Several Kashmiri political figures, including former members of banned separatist groups, have abandoned long-held separatist leanings and joined mainstream Indian politics.
This shift in the disputed Himalayan region’s political landscape comes as three weeks of voting begin on Wednesday in the first legislative assembly election since 2019 when India stripped Jammu and Kashmir, or J&K, of its limited autonomy.
One such Kashmiri figure is Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, a prominent cleric whose anti-India anthems became popular during a 2016 uprising. Wagay is running simultaneously from prison in two central Kashmir constituencies known as Ganderbal and Beerwah.
His family says that Wagay’s decision to run was inspired by the success of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who while imprisoned in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail won a J&K seat in the Indian parliament during national elections earlier this year.
“Rashid’s victory gave his family a hope that winning the election could help get him out of prison,” a family member, Rehbar Ahmad, told VOA.
“People from Beerwah and Ganderbal visited our home and assured us of their support,” Ahmad said. “He was popular in these areas because he used to deliver religious sermons there. He is getting a lot of support from the like-minded people who want to see political prisoners out of jail.”
In the heart of Kulgam district, Sayar Ahmad Reshi, a member of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, is campaigning door-to-door. The socio-religious organization was banned by the Indian government in early 2019, accused of engaging in activities that “threatened India’s security, integrity and sovereignty.”
More than three decades ago, Jamaat-e-Islami participated in the Indian elections of 1987, but the group attributed its defeat to vote-rigging and has boycotted subsequent elections.
This year, Jamaat-e-Islami decided to again participate in the elections but could not field candidates as a party because of the ban. Instead, they encouraged at least 10 members of their organization to run as independent candidates across the Kashmir Valley.
“Jamaat-e-Islami has never had issues with India, yet the organization is accused of promoting anti-India activities,” Reshi told VOA. “If any individual was involved in such a movement, it was their own doing because there were no directives from our leadership,” he added.
“If Jamaat-e-Islami hadn’t been banned, I would have contested under its banner with a clear manifesto for social reform and justice,” Reshi said. “I am hopeful that independent candidates of Jamaat-e-Islami will emerge victorious.”
Political analyst Muzamil Maqbool told VOA that many people who long opposed the integration of Kashmir with central India have changed their minds since the region’s special autonomy was repealed in 2019.
“Kashmiri people are a leader-driven population, and all those leaders have deceived people through and through,” he said. “Now the same people are exercising their power under democracy through voting and taking part in elections.”
The candidacies of individuals previously associated with separatism have caused alarm among the region’s strongest traditional parties, the National Conference, or NC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP.
Both parties suspect that the nationally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has encouraged the trend in a bid to divide the vote and marginalize the regional parties.
“New Delhi always wanted to create an alternative here through the newly registered political parties which failed to score ... in the recently held parliamentary elections,” Maqbool said.
“However, there has been an entire paradigm shift where the focus has been shifted to many individuals, young faces and religious leaders to create an independent alternative force against regional mainstream parties.”
Earlier, veteran separatist leader Salim Geelani, switched to mainstream politics after spending 35 years in Hurriyat Conference, an amalgam of separatist political parties in the Valley.
He said that his decision to join PDP was driven by common goals including promoting infrastructure development and resolving Kashmir’s status within India.
“How can I deny the fact that I carry an Indian passport and use Indian currency? J&K remains a conflict zone and the people who lost their lives over the years, regardless of their identities, were our children,” he told VOA.
“Had there been no Kashmir issue the situation would be different today. I favored dialogue between all stakeholders of the region to resolve the Kashmir issue and I shall be in its favor forever,” he added.
BJP national spokesperson Shazia Ilmi welcomed the decision of those who have chosen to show faith in Indian democracy rather than pursue separatist goals.
“Everyone has a right to contest elections in a democracy and our democracy allows that. Nobody has a right to make statements that are secessionist in nature that promote any kind of disintegration of the country,” Ilmi told VOA.
