On 26 November, 2012 a political party
was launched in Delhi. And on 8th December, 2013 it created history,
which would be remembered for a long time to come. A case study of which
would be introduced by many business schools; many other political
parties would try to copy the same model and many corporate would take
out the lessons of leadership and team work from their success. It’s not
every day that you see the emergence of political party which achieves
such success.
Indeed, there are a lot of lessons to
be learnt not only for political organisations as Gandhi scion admitted
in a press conference shortly after the poll results were out, but for
all such organisations which have public dealings.
In Kashmir, even though the mood is
upbeat about the nascent “Aam Aadmi”, who has created ripples in Delhi’s
political circles, expectations are very little. The policy of Aam
Aadmi Party is exactly the same as that of other political parties –
Kashmir is the Integral part of India.
In Kashmir even the “Aam Aadmi” is a
Dictator! Their seems to be no value of Aam Kashmiri Aadmi and even if
there is, as was seen when one of the eminent lawyer now part of AAP had
said: “I want that the situation be normalised, [the] Army be
withdrawn, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act be also withdrawn and
then try to persuade the people of Kashmir to stay with India. And, if
the people want, then there could be a plebiscite, and if the people of
the Valley want separation, they be allowed to separate”, it has to be
sacrificed at the very onset. And that’s what has happened. As an
activist one might be able to speak the truth and stand for justice but
the same becomes impossible to say as a politician.
But, then this is not the lesson Kashmir
should draw from it. Rather should be concentrating on the factors
which led AAP to this kind of success. Then, there is also another story
of a cricketing legend who won world cup for his nation. In 1996 he
launched his own political party; in 2002 he was the sole MP from his
party. But in last couple of years emerged as a serious player on
Pakistan’s political scene and missed being a leader of opposition by a
whisker in May elections. There is some kind of similarity between both
these parties leaving aside the levels at which they fought elections.
They gave hope and build trust among the masses. They reached out to the
people and talked about the basic problems people faced. They have
somehow managed to touch the hearts of people and have been able to
connect to the people.
Also, everything that is happening in
subcontinent stands witness to the change of mood among the common
people. The awakening is there; the masses are realizing the power of
their vote and are using the same with utmost caution. It seems to be
the end of an era, where the votes were put up for sale, without
realising its worth and thus jeopardising the democratic set ups.
There are a lot of lessons to learn for
the political class of Kashmir. Even though Kashmir’s political arena is
not as easy as it is in other parts but the change needs to take place,
however small it may be. The need to realise the power of a common
people is immediate and to pave way to their aspirations is indeed, the
way to move forward. For both the sides, in Kashmir!
