‘People have been terrorised into silence. But you can’t buy peace through threats’ — Mehbooba

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti says political unity among J&K parties is key to opposing Modi govt’s decision to scrap Article 370.

File photo of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti | ANI

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has said overturning the Narendra Modi government’s move to scrap Article 370 and divide the erstwhile state into two union territories will be a political battle, rather than a legal one in the Supreme Court.

In a written interview to ThePrint, Mehbooba Mufti also alleged that since Article 370 was scrapped on 5 August 2019, people had been “terrorised into silence”, and now there is a need for all parties in J&K to remain united.

“The Supreme Court had dealt with this case earlier too, and given a decision in favour of continuation of Article 370. But unfortunately, this time, more than a year has passed and there has been no hearing on this case. I personally feel it is going to be a political rather than a legal fight,” she said.

“The situation is quite scary, people have been terrorised into silence. There’s surface calm enforced through draconian measures. But you can’t buy peace through threats, so this will not work. We have to stay united. Mehbooba Mufti, PDP, National Conference, People’s Conference and other parties can do nothing alone. Things are changing every day, so we too have to strategise accordingly,” Mufti insisted.

‘Bigger issue of J&K’

The former CM also said the Government of India will not only have to restore special status, but will have to do much more to address the “bigger issue” of J&K. Mufti said no one in Kashmir had accepted the Modi government’s decision, and people remain angry and hurt.

This is why, Mufti explained, her party’s politics as well as her own would be focused on struggling “for the peaceful and dignified resolution of the J&K issue”.

Responding to a question about having been the last CM of J&K as a state, as things stand, Mufti said: “Our special status went beyond me being the last CM. It is about our unique identity as a single Muslim majority state, our diversity and our culture that is at stake. This we have to change.”

The PDP is now part of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomeration of regional and national parties demanding the restoration of Article 370.

“Any party or alliance alone cannot change things; it has to be a collective effort,” she said. “No one here has accepted GOI (Government of India’s) 5 August 2019 decision; people are angry and hurt. Something which has been taken illegally and unconstitutionally can’t be normalised by accepting it. It may take time and a lot of hard work, but it will have to be restored.”

Asked what it was like to be in alliance with political rivals, the PDP chief said: “We have been political rivals and may continue to be so. But for the larger cause, we have to rise above our party interests and unite to fight for what has been taken away from us.”

Mufti has also announced she will not contest elections until Article 370 is restored. When asked about her political future if the Centre refuses to budge, she said: “First, I don’t believe that it (restoration) will never happen. GOI has to resolve the larger issue of J&K to maintain peace in this region.”

For that, she said, much more would need to be done than just the restoration of special status.

“Second, power has never been the driving force behind my politics. The underlying purpose of my politics and PDP’s vision will be to struggle for the peaceful and dignified resolution of the J&K issue,” she added.

Mufti Sayeed ‘would have been ‘shattered’

The PDP chief also answered questions about the months she spent in detention after the Article 370 was withdrawn, and her family, including her late father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and daughter Iltija Mufti.

Mehbooba Mufti was detained at her residence in 2019 ahead of the decision on Article 370, and she spent time in multiple government facilities where she was held after being booked under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA), before being released on 13 October 2020. She said she wasn’t surprised at her detention, but didn’t expect it to last so long.

“I wasn’t really surprised; just packed a small suitcase as I wasn’t expecting it to last beyond a few days. First three weeks (were most difficult), when I remained totally cut off from the outside world, especially my family. It felt like totally solitary confinement and that was tough,” she said.

Asked if she was approached by any government officials during her detention, Mufti responded: “Not many, but whosoever approached wanted me to reconcile to the scrapping of our special status and normalise things as if nothing had happened.”

She said her father, the former Union home minister and J&K CM Mufti Sayeed, would have been “shattered” to see Article 370 go.

“He was an Indian by conviction, not convenience, and was proud of India as a democracy with diversity. His idea of India, which he believed in so much, would have been shattered. How he would have reacted I can’t say, but I am sure he wouldn’t have given up,” she said.

On whether her daughter Iltija, who took a vocal stand against the Modi government during her detention, would join the PDP, Mehbooba Mufti said: “I think she has made it abundantly clear that she’s not interested in politics, but one doesn’t know what the future holds.”