Sham polls again

On the occasion of the second phase of the sham elections in the Indian-Held Kashmir (IHK), the government of India has imposed curfew throughout the Kashmir valley. Security forces in the Kashmir have occupied all polling stations. Hundreds of voting stations were opened Sunday for a second stage of state elections in Kashmir as thousands of troops provided tight security. Security was tight at all the stations as they had been identified by security officials as "hyper-sensitive and sensitive" locations. All major politicians have called for a boycott of the fake elections, arguing that these polls will strengthen India's hold over the region. The authorities in the IHK have been continuing to keep the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other Hurriyet leaders, including Maulana Abbas Ansari, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi, Fazl Haq Qureshi and Bar President, Mian Abdul Qayoom under house arrest and resorting to strict measures to avert any untoward incident. Police and paramilitary personnel forced people to cast their votes.
Elections in Jammu and Kashmir elections have always remained a controversial issue. India has never allowed true democracy to flourish in the disputed territory. Between 1951 and 2002, Occupied Kashmir witnessed 10 general elections, out of which only one election of 2002 produced a regime change. The first-ever 'election' in 1951 returned 73 members out of 75 uncontested. The assembly with hardly any representative character ratified the Jammu & Kashimir's accession to India in February 1954, five months after Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was put behind bars. The 1951 poll verdict was overturned in 1953, 1962 elections' results, neutralised in 1963, were undone in 1964; the result of the 1972 elections turned on its head in 1975 and 1977. The mandate of the 1983 polls dishonoured in 1984 by dislodging Farooq Abdullah government. There are chances of another bout of political storm after polls, as the angry youth may again take to the streets after the withdrawal of security of forces.
The chances of the Congress winning the elections seem to be slim after the Amarnath land row that disturbed the Hindu vote bank in Jammu region. The prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are also not rosy due to the peculiar demographic character of the state. In the eyes of the law refusing to participate in the electoral process is no crime. People interviewed at various polling booths were of the opinion that they need a representative government to solve their day-to-day problems while at the same time keeping the urge for azadi undiluted. Holding of the sham elections in the IHK is an attempt on the part of India to convince the world that democracy exists in the disputed valley. Instead of learning lessons from their past follies and taking measures to win the hearts and minds of the Kashmiri people, the state authorities are going ahead with their brand of democratic exercise which will not only prove counter-productive, but result in more bloodshed in the valley.
http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_EditorialNews.aspx?dtlid=193681&catid=10&date=11/25/2008&fcatid=14