Interpreting Azad's tightrope walk during his J&K visit

Azad's acid test is how he balances the aspirations of Jammu as well as Kashmir on contentious matters, particularly the restoration of Article 370

On his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir in his new avatar, former Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke of the agenda of his soon-to-be-launched political party. The caution, care and measured words he used to unveil his putative party's charter reflected his predicament and attempt at a tightrope walk. He avoided contentious issues and instead tried to project a balanced, development-oriented agenda with a thrust to carry the diverse Jammu and Kashmir regions which otherwise have many areas of disagreement.

A seasoned campaigner, Azad seemed fully aware of the cross-connections between the two regions and varied perceptions on different issues, including the partial abrogation of Article 370 that took away the special status from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and demoted it to a Union Territory (UT). The caution Azad exercised has to be viewed in the backdrop of his 'harmonious' relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also Read — After quitting Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad to hold first political rally in Kashmir

Expectedly, he shied away from directly referencing Article 370 regarding its total restoration to avoid being trapped in a war of perception between the two regions. There is a strong sentiment in Kashmir for the restoration of Article 370. But the Jammu region has mixed feelings about it, with a predominant view in the Hindu belt supporting the status quo in its present form. This dichotomy could come to haunt Azad in the months to come.

Azad has picked an equally sensitive issue, at least from the point of view of public perception, that of restoring statehood to J&K, which otherwise was the direct fallout of the dilution of Article 370 and related State Reorganisation Act passed by Parliament on August 5, 2019. Azad has sought to project the statehood demand with the protection of land and employment rights for local domiciles, a common and shared refrain in the two regions.

How Azad moves forward on this count will determine how his rivals, the BJP in Jammu and Farooq Abdullah's National Conference in the Kashmir region, try cornering him on Article 370. The BJP will take him on if he were to demand a return to the original position, and the National Conference and others of the ilk could question him if he sticks to his current stance.

Also Read — Jammu and Kashmir: Not only Azad's, but Farooq's next steps crucial

Primarily, the premise of Azad's political outfit will be based on his party's position on contentious issues, particularly the restoration of Article 370. These issues will precipitate once he completes the tour of the entire UT, particularly the Kashmir Valley, after which he will also have a fair idea about people's sentiments and reactions to the limited agenda he has announced. Despite murmurs about his closeness to the Centre and not directly taking up the Article 370 issue, his recent visit went off smoothly and evoked a good response.

Azad's slogan of a "better J&K" with an all-encompassing agenda touching all sections of the society through a greater focus on livelihood issues rather than political and emotive problems is realistic but also gives a peep into the crisis raging in his mind. In this connection, the prominence accorded by him to the issues related to the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community, particularly in the light of the recent spate of targeted killings of the community members, coupled with his reference to the human rights violations in the UT, showed a carefully crafted idiom to strike a balance.

Azad's support base (or that of his erstwhile Congress party) is in the Jammu region, and he did not lose sight of the ongoing social developments in the area, more so those related to the last Dogra ruler of J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh, who made his state a part of Independent India. An ongoing agitation has demanded a public holiday on his September 23 birthday.

However, the issue has a different connotation in Kashmir, and Azad trod cautiously. It is another matter that the ruling BJP (at the Centre and through Lt Governor's administration in J&K) has been at the forefront of demanding a holiday on his birthday but is now at the receiving end for not fulfilling the commitment. On his part, Azad made a strong reference to the Maharaja's contribution and profusely praised him for introducing land and job safeguards in 1930 with the introduction of domicile laws that continued under Article 370 after Independence till August 5, 2019. People in the two diverse regions of J&K feel strongly about protecting their land and employment rights to prevent outsiders from eating into their share or leading to demographic changes.

The acid test for Azad will be how he can carry the diverse public sentiment in the two regions when his political rivals try to force him to take a clear stand on contentious matters, particularly Article 370.

Will he be able to withstand the populist pressures and make his developmental agenda, including safeguarding the domicile rights short of a return to Article 370, acceptable in the two regions? His stature and total leadership void in the non-BJP spectrum of polity in the Jammu region, and lack of alternative to Dr Abdullah in Kashmir with BJP finding it hard to find its feet in the Valley, is a silver lining for Azad.

(Anil Anand is a senior journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.