Mirwaiz Maulvi Muhammad Omar Farooq 

In an exclusive interview with Dr. Anis Ahmad of The DayAfter, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, the religious Head of Kashmir, talks about the current state of affairs, the Indian government’s stand on the whole issue and the feelings of Kashmiris when they see their people and culture getting ruined everyday

The Day After: The Government of India has been inviting you off and on for talks. I am not talking about any one specific meeting. What is normally the agenda and what do you think about these meetings? Where do you think Kashmir is going? 

Mirwaiz Maulvi Omar Farooq: As far as India is concerned, we feel that there is no consistency on their part. We started dialogue with the Government of India in 2004 with the BJP government under very difficult circumstances. There was direst threats from the Hurriyat not to talk but we initiated the dialogue. We paid the price for that; my uncle was killed and our ancestral school, Islamia High School the oldest school in Kashmir was burnt down. My house was attacked. Islamia High School was the oldest school in Kashmir, 110 years old. We lost many manuscripts and many books. But we said that this is the right thing to do, that we have to carry on. So we talked to Mr. Advani and the Prime Minister Mr. Vajpayee, but then after that they lost the elections and the Congress came to power. The UPA government invited us after being 17 months in power. So we met again after a gap of seventeen months.  

DA: what is your opinion about this meeting?  

Mirwaiz: I think that the Indian government’s approach towards the Kashmir issue is not based on sincerity. We feel that the Kashmir problem has to be addressed in a political way and the Government of India has to accept the fact that this is a recognized dispute and they have to speak to Kashmiris and involve Pakistan.  

DA: How would you want this problem to resolve? 

Mirwaiz: Our stand is very clear. When we talk about Kashmir we talk about the Kashmir which existed on 14 of August 1947, of which 3 areas are with India and two are with Pakistan. The five regions -- Jammu, Ladakh, the Valley, Northern areas and Azad Kashmir -- form the state of J&K. We have told the Prime Minister that the Hurriyat wants to present some ideas of how we can address this dispute. In that context it was decided that a structure acceptable to both the sides would be framed, and that the government and the Hurriyat would announce their teams to talk about issues relating to human rights violations, issue of political prisoners, and the black laws prevalent J&K. We are ready but after the round table in Srinagar the Government of India backed off.  

DA: What is the stand the Hurriyat is taking? Do you want to be part of Pakistan or do you want absolute independence? 

Mirwaiz: The Hurriyat constitution spoke about two options. A referendum or a plebiscite in J&K in which there were two options: either to stay with India or with Pakistan. The second option was a negotiated settlement of Kashmir. I don’t think that any solution can now be worked out on the stated positions. All parties will have to move beyond of their stated positions. Hurriyat is also ready to move beyond of its demand of complete independence or merger with Pakistan.  We are looking for something in between.  

DA: So where does the solution lie? 

MIrwaiz: If you ask me, personally, I think the solution lies somewhere between complete autonomy and independence. That’s the way we feel. Something has to be worked out. 

DA: now that the Hurriyat has split into two factions, do you think that the GOI will benefit from this? 

Mirwaiz: Its sad… they say “united we stand, the stronger we get”. One of our colleague and founder patron of Hurriyat is not much advocative of the dialogue.  But we feel that the path we have taken is the only way to address the issue of Kashmir. We cannot have a Military solution to this issue. it’s a political problem, and needs a political settlement. So we have to talk. There is no other alternative but to talk. We have talked to Indians; we have talked to Pakistanis in the last one year. Both the parties are considering that without the participation of Kashmiris a dialogue will not be lasting. Hopefully, New Delhi will also realize that it cannot continue on the policy of buying time.  

DA: Mr. Geelani has threatened you. How seriously are you taking it?  

Mirwaiz: There are many elements -- within Kashmir, in India, in Pakistan --   who are not interested in the Kashmir issue to be resolved. But we should not be fooled by the fact that if a Kashmiri is holding a gun, he is a mujahid or an Indian soldier in uniform is necessarily working in Indian interest. The army, the paramilitary forces have developed great vested interests in Kashmir. They want the pot to be boiling. So it’s risky to talk about new ideas or new slogans. These days it’s safe to be a hardliner. if you are a hardliner you are safe. But if you are a moderate then you are at risk. Geelani sahib and some others have been openly criticizing us for talking to India, and Pakistan. But the people want the leadership to come up and address their problems.  

DA: Now that Ghulam Nabi Azad has taken over as the Chief Minister, do you think that the Congress party has succeeded in achieving its goal of ruling state? 

