Why is BJP Obsessed with Kashmir?

The curious case of BJP and Kashmir

The Bharatiya Janata Party has never secured a single seat in the Kashmir valley. Nor is it likely to get one in the near future. Yet the Himalayan state has been at the centre of BJP’s discourse right from the beginning. Ever wondered why?

This obvious question came to my mind because the right-of-centre party is part of a ruling dispensation in Srinagar for the first time. And it’s facing its first major trouble after militant commander Burhan Wani’s encounter led to violent protests across the volatile valley.

If you watch any television debate, you’ll hear BJP spokespersons animatedly shouting and throwing around terms like ‘Article 370’ or ‘Uniform Civil Code’. That’s because Kashmir is in the roots of the party. The story starts long before BJP’s rebirth in 1980. India was hardly a 5-year-old country then. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, a scholar from a learned family in Calcutta, had resigned from the Nehru Cabinet and formed ‘Bharatiya Jana Sangh’ after consultation with M. S. Golwalkar, the then chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organisation based on the thought of Hindu nationalism.

Mukherjee strongly disagreed with Nehru’s policy of giving special treatment to the Muslim-dominated state of Jammu and Kashmir. So, he hit the streets in support of Jammu Praja Parishad and demanded repeal of Article 370, which gave autonomous status to the state. He thought allowing a separate constitution and a separate flag to one state could lead to Balkanisation of India. By supporting Hindu-dominated Jammu vis-à-vis Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley, was he playing politics of religion? That remains open to debate but he was a staunch nationalist for sure. He died in Srinagar while protesting against Article 370.

So Kashmir was the first issue that the party took up (in its erstwhile avatar). And its first president lost his life to this issue. No wonder Kashmir is close to BJP!

Using Kashmir Issue for Votes?

The Kashmir problem is entangled with Pakistan. That makes it an extremely emotional issue that resonates across the country. BJP knows that its present stand cannot help it win a single seat in the valley. So is it exploiting the issue to win votes elsewhere?

Kashmir is a magnet that can help BJP attract votes in the cow belt.

Mufti Islah, Kashmir-based Senior Journalist

This view from the valley is strongly refuted by Ratan Sharda, who is a member of RSS’ national media team and also of J&K Study Centre.

Kashmir is important to the nation. That’s why it is important for the BJP. There is no issue of politics here. Except 5 districts (out of total 22), there is no problem in the valley. Only so-called intellectuals doubt about integration of Kashmir (into India).

Ratan Sharda, RSS Member

For many BJP leaders, it’s Kashmir versus the rest of India. They seem to care more about their national agenda and less about the intricacies of local Kashmiri sentiments. Murli Manohar Joshi met with severe criticism in the valley after he unfurled a tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Did his act help bridge the gap between Kashmiris and the rest of India? Or did it add fuel to the fire?

Vajpayee vs Modi

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was probably the only BJP leader who reached out to Kashmiris. He thought it was possible to engage with even separatists without changing the lakshman rekha of territorial status quo.

Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee were the only two leaders who could have resolved it. At the moment, I don’t see any such leader who has that kind of moral stature. 

Dileep Padgaonkar, Veteran Editor and Key Kashmir Interlocutor

What about Modi?

Well, he’s a pragmatic leader. He wants India to be a global power and he can’t have Kashmir around his neck.

Dileep Padgaonkar

The Prime Minister is already making an effort to keep Pakistan engaged in talks. Will he now extend an olive branch to the agitated youth of Kashmir?