A Kashmiri voter's voice

SRINAGAR: The vote in Kashmir has had an unusual course, its worth fluctuating wildly with the situation. It has moved in the last 15 years from a travesty to a tragedy to a triviality. Here is a Kashmiri’s account of his vote: Rasool, a resident of Srinagar has only voted once, remaining an observer for the past 15 years.
Like nearly every Kashmiri, Rasool pinpoints the 1987 vote as the turning point though no one then expected it would change things the way it did.‘‘Everything was normal,’’ he says, ‘‘except that Farooq Abdullah was in power through rigged elections.’’
After that, the vote disappeared. ‘‘Initially, the militants got the upper hand, then some of them began committing atrocities.�
“Even as people turned against them, the security forces committed such acts that people forgot what the militants had done; they seemed good in comparison. Most of the security forces saw every Kashmiri as a militant and Kashmir as enemy territory.’’
In 1996, elections were held. ‘‘To prove people were against the separatist movement, they coerced people to come out and vote. In the subsequent assembly elections with the National Conference participating, there was more voluntary voting; the people wanted the vote to end the gun culture.’’
‘‘But any hopes from Farooq were dashed as he decided early that he would not take on either the Army or the Centre and even the legitimate grievances of people went unheeded.
‘‘Now it is time for another vote. Why are people coming out? Because they have seen that the Army won’t leave, but they hope that at least the local problems will be solved.
‘‘The elections are a reality but not the reality that the Government of India (GOI) seeks to make it. The GOI says it is an alternative to the separatist movement.�
“The GOI wants miracles from this elections. That will not happen. Yes, there are changes, people are voting for individual candidates. Earlier they would have voted even for a pillar, had the NC asked them to. Now the youth are joining the opposition. The PDP is emerging as the party of the future.
‘‘Even today, the foremost need for a Kashmiri is security and honour. When we go out, we do not know whether we will return. We are labelled as militants and are beaten up.
‘‘If the Indian government wants to see a change it should rein in the security forces. “ “The truth is the Indian government does not think about the Kashmiris, it only thinks about its borders. The day they start thinking about Kashmir, you will see a change in Srinagar.
‘‘Otherwise, the National Conference or any other party will make no difference. Why haven’t I voted? Because I think my vote is not important in this situation. I only want a normal life.’’