Mirwaiz: Well Mr. Azad will always be seen here as Delhi’s man in Kashmir, although he is from the state. The Congress is aware of this. But he is a good administrator and he is trying to get things moving. But he has admitted that politically he has no role, and that he wants to build roads, bridges and schools. He wants to leave the bigger issues to the other stake-holders – India, Pakistan – to address. So the Congress is not benefiting much. But yes Mr. Azad is trying to address the concerns of common man. He is doing a good job.  

DA: The Kashmiris want independence, or they are pro-Pakistanis, but in State elections come out and they vote also? Why?  

Mirwaiz: You have to look at it from a different angle. Yes there is a movement for independence, for self-respect in Kashmir, but at the same time people have problems. Rural areas do not have education, roads, water, and electricity. As long as India is controlling this area, it is their duty to provide these basic facilities.  

DA: The Kashmiris accuse the army of inflicting atrocities on the people… your comment? 

Mirwaiz: Well we have talked to the Prime Minister about it. India is only holding Kashmir not because of Congress, Azad … but only because of army presence in Kashmir. The statistics are very clear. The Army Chief is on record saying that there are not more on 1500 militants in JK active these days as compared to six, eight, or 10,000 in the past few years. To control 1500 militants you don’t need a troop of 500,000. The Indian troops are not fighting militancy; they fighting with Kashmiris. Human rights violations are taking place on a daily basis. This is something of concern. Therefore, we support the concept demilitarization on both the sides of the ceasefire line but primarily this side.  

DA: But do you think that the Government of India will agree to demilitarization? 

Mirwaiz: They are not agreeing but they will have to. They will have to address this important issue. In the cities there are just bunkers but in rural areas the lives of people are miserable; people are dependent on the army. They cannot even move without the consent of the army.  

DA: The recently exposed sex scandal seem to have rocked the Valley. What will be the impact of it overall?  

Mirwaiz: It is very sad, socially as well as culturally. Kashmir has been an abode of Sufis. Islam came into Kashmir not because of conquests and war, but through the teachings and preachings of Sufis, saints and rishis. I myself being a religious leader know that Islam has made a deep impact on the day to day life of a common Kashmiri. It’s very sad the way our society has been exploited.  

DA: Do you think there is some external force behind this scandal has taken place or do you think the Kashmiri man has stooped so low? 

Mirwaiz: I would say both. In fact a certain section of people has emerged -- of widows, victims of violence, people without avenues. These people have been exploited by the officials and by those who were meant to respect their honour the dignity. But, of course, there is external interference also. In rural areas many Kashmiris, willingly or unwillingly, have married the CRPF or army personnel. Some of them have even eloped. Secondly, the Movement has also been commercialized. Money has become a driving force for many young jobless Kashmiris. Tourism and business are not doing well. It is  having an impact on the whole society.  

DA: What is your stand about the return of the Kashmiri Pandits to the valley? 

Mirwaiz: We are very clear. In fact, Hurriyat is constantly in touch with the Kashmiri Pandit organizations. We have met many delegations. Some of the individuals have come back but we believe that all of them should come back but not live in separate enclosures, guarded by troops and police. We want them to intermingle with the society like they did in the past. so we want them to come back.  

DA: I have talked to many Kashmiri Pandits in Delhi. They say its communal problem. What do you say?   

Mirwaiz: That is not the case. Even today more than 8000 Kashmiri Pandits live in Kashmir. They have nothing to fear. True they have not been active in supporting the Movement but at no point of time have we thrust our opinion on them. We respect their point of view. They are Kashmiri’s like we are. So we want them as part of our society. We definitely want them to return. They are being exploited, by the government, and their own people.  Those living in camps are the worst sufferers; not the ones living in Delhi, London and America.  

DA: I think the Kashmiri youth was frustrated economically due to unemployment. At such a time Pakistan found it easy to incite them? This is my analysis. What is your opinion on this?

Mirwaiz: To be honest when the movement started, it was more on the emotional side. Unprecedented things were happening in Afghanistan where jihad was at its peak and the Kashmiri youth got inspired. They thought that this was the time. But the other aspect was surely economical and political. Elections were muffed. Salahuddin, a candidate was made to lose and then sent to jail. That instigated it all. Issue of jobs incentives was also there. Majority of educated Kashmiri Muslims were not getting jobs as compared to the minorities. So all the issues correlated and then this whole thing started. Later it took a violent turn. But the thrust was primarily on the political side of the problem, although economic and social problems have also been a very important cause of the whole uprising.

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