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- Jammu RSS helping in Hindu capitulation in J&K
- Ajaat Jamwal
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The tone and tenor of Arun Kumar’s presentation, as per the understanding of people present at the meeting, from whom I later tried to garner information, indicated an almost-overt though still indirect support to the so-called ‘peace process.’ It was construed as an attempt to secure even a piece-meal return of Kashmiri Hindus to the Valley, in order to demonstrate the return of ‘normalcy.’ What upset and irked the listeners most was his expression (actually a kind of insistence) that Kashmiri Hindus have to make this sacrifice in the ‘national interest’ (phir se Balidan dene ke liye taiyaar ho jaiye).
By design or coincidence, Arun Kumar’s visit took place the very same day that Yasin Malik reiterated his commitment to the struggle for Independent Jammu & Kashmir and ‘advised’ Kashmiri Hindus to return and join the Kashmiri Muslims in the valley! That same day, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also hinted at the unfolding of the return plan. This convergence of views of RSS officials at the ground in Jammu & Kashmir, the separatist leaders, and the State Government, is intriguing to say the least.
In retrospect, the presence of Madhu Kishwar, a known supporter of a Hindu ‘compromise’ in Jammu & Kashmir, at the Jan. 19. Exodus Day function at Constitution Club in New Delhi, organized by RSS think tank, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Foundation, reeks of an ugly synchronicity.
- Some senior RSS activists in Jammu aver that Kishwar’s presence was at the instance of the RSS Prant Pracharak in Jammu, and if voices doing the rounds here are true, then the RSS here wanted to signal to the Prime Minister’s Office that it is aligned in favour of the PM’s perspective on the peace process as well as return of Kashmiri Hindus, even though these have been rejected outright by the community and the nationalist people in Jammu & Kashmir.
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This approach has a wider ideological connotation, which I shall try to elucidate with an example. During the course of my interactions with RSS activists in Jammu, Pracharak Arun Kumar was ruffled and angry when Union Home Minister P Chidambaram declared his ‘Quiet Dialogue’ with the separatists.
Kumar insisted with his colleagues in the RSS to mobilize for an agitation on the lines of the Sri Amarnath land restoration movement. But after being called to Delhi for a briefing, he returned a different man and began to advocate a mainly academic approach to the policy of compromise unfolding in Jammu & Kashmir. The directive to him was perhaps on the lines of - Make noises but do not involve in building public resistance.
The process of dividing Jammu to carve out Greater Kashmir is now clearly unfolding. When the resolution to carve out Chenab Valley Hill Council was passed in the upper house of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislature, the BJP MLAs ignored it. When the Prime Minister hinted about a final settlement on Jammu & Kashmir, BJP legislators in Jammu did not even indulge in symbolic breast-beating.
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