IAS-officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal entered into an alliance with former Kashmir legislator Engineer Rashid to form Peoples United Front.
Since IAS-officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal entered into an alliance with former Kashmir legislator Engineer Rashid on June 18, the footfalls in the former bureaucrat바카라s office in Rajbagh have spiked. Some expatriate Kashmiris were also seen in the office. Some of them see fresh hope in the alliance called the Peoples United Front (PUF).
But the Valley바카라s political parties are skeptical. People바카라s Conference (PC) leader Imran Reza Ansari describes it as a 바카라Sadbhavana Alliance in the making.바카라 Sadbhavana refers to the Indian Army바카라s 바카라operation goodwill바카라 to win the 바카라hearts and minds바카라 in the restive State. Alluding to the alliance, National Conference spokesman Imran Nabi Dar says: 바카라Since 1953, a constant effort is being made by the forces inimical to the state바카라s special status to scuttle a united Kashmiri voice by propping up 바카라alternative바카라 fronts.바카라
Kashmiri intellectuals like Siddiq Wahid have also raised questions. Professor Wahid asks if Faesal and Rashid see their party as an 바카라alternative voice바카라, what alternatives have they articulated until now? 바카라How is it different from the NC, Awami National Conference (ANC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the PC, the BJP and other parties? They all promise 바카라development바카라, corruption-free governance and civic amenities. If this is what Shah Faesal is also offering, then what바카라s the need for another party? If his party is offering more, what is that offer?바카라
Prof. Wahid adds that just saying that they are representing the 바카라sentiments of the people바카라 won바카라t do. 바카라By now, people바카라s sentiments are well known. They are, variously: dignified inclusiveness, maximum autonomy and independence. So, mere sentiments don바카라t need more representation. Can Shah Faesal, and any of the parties I mention, represent the frustration, distrust, anger of the people? Can they be distinctive from Delhi-based parties? Also, can they afford non-cooperation and non-alliance with Delhi-based parties? If so, then how do they articulate such representation?바카라 says Wahid.
While meeting delegations at his office in Rajbagh, Faesal is unfazed with the criticism of mainstream parties, but he takes seriously what intellectuals like Prof. Wahid have to say. 바카라Whenever there is a new idea, it is challenged. When the NC was formed, it was accused of being a creation of forces outside Jammu and Kashmir. NC was seen as an extension of the communist party in Kashmir. PDP, formed in 1999, was also accused of being created by security agencies. The PDP was formed in a vacuum, people accepted it and welcomed it,바카라 he says. 바카라Those who describe us as the Sadbhavana alliance were first to ally with the BJP in the recent history of Kashmir. And everyone knows their other dealings,바카라 Faesal adds.
In the parliamentary polls, Rashid, an independent candidate from north Kashmir, secured an impressive tally of 1,01,500 votes, just 31,192 votes behind the NC candidate. He got only 827 votes less than Sajad Gani Lone바카라s candidate. That makes Rashid바카라a two-time legislator바카라and Faesal serious contenders in Kashmir as the PDP바카라s decline has created political vacuum in the Valley.
Faesal believes that Rashid바카라s election performance has unnerved their opponents. He says that unlike the Jammu region, Kashmir Valley is fertile ground for new ideas and new political parties. According to him, people in Jammu have ignored their Dogra identity in favour of Hindu identity and have endorsed the larger national narrative in favour of PM Narendra Modi. 바카라While in Kashmir, political identities are still superior to religious identities. Politics is alive here and it is highly competitive. In Jammu, religious identity has wiped everything else, including ethnicities.바카라
Faesal feels it is necessary for Kashmiris to engage with New Delhi. 바카라The BJP is talking about ruling India till 2047. We shouldn바카라t dismiss that assertion. The Nehruvian era lasted for many decades because it was the extension of the principles of India바카라s freedom struggle. Now, Hindutva is the assertion, and it바카라s not going away because there are elections to come. We need to engage with them while maintaining some distance from this Goliath,바카라 he adds. Faesal has also clarified that despite his party being the antithesis of the NC and the PDP, it바카라s open to alliance if it is to save the special status of J&K.
By Naseer Ganai in Srinagar