‘Not much may change in Kashmir,' Colonel (retd) Tej Kumar Tikoo

Colonel (retd) (Dr) Tej Kumar Tikoo

J&K National Conference (JKNC) and Congress' alliance swept the Assembly elections in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir last week, spelling celebration for the INDIA bloc, and introspection for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In conversation with mid-day, Bangladesh Liberation War veteran, Colonel (retd) (Dr) Tej Kumar Tikoo, talks about what the future may hold for the Union Territory which saw Assembly polls after a decade.

The Noida-based former soldier, who served multiple tenures in the conflict-torn state, is also the author of Kashmir: Its Aborigines and their Exodus. He was among the Kashmiri Pandits who fled J&K at the peak of insurgency in 1989-90.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Omar Abdullah is back in power. Was this expected/surprising?
It was expected after it became apparent during the campaigning that the National Conference was increasingly gaining ground.

What changes do you visualise will be brought about by the new government in J&K?
[I anticipate] not much will change in Kashmir [even] after this result. There is an element of continuity in such situations [of conflict]. So, leaving the rhetoric aside, nothing much is going to change.

The biggest poll plank of NC was rolling back the Abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in Kashmir…
Those making such claims have no power to restore Article 370 [&35A]. Things were said in the past, and even this is said to mislead Kashmiris. One can make certain claims during poll campaigns, but the reality is one cannot do things they are not empowered [authorised] to do.

The BJP may never win in the Valley. Your thoughts?
J&K is not a monolithic land mass. There is Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. And across them, there are geographical, ethnic and political differences, too. Ladakh is now a separate Union Territory. One must realise that local sentiment in Kashmir has always favoured anti-Centre parties. Currently, with the BJP in power at the Centre, there is a double whammy as it is seen as a "Hindu" party. This is one of the reasons that JKNC-Congress combine have swept the polls. However, BJP will gradually make inroads into Kashmir (too). It will take a long time, though.

Is there really progress in Kashmir at the grassroots? Many say these claims are bogus. Your thoughts?
To say there has been no progress in Kashmir is a lie. There has been economic progress, improvement in law and order, and also governance. The benefits [of government schemes] have reached to the masses. Almost everybody has a pucca house to live in. Even in remote areas, the lives of the poor have improved. More importantly, we had 50 to 60 per cent polling in both Parliamentary as also in Assembly polls. Compare that to 6 per cent in 1996, 4 per cent in 2000 and 2 per cent in 2004. Unlike the '90s, today, we see the Tricolour at Lal Chowk. We have great tourist influx, and they are out and about even at night.

No doubt there is terrorism, too. It cannot [just] go away completely due to a slew of factors. We have radicalisation [of youth], well-entrenched separatists, and also Pakistan next door. These problems exist, but the bloodshed has [relatively] reduced. There is effective governance, which is vital.

Will the Pandits be able to return to Kashmir? There was a lot of talk in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A that Pandits will return. But they didn't. I'm not sure about Pandits returning to Kashmir any time soon. This is because no solid steps have been taken to make that happen. The government has to create conducive conditions for their return. The [community's] original numbers were around four lakh.

If the government can give free ration to 80 crore citizens for four years, can it not relocate four lakh Pandits in Kashmir? Can't the government facilitate their return by buying land, giving it to them and asking them to pay for it in instalments? Not creating suitable conditions for them [Pandits] may be seen as an appeasement policy. It is not enough to simply say that Pandits should return.