There is a beautiful story about Mogul Emperor Akbar. When the Great Wall around Nagar Nagri( Now Badamwari Kathi Darwaza) was completed the then Governor accompanied by all the mighty and powerful in Delhi and Kashmir lined up on two sides of the wall. A highly decorated elephant was brought and the mahawat(trainer) made it sit down so that Akbar would climb and go around the walled area. When Akbar sat on the machaan, the mahawat with reins in his hand commanded the elephant to stand up and move. The emperor in his entire regal splendor demanded to hold the reins to which the mahawat humbly submitted,”Jahan Panah the elephant won’t move unless I command him”. To this the furious emperor retorted “I can’t let someone else hold the reins while I am in the saddle”. This little story tells volumes about how a self confident ruler ought to me.
The bottom line is that a ruler ought to be his own master and he should take his own decisions. Unfortunately even after six decades we are surrounded by a system that refuses to give up it’s medieval, archaic and antediluvian mind set. It is not Omer’s reaction to the Shopian tragedy or subsequent correction, his orders for immediate closure of the Khaigam CRPF Camp or Rajinder post in Bomai Sopore or ensuring that Brein boy’s assailants were brought to justice. Ever since the insurgency surfaced, no governor or Chief Minister had the courage to unequivocally warn the Central Government that for achieving peace and normalcy they had to win over the people. So what was wrong if he repeated the same sentiments to the Indian Home Minister to help nab the culprit? I see no reason why should our forward looking, and deeply committed Chief Minister be targeted even if he does something good that others have failed to do in the past. After all we live in a democracy and every democratic system is structured with tasks carved out for all the limbs of the State. We have seen in the recent past how those democratic conventions were trampled by some leaders of the Opposition. How they raised muck on the personal character of Omer. I am a part of the civil society and I have a right to ask: How many Chief Ministers have had the moral courage to resign on principles. How many Chief Ministers succeeded in nabbing a killer if the offender was from the security forces? How many chief Ministers had an army camp shifted? The K-issue unfortunately has been used by various elements for various ends. Some talk belligerency to get nearer to Delhi, some use it for filling their coffers, some use it for continuously staying in the news and a lot more have used it to exploit the raw sentiments of the common people and our youth. Nobody has been honest enough to suggest that under Chapter VII of the UN charter, there has to be a bilateral solution. This must have prompted the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to state that a plebiscite was impractical with changed circumstances. But the reality faces us squarely in the eye that the world community considers it a dispute that has to be resolved amicably. It may cause a lot of discomfiture to India when Clinton says that “he regrets not having resolved Kashmir dispute during his tenure”, Col. Ghaddafi thundering that Kashmir must be left alone or Obama initially deciding to assign Richard Boucher to work out a solution. There has not been a single OIC session that has gone without a passing a resolution against the ‘occupation’. The world we live in has brought total interdependence between the nations. EU, the Americas, SAARC, OIC all are getting closer. India and Pakistan cannot afford playing ostrich.
The Self Rule balloon has burst without a whimper and the PDP duplicity has been exposed with Justice Saghir’s assertion that no such proposal was presented to the Commission. So in a way all are clinging to their impractical solutions. While NC continues to stick to the Autonomy resolution, it proves my point that Omer is the only leader who has gone a step further by declaring that “if there is a better solution than Autonomy, my party will accept it”. When you are faced with a thorny issue that has been getting tangled on the daily basis for 63 long years, you have to start from somewhere leaving behind your past. Omer deserves to be commended for his repeated assertion that Kashmir can only be resolved by political will and not by militarily means.
It does not matter if everything does not happen overnight. If you want to win a race one has to take the first step. So goes the saying. But our myopic opposition leaders somehow do not see the good that young CM has achieved. Perhaps there is an underlying fear somewhere that if he succeeds the way he does, they will become totally redundant politically. They don’t realize that twenty first century will be the century of youth and all the antiquated players will be consigned to the dustbin of history. It has happened in America. It has happened in our state. A million dollar question remains how soon does this reality dawn on such obsolete people who think it is their birth right to cling to their chairs or dream of occupying them! For them the only hope is go on telling lies and more lies and creates an impression that youth is too green, raw and inexperienced. How long does the youth tolerate such people?
Democracy rests on an established firm foundation. Every CM is a product of adult franchise answerable to the legislature, his party and the people. Constitutionally, the formation of cabinet and advisors is his exclusive discretion. A coalition does upset this applecart. But that in no way restricts his authority to take decisions in the interests of the State. As the head of the executive he is his own master and can and should discuss any matters that concern the State. It is a pity his meeting with the HM is being made an issue and not the result achieved. Secondly, let me write this without any fear of getting lodged at Tihar Jail or being brutalized by any Ganderbali. Kashmir is the key to peace and normalization of relations between India and Pakistan. Sooner than later both the countries shall have to leave behind their stated positions and find an honorable solution to this imbroglio. As a student of politics, I know there are elements in both the countries whose political survival depends upon the continuation of a state of war and confrontation. But in the larger interests of our teeming millions people have to eliminate such negative elements.
It was in utter bad taste for the congress leader and the former Chief Minister of J&K , who is also an Indian central minister to make a very insensitive and objectionable remark about our several thousand youth stranded across the border. Branding them all as security risk at a time when foreign secretary talks are scheduled at Islamabad after a prolonged hiatus strengthens this apprehension that anti-peace activists are not dead.
