The illusion of dynasty politics

Prof. Mohiuddin Mir
Ever since Sajjad Gani Lone wrote an article “Heyoo Shaberoo” and  his wife Asma Lone wrote “The reality and the fallacy”, I was forced by my own political consciousness to draw some dramatic conclusion from the book of politics in general of subcontinent and in particular of Jammu and Kashmir.
For more than seven decades our state has been under an unwarranted and unscrupulous regime of two neighbouring countries with the same and only motive of ruling an intelligent race in the name of religious fervor as well as various developmental works.
In a chaotic political scenario, we as a nation could not produce a born political leader or a statesman ever since India was bifurcated into two unequal and two insecure parts.
Kashmiris as a nation have remained a vibrant and witty people with an old record of instability and mistrust. From Nehru to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah they have met a herd of clever political rogues in the guise of Muftis, Sheikhs, Bakhshees, Lones, Mirs, Molvies, Peers and even Dars.
I wonder how Kashmiris trust father-daughter duo or father-son duo in recent elections when just two months back in recent deluge they were silent spectators watching each others’ voters perishing in the “wrath of Qudrat”.
Even Kashmiri columnists knocked time and again at the door of their dead political conscience that, “Mission 44 + is coming with false dream sellers for God’s sake to provide us a deterrent, otherwise we shall be doomed”.
In a changing political scenario with BJP in centre, we have as leaders failed to deliver or provide any political alternative to the old false dream sellers of roads and employment to the people. If an agenda, as follows, was proclaimed for a very luminary future, then how could have such fake dream sellers be able to fight the ongoing elections in Kashmir. In a dream vision a veteran journalist narrates the deterrent to Mission Kashmir 44+:
•    Any contestant with a political heredity cannot and should never be allowed to contest.
•    The contestant must have achieved a post graduate degree from some recognized university.
•    The income and expenditure plus all bank accounts of the contestants should thrown open on internet.
•    There must be a manifesto of four points besides routine developmental works with each contestant.
•    Salary of an assembly member and any minister should not exceed Rs 40000 per month besides the expenses of petrol and phone.
•    No pension benefits for elected members.
•    In case of corruption and ‘Dal Badlo’, they must be sent for 14 years imprisonment and banned for the lifetime to contest the elections.
•    An assembly member and minister should not be allowed to construct any house or purchase any land during his tenure. No minister or any MLA should be allowed to keep more than five lacs of bank balance and more than one Kanal of land.
•    The tenure for ministership must be only two years and any MLA be made minister only once in his life.
Since Lt. Jawaharlal Nehru up to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, we have seen a trail of bloodshed and political gimmick ruling a captive nation- thus we as a nation have lost faith in any such vibrant political change which could redeem us from the hegemony of nepotism and Khandani Raj.
The father-child formula initiated and engineered by Nehru has now its seeds deep and roots long in our history. Like Sheikh-Farooq duo, Mufti-Mehbooba duo, Lone-Sajad duo, Farooq-Umar duo, Dilawar-Yawar duo, Soz-Salaman duo, and Kar-Irshad duo.
Even separatists like Prof. Bhat, Abbas Ansari and many others have kept their sons and daughters ready to row the boat of ‘azadi’ and find an exit to exist in the annals of history for all the times to come.
Of course Syed Ali Shah Geelani deserves applaud for taking a mature political and religious decision of keeping his sons and daughters away from the filth of our dirty game of politics. He has desired Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai as his true successor in case of his demise.
This was the high time for Kashmiris to come out of this duo illusion and decide once and for all that we are not a herd of cattle. The parties do taunt each other and prove the old saying “Kettle calls the pot black”, Crow calls the dove black”.
But we as a nation have failed to provide a true alternative and leadership which has been threadbare lynched by Asma Lone in her recent article “The reality and the fallacy”.
I fail to understand how Sajjad Gani Lone who a year before made towering claims of change in “Heyoo Shaberoo” has now fallen prey to the Mission Kashmir 44+.
I do not agree with our columnists that there is anything called Sajjad’s dilemma- but I believe that the well read gentleman has axed his own feet by meeting Narendra Modi when elections were being argued in Kashmir.
I believe that Sajjad Lone shall get less than 20 percent votes in this assembly election than what he got previous elections because of his meeting with Modi and Mohammad Akbar Lone’s “Gaali Galoch recording” has been exploited by PDP to such an extent that they have in my opinion succeeded to form the new government in Jammu and Kashmir.
The rest I leave to the “Taqdeere Mutalak” (Fixed Destiny) though in Taqdeere Malak (Rotatory Destiny) PDP may win.