Jammu and Kashmir: ‘Silence is not acceptance, it’s a mistake to think it so,’ says Tarigami     

“Silence is not an acceptance. It is a mistake to think it so. Situation is painful and unbelievable for those who have not gone through such a period of forced silences. This situation will not stop with Kashmir, it will happen to the rest of the country. I appeal to the country to take this seriously,” underscored CPI(M) leader and former MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami.

When asked why this time, there have been no protests in Kashmir, Tarigami riposted, “How many protests have you seen in Tihar jail?”

“You can silence the people of J&K, but history tells us a different story. You are claiming that there is normalcy, and no bloodshed. But, even in a graveyard, there is silence. Don’t make Kashmir, our Kashmir, a graveyard,” told Tarigami to a group of reporters at party general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s residence near Indian Council of Historic Research on Ferozeshah Road in the Capital on Tuesday afternoon. The former MLA was in city for his routine medical check-up, which had been permitted by the Supreme Court.

Life has been virtually paralysed in the state since August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated by Parliament and the state of J&K was bifurcated. “Schools and colleges are open, but there are no teachers or students. Journalists are having a difficult time. Leading newspapers have become government gazettes. Only the voice of one party is allowed to be heard,” said Tarigami.

“We have had turmoil earlier as well. In fact, for the last 30 years, there has been a lot of violence and destruction going on,” added Tarigami. However, violence is not an option, underscores the four-time MLA from Kulgam. “Whatever is the provocation, or the wrongs committed by the authorities and the government of India, violence doesn’t remain an option for the people of Kashmir. We must not fall into the trap of those who want to get us isolated. Our strength lies in unity and peaceful protest,” said the former MLA, who had been attacked by terrorists more than thrice.

Underscoring that it had been nearly 80 days since August 5, Tarigami said that the shock and distress the Kashmiris have been facing was unprecedented and he pointed to the fact that it was irrespective of whether they had earlier supported mainstream politics or the separatist view. “We Kashmiris, as a community, feel as if we have been humiliated. We all feel betrayed today. The youth is in deep distress and the people of Jammu and Kashmir have lost faith in the current government.”

Pointing towards the dangers ahead, Tarigami said that this is bound to have serious implications if the rest of the country does not understand this. The four-time MLA highlighted the fact that nobody can have any illusion about the policies pursued by the BJP government today. “We will have to pay a heavy price for these policies being pursued,” stressed Tarigami.

Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Amit Shah has been stating that those who are against the abrogation of Article 370 are terrorists, but Tarigami has been attacked by terrorists several times. “He has contested and won several times from a constituency in Anantnag, which the home ministry has declared to be the most terrorist-prone district in the country. He wins from there countering the views of terrorists. This itself is a giveaway of the politics being played by BJP,” pointed out Yechury.

When asked why there was support in the rest of the country for the abrogation of Article 370, Tarigami said, “Unfortunately, Article 370 has been misrepresented by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Sangh Parivar. They have said that it promotes terrorism and that this has prevented J&K from getting integrated with the mainstream of India. It was projected as though it wasn’t in the Constitution and as something which was detrimental to the country. The fact is otherwise.”

“There is misinformation that only J&K enjoys special status. Now, there is Article 371, 371A and 371i and 12 states in the country have special statuses and they continue having it even today,” contended Yechury.

“They claimed that they are integrating the people of J&K with the rest of the country. Is this the integration they were talking about? I don’t know what my fate will be when I go to Srinagar tomorrow. I am likely to be placed under detention again. Many of my friends of different shades are either in detention camps or under house arrest. Young boys and ailing patients are languishing in jails and parents have no knowledge of it,” said Tarigami sounding distraught.

Questioning the claims of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister Amit Shah, Tarigami asked if this was how the Constitution worked. “At least, the Constitution of India should work in J&K today. At least there should be fundamental rights. I don’t think Parliament had decided to deny Constitutional rights to people of J&K. Shouldn’t I have the right to express my pain? Shouldn’t I know the reasons for my detention. These are the worries of the common man,” asserted Tarigami.

“Now, these leaders are saying as if people are ready to suffer. Try living without internet for even seven days. We have no trust in the government. My appeal to the countrymen is to come out of the slumber before it is too late. Please raise voices against atrocities by this government against citizens in J&K,” appealed the 72-year-old former MLA.

The CPI(M) leader stated that from the special status that Jammu and Ksahmir had, the state has been reduced to Panchayats. “Now, they want tourists to come to Kashmir, after they were driven out before August 5, 2019. Our houseboats and guest houses have become jails. Apples have become rotten. Our centuries-old carpet industry is in despair. The weavers have stopped working as there is no raw material available. The tourism and handicraft industry depend on the internet, which has not been restored yet. Moreover, the government has created hurdles in transportation of apples,” observed Tarigami.

When asked how long the people’s curfew would continue in Kashmir, Tarigami said once a tragedy happens, one cannot say how long the mourning will continue. “We are a disappointed lot.”

“There should at least have been be a dialogue before the removal of Article 370. We were under a lock down when the Article 370 was abrogated, and now they are asking us to accept it. When every other state (Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh) was bifurcated, they went through several rounds of conversations, agitations and debates before the bifurcation, but in case of J&K, it happened in four hours,” underscored Tarigami.

When asked how normalcy can return to Kashmir, Yechury pointed to a joint party delegation headed by Rajnath Singh that had gone to J&K three years ago. “They had promised three things – confidence-building measures, removal of pellet guns and beginning of dialogue with stake holders. For three years, nothing has been done,” said the former Rajya Sabha MP.

Yechury said an affidavit would be filed in the Supreme Court to clarify Tarigami’s status as even though the Supreme Court had stated that he was not under detention, the police had kept him under house arrest. “He is not allowed to move. As soon as he reached the last time, the police escorted him back to his house. To be placed in custody is the new, new normal in Kashmir,” said Yechury.

Earlier, on a petition filed by Yechury in the Supreme Court, he was allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir to meet his party colleague. After his visit, the Supreme Court had ordered shifting of ailing Tarigami to AIIMS in Delhi from Srinagar where he is under house arrest.