Shehla Rashid: ‘Shah Faesal and I have no dynasty or blood on our hands’

As Kashmir recovers from a harsh winter, a bloody suicide attack and a frenzied war cry, two young faces step into the aggressive political realm of Jammu & Kashmir – Shah Faesal and Shehla Rashid. JNU student leader, Rashid, was the first Kashmiri girl to contest and win the Central Panel elections at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). In 2016, during her tenure as the Vice president of the JNU Students Union (JNSU), she along with fellow students were faced with sedition charges after protesting against the hanging of Afzal Guru.

Today, the engineer-turned-activist who is currently pursuing her PhD from JNU has been preparing for her entry into active politics. In an exclusive interview with Newslaundry, Rashid spoke about the agenda of the Jammu Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) and her thoughts on the Kashmir conflict and being one of the few women to enter the political space in Kashmir.

What does the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Movement stand for?

The party’s main principle is in its name – a people’s movement. We stand for the resolution of the Kashmir issue, and inclusive development of all three regions of the state – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. We will work for upholding the cultural diversity of the state and its environmental heritage. Women empowerment, youth representation and corruption-free governance are some of our core deliverables.

Will we see you contest this year?

When I was an individual activist, there was speculation and suggestions that I should contest Lok Sabha elections. Now that we have started a movement, the first priority is to strengthen the party in every region of the state.

After the PDP’s tenure, there is a palpable sense of political betrayal that prevails among the people of Kashmir. What makes JKPM different from National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP)?

Firstly, we, who are founding this party do not come from any political legacy, dynasty or massive political capital. We are common people facing common problems and hence we also understand common problems better than the two mentioned parties. Secondly, we do not have blood on our hands. We have not presided over a murderous regime and we never will. If we ever come into power, we intend to stand by some core principles.

What are these principles?

Well, for starters we would never ally with a fascist party like BJP. Take the example of revoking article 35A. BJP’s agenda is to kick out locals and settle outsiders. And during the Kathua rape case, PDP continued to hold on to their alliance with BJP even when BJP members were participating in rallies held for the rapist. That should have been a deal breaker. We will not enter into such alliances and we won’t play spectator to atrocities on people. We will continue to stand for the same principles before and after elections.

There has been a lot of talk of you joining National Conference. Was that a mere rumour?

There were reports that I was going to be supported by Congress and some said National Congress. Today, I call these parties – lesser enemies and if need be, we are open to working with them. Over the last five years, as an activist, I have been in conversation with all political parties. We have had to lean on political parties for support because the Modi rule has brought about an unprecedented amount of attack on political dissidents. Before the Modi rule, we were opposed to NC and PDP. But now we have forged a kind of alliance. Before BJP came to power, I would never have thought of sharing a stage with political leaders. But now we do.

Do you ever see yourself aligning with NC or PDP?

The priority is to strengthen our own party support in every region. But in politics, you have to navigate through paths of minimum damage.

So, the alliance may be caused by a common enemy?

Yes, the concern right now is to save the democracy that has been threatened by BJP.

How would you describe the current Kashmiri sentiment?

As a Kashmiri student studying outside Kashmir especially, we feel orphaned. Last month, post-Pulwama, I was in Delhi when the attacks on Kashmiri students took place. Although, I was attending to distress calls, I was also very scared of being attacked. At the moment, if we had a civilian government, we would have some recourse. The governor is not an elected figure.

What do you have to say about the recent Jamaat-e-Islami ban?

It is almost as if one law prevails in the Centre and another for Kashmir. If you are banning Jamaat, why is RSS not being banned? When you read the ban order on Jamaat, every point applies to RSS as well. We know that RSS was involved in the blasts that took place in Ajmer dargah in 2007. So, there is a double standard at work and a J&K civilian government would really have resisted this. This repression forces people to the margins of society, it criminalizes people, forces people to pick up the gun. Either ban both Jamaat and RSS or ban none. Clearly, we are not equal in the eyes of law.

When was the moment you felt you must move from activism to politics?

In October 2016 when JNU student Najeeb Ahmed disappeared we insisted that an FIR is registered against those who beat him up and threatened to kill him. Despite holding massive protests, it shocked us that we couldn’t get a simple FIR registered because the ones who did this to Najeeb were in power. That is the moment when I felt we need some access into the corridors of power if not absolute power.

You’ve also said that you found the political space in Kashmir restrictive. Do you still feel that way?

