The Many Meanings Of Azadi - New Delhi must understand what Kashmiris are fighting for before demanding their allegiance- By Madhu Purnima Kishwar

It is a great irony that azadi a word with so many positive associations should evoke such fearful images among our political establishment and a large section of the intelligentsia in India when uttered by Kashmiris.It was Lokmanya Tilak who gave us the slogan,Freedom is my birthright.Gandhi went a step further and defined Swaraj,as opposed to mere ousting of the British,as the raison detre of our freedom movement. Most of us have been conditioned to believe that when Kashmiris come on streets demanding azadi,they do so only at the behest of Pakistani agents.There is no denying that Pakistan has injected a lot of poison into Kashmiri politics by fomenting religious strife.But it is the irresponsible deeds of our own politicians that create a conducive environment for converting the urge for azadi into a pro-Pak secessionist upsurge. Even in states that do not harbour secessionist forces,we witness daily outbursts of discontent on a range of issues from absence of basic civic amenities to forcible acquisition of peoples lands,human rights abuses,extortion rackets patronised by police and politicians,electoral frauds and deaths in police custody.

We also witness simple agitations turning violent because of the ham-handed response of the police who often beat up even peaceful agitators.Lack of transparency and accountability of the governance machinery coupled with the absence of effective institutions for grievance redressal has made India a land of a million mutinies. In Patna or Mumbai,such protests are taken as a sign of disenchantment with state administration. But the same action in Kashmir is invariably interpreted as anti-national.People will respond to this by saying that in other parts of India, people dont start demanding azadi when they come out to protest against their regional governments.But in other parts of India,protests against local governments are not crushed through the deployment of security forces using deadly weapons as often happens in Kashmir.

The special status of J&K has ensured that unlike people in the rest of India,the people of Kashmir cannot take most of their constitutional rights for granted.For example,a common complaint in Kashmir is that in 60 years of independence,they have witnessed only two genuinely free elections in the Valley one in 1977 and the second one in 2002.Local bodies remained dead for decades. Lack of azadi is visible on every road,in every mohalla,every town and village.Arbitrary arrests,crackdowns,custodial deaths and disappearances are routine events.For example,this entire phase of violence erupted because people who came out to protest against the wanton killing by the J&K police of 17-year-old Tuffail Mattoo were met with bullets. That led to more protests,more injuries and more deaths.At such times,the cry for azadi is a desperate plea for a life of dignity,freedom from constant fear and assertion of democratic rights,including the right to protest against the denial of fundamental freedoms promised by the Constitution of India.

Kashmiris have proved their disapproval of terrorism by marginalising Pak-inspired militants.By mistaking their hunger for azadi,we only push them away from Indian democracy. Wahidur Rehman,a young journalist from Kashmir,provided a valuable insight on the message Kashmiris try to deliver to Delhi by shouting azadi.He said, From our childhood we have been taught by our elders that the most effective tool of blackmailing the New Delhi establishment into waking up is to start demanding azadi.They come to the dialogue table,start talking of concessions only when we rend the air with slogans of azadi.Otherwise,our pleas fall on deaf ears.

Mehbooba Mufti once told me that even when a group of women come to meet her,if they find she is not available,they will start shouting,We want azadi,when in fact they came for jobs or better civic amenities.This is not to belittle the urge for self-rule and having the power to call their politicians to account rather than depend on the mercy of Delhi durbar. The constituency for secession keeps shrinking or expanding depending on how well or poorly the central and state governments tune in to peoples legitimate grievances and aspirations.P Chidambaram recently remarked that the same young people who two years ago were demanding IITs and IIMs are today pelting stones.

During Atal Bihari Vajpayees prime ministership,the constituency for secession shrunk dramatically because he not only ensured free and fair elections in 2002 but also engaged with the entire political spectrum of Kashmir.He also gave the PDP-led coalition a free hand in defining the political agenda for the state.With such simple statesman-like gestures,he became the most respected political figure for Kashmiris.

Manmohan Singhs repeated statements offering dialogue to all those who abjure violence and operate within the constitutional framework act as irritants instead of giving people faith in the democratic process.Can the prime minister claim that the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government is operating within the constitutional framework Kashmiris are angry because the state government has trampled on their constitutional rights with unprecedented brutality with the approval and backing of the central government.It is the PMs duty to demonstrate that his government knows how to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens as promised by our Constitution,before he expects people to owe allegiance to it.(The writer is professor,Centre for the Study of Developing Societies,Delhi.)

They are fighting for the rights guaranteed to them by the Indian Constitution
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(source-toi)