‘We need to keep the focus on Kashmir’

Interview with Shehla Rashid, leader, Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement.

Shehla Rashid.

Shehla Rashid , who rose from being a vocal student activist to a leader of the Shah Faesal-led Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM), has been articulate about “Army excesses” in Kashmir. In early September, the Delhi Police filed a sedition case against her for allegedly spreading misinformation about the Kashmir situation following the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. She told Frontline that all that the Bharatiya Janata Party was keen about was single-party rule. Excerpts:

You were recently heckled by a section of the national media for tweeting against the state narrative on Kashmir, more precisely about rights violations and alleged excesses by the armed forces. What are the reports from your volunteers in the Kashmir Valley, in particular the hinterland?

There are sections of the media that want to make this about me. It’s not about me, it’s about Kashmir. We need to keep the focus on Kashmir. Yes, I’ve been trying to compile a list of my party members who are under arrest. So far, we have only been able to confirm eight arrests. The information is only trickling out.

The JKPM has challenged the legality of the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in the Supreme Court. Was this a smooth sailing exercise?

The day the decision was made, I was confident that we had a strong case against the government. I announced on that day at a press conference in Bengaluru that we would challenge it. Several legal luminaries got in touch with us and put their brains to it. Everyone is confident about the case we’ve made out.

Are you hopeful of relief from the apex court? What is your comment on the independence of the judiciary in India?

We have faith in the strength of our arguments. It is necessary to make these arguments in the highest court of law in the country. It would be unfair to make a comment without having tried. The Centre so far has not shown any signs of political inclusion with Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik going so far as to declare that there will be no talks with mainstream political leaders.

What ramifications do you foresee consequent to the erosion of the structure and space for mainstream politics?

What the Central government fantasises about is single-party rule all over the country, with a few puppet allies in certain pockets. In Assam, this is being achieved with the National Register of Citizens list and the Citizenship Amendment Bill. In Kashmir, a demographic inversion through abrogation of Article 370 will make this possible. Elsewhere, it is being done through the consolidation of the Hindu vote bank. The idea is to make the Muslim vote irrelevant.