If I had remained and studied at Kashmir University, I would not be the Shehla Rashid you know today. I would have been infantilised, suppressed and I wouldn’t have been allowed to hold a debate. The ban on student unions here is a deliberate attempt to keep non-dynasty people out of political participation. For someone like me who has no money, no political capital, no legacy, it is impossible to come to power. I would have been slapped with a few PSA cases and would have faced physical violence by the police. Not that we didn’t face it in Delhi but somehow, we had more space to express ourselves. Now, I have reached a point where even in Kashmir I can raise my voice. It is our failure that we have not allowed space for dissent or democracy.

You’ve said earlier that being against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA) doesn’t make you anti-army. At that time, you said you were pro-soldiers. Do you still stand by this today?

Who are the people recruited to the army? Yes, there is patriotism but who wants to stand in the middle of Siachen and face near-death conditions. I’m confident of a future where we shouldn’t have to guard our borders. That is me being utopian.

Don’t you think the army here isn’t just guarding India from Pakistan but also Indian from Kashmir’s militancy?

That is true. To be against war is to be pro-life. We approach everything from a human perspective. We might want a revolution but do we want it at a great human cost?

Does your party intend to take a stand on self-determination?

The party vision mentions a peaceful resolution of J&K but the specifics of it will have to be worked out by the future generation. The focus is that the solution should be acceptable to Kashmiris. Today, India doesn’t even acknowledge the existence of a Kashmiri struggle. The BJP recently signed a Naga accord, they have bought peace. Clearly, solutions can be found within the power of nation-states. Kashmiris are still struggling for mere dignity.

Here in Kashmir people often identify themselves as Kashmiris and refuse to be called Indians. Do you identify as an Indian, as a Kashmiri or a Kashmiri-Indian?

While I was growing up, I never had an identity crisis. I learnt the national anthem, watched republic day parades and learnt Hindi. And we never spoke of the conflict even though it was happening all around us. My identity crisis was born during the 2010 civil uprising. That’s when I realised that we were being treated differently, as second-class citizens.

What is your first memory of conflict?

In our house, conflict was like rain – we never questioned it. We would watch militants being paraded with execution masks, we spent hours lying in the corridors of our houses when encounters would happen. In 1996, security personnel would constantly walk into our houses, walk all over our carpets with their soiled boots on and ask our grandmother if she voted. I had a family member who was hit by a grenade blast and she nearly lost an arm. But despite all of this happening, we never addressed the conflict. I grew up in a heavily-censored environment where we pretended like the conflict never existed.

What was your first act of political activism?

My first political act was when I was 14 years old. I stood up against incidents of domestic violence in my own family. At least back then, girls in Kashmir were not so vocal. For me, my identity was first shaped as a woman.

Last November, you deactivated your Twitter account owing to online abuse that caused you a lot of mental trauma. Now you are back on Twitter. Have you found a better way to deal with the harassment?

To be honest, no. I still get quite affected by violent comments but I would never want to change that. People keep telling me to grow a thick skin but I don’t ever want to get desensitised.

Do you think you’ve received more abuse because you’re a woman?

Yes, I am a Kashmiri, Muslim woman, a JNU student, to the Left of the spectrum. So yes, I seem to check all the wrong boxes. And moreover, I am outspoken. And as a woman, you are not expected to have an opinion.

Do you think politics in Kashmir has lacked adequate women’s representation?

As of now, in J&K there are about four women in politics. I think it is time that it changed. Now is the time for women to take the next step into politics and empower more women. To an extent, it happened when Mehbooba Mufti became chief minister. For all criticism that she met, I do appreciate her bringing the policy of abolishing stamp duty on the sale of property registered in the name of women.

Are there challenges that you think you will face as a female politician in Kashmir that a male politician won’t?

Yes, for sure. There will be undue criticism. I will work to bring in as many women as possible into the political fold with actual positions. We already have women coordinating our sports wing, the women’s wing, the overseas wing.

Would you like to be chief minister someday?

Why not? Although, right now, the chief minister in J&K is very powerless. As a CM you can’t stand up for your own people. The Centre has never allowed a pro-people’s government to flourish here. More than the Centre, the problem is with the deep state – the Intelligence agencies. Hence, whatever government comes into power it is not truly representative. Hence, when people say they don’t want to participate in local politics you cannot blame them.

During your JNU protests with Kanhaiya Kumar, your call for Azadi was for an Azadi within India and Kashmir’s call for Azadi is for an Azadi from India. What does Azadi mean to you?

Right now, Kashmir’s Azadi means Azadi from status quo. Of course, Azadi means different things for different people. For some it is joining Pakistan, for some it is independence, but everyone unanimously demands Azadi from the status quo. Forget the meta-narrative. It is impossible to even have a start-up here – there is no electricity, the internet keeps getting snapped, there are constant curfews. People here need a vent, to be allowed to peacefully protest, to demand democracy.