In our time Thomas Mann remarked “The destiny of man presents its meaning in political terms”. This statement cannot be true for the poets and mystics, who live their life beyond politics. In ancient times when people had trouble with rulers, they invited kings. Mughal rulers were invited to Kashmir by Kashmiris to rule their fortune. People always need a God and rulers to show them the way, to led them in battle and do justice with them. In our societies people offer sacrifices and do rituals to satisfy their God. They do the same practice before their rulers. Rulers became despotic when they are admired and venerated beyond humanness. In our sub continent people look upon the rulers with an elevated feeling and reverence. They become their gods. Greeks would have found this kind of system horrified to prostate before a ruler. AAP might have the strong manifesto of in tolerating the inequality between the citizens and their rulers. But this is actually the true face of democracy and has not happened first time in history in order to glorify such a thing. It is the duty of democracy to minimise the inequality. The other political parties have just shown the despotic face to the people with a democratic book on their shoulders. Greeks have done this, centuries before. This is all political unawareness among the masses of sub continent to glorify a ruler who has exposed the despotic behaviour of democratic parties.

All the rulers who have occupied the minds of people of Kashmir, whether they are the main stream rulers or pressure groups, have to change their attitude of copying the activities from centre. Dynasties rise and fall according to what the Chinese used to call the ‘mandate of heaven’ but life for the peasant hardly changes. AAP is a test for the one who is a good citizen. We should first debate the citizenship of people of Kashmir.  Mufti Syed came to the power to overthrow the despotism created by the National Conference. At this stage of history we thought people became aware and a party has came to the front what Mufti Syed says AAP’. We cannot say that people became aware of the despotism at this stage of history. It was just a change of master from National Conference to PDP and back to National Conference. It summarises the story of change in bowling in a cricket match when one becomes economically expensive. If National creates STF and horrifies the future generation behind the bars, PDP shows his back during terrible times. None of them has a solution for the political sentiment of common man of Kashmir. They are rulers because of their workers who consider them as gods and get benefited by them. I have hardly seen intellectuals exercising their democratic right to qualify NC or PDP. In a society where intellectual class sits at home on the day of elections, there must be something wrong either with democracy or with their citizenship.

We recently saw that Arwind Kejriwal is glorified in Jammu and Kashmir by all the fronts. This is the inception of one more mistake. Kejriwal is for Delhi and we live in Kashmir. It must be known that meaning of politics change with every change of culture and circumstance. Kashmir needs a debate at international level to declare us, who we are? Kejriwal may be a good option for the good governance, but Kashmir is not all about good governance. Kashmir is beyond the political debate of sub continent. It involves the sentiment of 6 lakh people in graves, thousands disappeared etc. Kashmir needs a leader who unites all the ethnicities under one cause, who we are? We have to discover first ourselves. AAP is for the one who knows himself; we have identity crisis in Kashmir. In politics we define ourselves as null, zero existence in this democratic exercise unless the issue of Kashmir is solved.

Now would you please stop this brawl for debating who AAP in Kashmir is! No political party in Kashmir is justified for that. It will also be very early to declare AAP as a political modal. The mangoes are very ripe to declare the taste early.

(Nazar Ul Islam is a PhD Scholar at University of Kashmir)

(Mail me at waninazar13@gmail.com)