Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chief cleric of Kashmir and chairman of the separatist group Hurriyat, has once again been placed under house arrest ahead of the polling in Srinagar. However, unlike in the past, he has decided not to issue a boycott call and instead has reiterated his commitment to fighting for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.
The Mirwaiz said that the unilateral changes made by the Indian government in 2019, such as the split of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, have further complicated the issue and disenfranchised the people of the region. He believes that in these changed circumstances, issuing a boycott call does not carry the same significance or impact as it did in the past.
The Mirwaiz clarified that the Hurriyat has never had reservations about elections in principle. In fact, some constituents of the united Hurriyat, such as the People’s Conference of Abdul Gani Lone, Jamaat-e-Islami, and members of the Muslim United Front, did participate in elections held before 1990.
However, the Mirwaiz said that the Indian government has often projected these elections as a reflection of the people’s will in the larger context of the Kashmir conflict. He added that the Hurriyat’s reservations about this misrepresentation still stand and that this is precisely what forced them to appeal for a boycott in the past.
The Mirwaiz also referred to the events of post-1947, when India and Pakistan took the Kashmir problem to international fora, fought wars, and signed bilateral agreements. However, he lamented that a final settlement still eludes the people of Kashmir and that both parts of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and its people remain divided.
The Hurriyat, formed in 1993, was a political initiative for supporting a political resolution of this long-standing issue on the democratic principle of respect for the aspirations and will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The Hurriyat’s political endeavor remains in favor of peaceful methods of dialogue and cooperation between the parties as means to a resolution.
Meanwhile, with the elections in Srinagar slated for May 13, the authorities have once again placed the Mirwaiz under house arrest and disallowed congregational prayers at Jama Masjid. His fresh house detention comes in spite of peaceful congregational prayers at Jama Masjid this year.
