Black clouds covered the
sky over Srinagar when we landed in Sheikh UL International Airport. It seemed
there would be downpour of rain any moment. We rushed to the Tulip Garden. The
Garden opened for public view during March-April, almost for a month. The
Garden, at this time of the year, was the main attraction for the tourists.
I had seen tulips in the
cinemas only. I remembered the song ‘dekha ek khwab to silsile hue, dur ek
nigaho mein he gul khile hue’ of the Amitabh-Rekha starrer movie ‘Silsila’,
picturized in a tulip garden. It started drizzling when we entered into the
garden, and after a few minutes the rain poured. We bought an umbrella and
wandered in the garden with the umbrella over our heads.
The next place we were to
visit was Lal Chowk. This was a historical and much talked about place in
Srinagar. Influenced by the Russian revolution, the leftist leaders fighting
against the rule of Raja Hari Singh had named the quadrangle, Lal Chowk.
Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled national flag here in 1948, Sheikh Abdulla stood by
his side. All the parties, including the separatist leaders, held their
political meetings here. Clock tower was set up in the Chowk in 1980.
This was my third visit.
First time, I went to Srinigar to attend the GST law drafting committee
meeting. PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit at this time. The Hurriyat
Conference had called for a bandh in protest against the PM’s visit. Curfew was
imposed; we were hardly allowed to come out of the hotel. Second time, I had
been to attend GST Council meeting held in Srinagar in 2017. The meeting ended
before lunch on Friday. I wanted to visit Lal Chowk in the afternoon. The
liaison officer, security officer (Every delegate was provided with a security
officer) and the driver of the car discussed in Kashmiri language. I could
sense from the tone of their discussion, they were reluctant. I said, “If there
will be any problem by going there, we shouldn’t.” The liaison officer said,
“Sir, today is Friday. There will be speeches after the Namaz and the people
may cause trouble after they come out of the mosque.” We did not go to Lal
Chowk; instead, I went to see and buy, if I liked, Kashmir hand loom and handicraft
goods. The next day, in the morning newspapers, I read there were
demonstrations and stone pelting after Namaz in Lal Chowk.
The rain continued. The
day before the day we left for Srinagar, the temperature in Bhubaneswar was
above 43 degrees Celsius; the temperature in Srinagar was 13. Cold wind along
with the rain shivered the body. I had not put on sufficient winter dress to
beat the cold; we returned to the hotel. The next day we went to Gulmarg.
We went to Gulmarg,
Pahelgam and Sonemarg. We were six families comprising twelve persons in our
group. Of the six, two families had wide experience in travelling. Besides
important places in India, they had visited Singapore, Dubai, Bali and Europe.
In the fourteen-seater bus we were travelling, they dominated the discussion.
Their main topics for discussion were on two; food at different places and
eulogy for the PM. The rest were in agreement with the second subject. That,
only because of Prime Minister Modi, Kashmir remained with India, the people of
Kashmir were starving, they got jobs only for Modi; we could move in peace and
without any kind of fear only for Modi, etc. Another person in the group
remarked, if Modi stayed in power another ten years, Pakistan occupied Kashmir
would be part of India also. He saluted every soldier on duty when he came
across and said, “We travel in peace only for them.”
(With friend Paresh Patnaik, enjoying Kahwa)
One sight a traveler from outside J & K could notice was the armed personnel guarding and patrolling the streets and establishments; armed forces were there in every three hundred or five hundred meters, covering almost entire Kashmir. In the month of April, by the time we left Srinagar, the army had two encounters eliminating a few terrorists and, in the action, a few soldiers and civilians were injured. If all was all in Kashmir, the situation was normal, why armed forces were there in the entire state and the army had to encounter on a regular basis?
The elections in J &
K were to be held in five phases. The day we reached Srinagar, on 19th
April, J & K went to polls in its first phase. The second phase elections
were scheduled to be held on 26th. But we were surprised to notice
there no sign of an election in the state. No posters on walls, no bike rally,
no procession, nothing, not even any political meeting. We never heard anywhere
any kind of discussion on election.
I asked two of my friends
of Kashmir about the absence of any kind of campaign for election. One, a
retired bureaucrat said, “The people of Kashmir are unconcerned about who
formed the government in Delhi. They have the least interest whether BJP forms
the government or the opposition parties, at the Centre. Elections to the
Assembly or local elections generate heat. But no political party of J&K
promises any freebie or free schemes. They don’t bribe the voters. It’s a
different matter, around ten percent voters go to vote voluntarily, the rest
are taken to the booths and forced to vote.”
The other friend said,
“Both Hindus and Muslims are dissatisfied with abrogation of Article 370. They are afraid, they will lose their land.
Outsiders will also take away a share of jobs in the government. Previously, J
& K students were only eligible to compete for jobs in the state. But after
establishment of Ram Mandir, the attitude of the Hindus seems to have changed.
They are now inclined towards BJP. It’s true what Marx has said; religion is
opium for the mass.”
(At Lal Chowk, in the evening)
A friend came to my hotel
to meet me the day before we left Srinagar for Bhubaneswar. The rain had
stopped; the cloudless sky was clear. I requested him to take me to Lal Chowk.
He took me in his own car. The Chowk was crowded; business was going on.
Everything seemed normal, though army personnel stood with their rifles, and
were alert. The clock tower renovated
and lighted looked marvelous. First time, J & K was going to polls after
abrogation of Article 370. I asked my friend, “What’s the impact of Article 370
on the coming elections in Kashmir?”
He did not reply; evaded my question.
*****
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