It has become customary with the so-called mainstream Kashmiri leaders to hoodwink and mislead the Indian nation and grind their own communal axe in the name of secularism. They masquerade as liberal democrats and genuine secularists, but preach and practice a kind of politics that led to the communal partition of India in 1947, displacement of population and bloodshed on an unprecedented scale, murder, loot, plunder, rape and arson. They say that they are Indians and they seek a solution to the problems under the Indian Constitution, but at the same time they hold the Indian Constitution responsible for the so-called alienation of a section of Kashmiri Muslim society, blatantly and brazenly attack the Indian State, and accuse it of ill-treating the Muslims of Kashmir.

There is no fundamental difference between what the “mainstream” National Conference (NC) working president and Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah says about Kashmir, New Delhi and the Indian Constitution, and what other two “mainstream” Kashmiri leaders – patron of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Saif-ud-Din Soz – say while reflecting on the causes of the so-called alienation in Kashmir and seeking a solution to the so-called Kashmir issue.

Indeed, they belong to the same school of thought founded by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1877 at Aligarh. What this school of thought did to India is history and students of political history are fully aware of the grave evils that followed on the emergence of that pernicious school of thought; hence it is hardly necessary to reflect on this. Suffice it to say that the history of Muslims in India after 1877 was the history of Muslim separatism.

The National Conference says that the restoration of pre-1953 politico-constitutional status alone could end the alienation in Kashmir, resolve the Kashmir issue and forge a lasting peace in South Asia. Pre-1953 status means withdrawal of all Central laws from the state. It also means restriction of jurisdiction of the Centre over the State to just three subjects – defence, foreign affairs and communication.

To be more precise, it means a spectacular victory of the politics of secessionism, based on religion, and a step short of complete independence from India. The Congress says that there is but one way in which the alienation in Kashmir could be ended and that is by recognising the “pain” of Kashmiri Muslims and giving a “new dispensation to Kashmir”. JKPCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz is advocating this line.

The PDP says that the solution to the Kashmir issue lies in self-rule. The self-rule doctrine is a replica of the greater autonomy concept of the NC. The PDP, like the NC and the JKPCC, also says that Pakistan is a factor in the political situation in the State and needs to be recognised as such. In other words, Omar Abdullah, Saif-ud-Din Soz and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed are on the same side, notwithstanding the fact that they operate from different platforms and struggle to achieve two objectives – power and the cultivation of theocratic and intolerant Pakistan.

Anyway, the issue under scrutiny is what the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said on June 27, 2013, at Shangus (Anantnag, Kashmir). Addressing a gathering in Deethu village, Mufti said: “There are people in Kashmir who want secession from India and are for Azadi (independence). It is their democratic right and they are free to propagate their ideology as democracy is the battle of ideas. But we have a firm belief in Indian Constitution and are for resolution of Kashmir issue within the ambit of Indian Constitution… Our party will fight for restoring the honour, dignity, self respect and pride of Jammu and Kashmir (read Kashmir) within the framework of Indian Constitution”.

He did not stop there, but added: “People of Kashmir want peace and their self-respect to be restored… Our party strives for making Kashmir economic free zone and joint management of prestigious projects between two sides of Kashmir. Votes are the only weapons by which Kashmiri people have to change their destiny. I promise the people of Kashmir that I will change the political dimensions of Kashmir if voted to power. New Delhi must extend hand of friendship to Pakistan and the Kashmiris will be the ultimate beneficiaries”.

Even a superficial glance at what Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said is enough to draw the conclusion that he has utter disregard for India and the Indian Constitution and that his assertion that his party has “firm belief in the Indian Constitution” is nothing but a concerted attempt at fooling the Indian nation and furthering his separatist and communal agenda. But more than that, even a cursory look at his nasty formulations would force the most naïve to conclude that he batted for Pakistan at the cost of India and demanded segregation of the State from India.

Mufti Sayeed says “our party will fight for restoring the honour, dignity, self-respect and pride of Jammu and Kashmir within the framework of Indian Constitution” and if voted to power, “will change the political dimension of Kashmir”. Whose honour, dignity, self-respect and pride did he mean, and what exactly did he mean when he said he will change the political dimension of Kashmir?

Obviously, he talked about people (read members of a particular religious sect) who comprise the most prosperous and powerful section of Indian society. Remember, Mufti Sayeed belongs to a religious sect that has been – apart from leading all the separatist and “mainstream” outfits --- ruling the State and controlling all political and economic institutions since October 1947, when Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India in terms of constitutional law on the subject and Jawaharlal Nehru conspired against Jammu and transferred political power from Jammu to Kashmir.

Believe me, the members of this privileged sect have swamped all the vital institutions and establishments, including the civil secretariat, the seat of power. It would not be out of place to mention here that all Chief Ministers of the State prior to January 2009 belonged to this sect. The present Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also belongs to the sect to which Mufti Sayeed, Saif-ud-Din Soz, Communist Party of India–Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Tehrik-e-Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani, All-Party Hurriyat Conference–Mirwaiz chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik and Democratic Freedom Party chief Shabbir Ahmad Shah belong. They are holding the State to ransom, despite the fact that they have been reigning supreme.

The State already enjoys the right to a separate constitution and a separate flag under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Besides, Jammu & Kashmir is the only State that not only exercises all the residuary powers, but whose relations with New Delhi  are regulated by Article 370. No central law can be extended to the State without the concurrence of or on the demand of the State Government. But more than that, this pernicious Article has enabled the Kashmiri leadership to exploit and de-empower Jammu and Ladakh and make the life of religious and ethnic minorities a hell on earth. And still, Mufti Sayeed puts forth a demand seeking something more and this something more could only be complete independence from India.

As for the assertion of Mufti that he would change the political dimension of Kashmir, the less said the better. Suffice it to say that he would use the office of Chief Minister to create a situation in the State that would enable Pakistan to achieve what it has failed to accomplish so far. It would be only appropriate to point out that one of the components of the self-rule formulation is supra-state measures.

However, it would be wrong to blame Mufti Sayeed and ilk. They are simply exploiting Congress-controlled New Delhi and systematically implementing their break-India communal agenda. They can be tackled in no time. There should be no doubt about it. Our real problem is the Congress and we have to kill this mother of all evils to not only save Kashmir for India but also to save India itself from impending disaster.