pricked, ridiculed and tricked, again and again. Politicians here are stricken with recreating the tapestry of their fake achievements embedded in the notion of selective amnesia. They pull and tear each other down in an attempt to what is being referred to as ‘regaining lost ground’. What ‘gain’ on which ‘ground’ depends where they stand and deliver their cantankerous speeches–ones that make a lot of noise but change not a bit. We are dog-tired questioning the politicians, who zealously pursue their politics of balancing truth and lies. It is the seemingly sheep of a people here (read every section of the society including the media) that makes an interesting case. Bedazzled and bamboozled we become each time the politicians juggle in front of us. Their tricks are old and repeated, bereft of any pledge, turn and prestige. But as nonchalantly as ever, we always rouse to them in tumultuous applause. We march on their chants exactly how Orwell’s ‘sheep’ did to ‘Napoleon’ in ‘Animal Farm’. The world apparently knows Kashmir as a place of confrontation and struggle, but the rules here are not that hard and fast. They are always moulded in the cauldron of lies and fake hopes. It is not surprising that politicians come back to people, impenitent and equally poised, knowing that they will ultimately get what they want from them. Suggestions aside, it is time to shatter that poise and make them aware of their wrongdoings. It is time to stand-up, ask those tough questions and not take trickery or blabber as an answer.
