Individuals don’t drive Kashmir Movement; NIA raids won’t have much impact, say political experts

With National Investigation Agency (NIA) tightening noose around Hurriyat leadership over “money laundering and illegal funding issues” political experts believe that these raids and arrests won’t have much impact on the overall functioning of Hurriyat, as the “freedom movement is not individual driven but was rather driven by a set of ideas”.
The political experts termed “lack of credibility and distrust of people on Indian institutions” other reason that will prevent people from changing their perception about Hurriyat leaders or the overall functioning of Hurriyat as a political platform.
Noted political commentator Professor Noor Ahmad Baba said raids would have definitely made an impact on the ground if Indian institutions had over the time gained trust of Kashmiris.
“People might have doubted Hurriyat, if they had faith on Indian institutions. So, I don’t think there will be any such impact,” he said.
He, however, said there will be a temporary impact and a bit of pressure on some people who are part of the “pro-freedom camp”.
“That bit of pressure may hamper normal sources of funding for some time. No movement can sustain without fund. That is what we will have to see how long that impact remains,” he said.
Professor of law and senior political expert Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussian said it is not an individual “who drives the freedom movement of Kashmir”.
“There was a time when fourth rung leaders of Hurriyat took over as its chairman. NIA raids are a wave now. Everything moves like a wave. There are ups and downs. Every rise is followed by fall and every fall is followed by a rise,” he said.
Dr Hussain said Kashmir has survived “era of Jagmoghan and even worst things, but the aspirations that drive the movement remain unchanged”.
“If it was an individual driven movement, then it should have stopped after Sheikh Abdullah’s compromise. But that didn’t happen. The movement after Sheikh’s compromise became harder and lethal,” he said.
Another political analyst Professor Gul Wani said even though the most important faces of both the Hurriyats have been interrogated and put under custody; it won’t have any major affect on the functioning of Hurriyat.
“You have to look into important issues like what is the mechanism of the functioning of the two Hurriyats. Is it a Plebiscite Front of 1950’s?”
Prof Wani said there were always different factors that were driving the movement.
“Last year the factor was Burhan Wani that was driving the movement. In 2008, it was the Amarnath Land row that drove it. Leadership has not become a serious factor in Hurriyat. It is a set of ideas which is driving the whole political movement,” he said.
Wani said many leaders have either got killed or arrested over the decades. “Today the dynamics of Kashmir issue has changed. It is driven by a new set of militants. There is hatred against Indian state. There is distrust on all institutions. People earlier had trust on some Indian institutions like judiciary and media. Now there is so such trust at all,” he added.