The Agenda for Alliance: An Analysis Rekha Chowdhary Despite the negative reactions from many sides to the coming together of the two diametrically opposite parties in the process of government formation, and despite many seeing their coming together as opportunistic and hence the betrayal of their respective constituencies - for the conflict ridden state of J&K, there is already much to cheer, particularly if one sees it from the perspective of the larger reality of the state and from the perspective of internal political divergence and the acrimony that it has created between the regions since early 1950s. Six years is a long time, and one cannot predict how smooth the process of power sharing between the two partners would be. That analysis would best be left to the future. But meanwhile, one can make an assessment of the developments taken so far; specifically the ‘dialogue’ that has taken place in last two months between the PDP and the BJP and its culmination in the ‘Agenda for Alliance’. The most fascinating part of the Agenda lies in the acknowledgement of all those issues as the (real) ‘issues’ confronting the state which need to be addressed. So far, one of the two parties would be focusing on some of these, only to be vehemently opposed by the other. It may be the lure of power that forced the opposite sides to confront what the position of each other is; but this is the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir that the two sides have acknowledged that the other side has a point, howsoever divergent and yet needing attention. It is not a small feat considering the fact that denial has cost so much to the people of the state. Lack of internal political consensus on important issues confronting the state has added to another layer of conflict (the intra-state conflict) which has not only been used by various forces external to the state to their advantage but has also led to moments when the people belonging to the divergent positions have wondered about the logic of the integrity of the state - the moments when the voices for the division of the state became sharpened. What therefore remains the essence of the agenda is not only the acknowledgement of the complexity of the internal politics of the state and the political divergence within but also the possibilities of moving forward to evolve the very much needed political consensus within the state. It is a different matter as to what would be the progress on many of the issues laid down in the Agenda. Again, that is for the future analysis. And if the progress actually takes place, that would be additional points to cheer. But what remains significant at the moment is what has already happened. And what has already happened is that parties taking different political positions, have not only had a dialogue but have also shown flexibility in their respective position and seen the possibility of developing a consensus on the most controversial issues. Already there is the change in the political stances, even if momentarily, as for instance as the BJP leadership has been pointing out, about its position on Article 370. As for as Article 370 is concerned, it is a big leap forward. Much more forward that the position was during Vajpayee’s time when the issue was (without any debate) put in the back burner. Now it has come out in black and white in the Agenda signed by the representatives of the BJP that ‘considering the political and legislative realities, the present position will be maintained on all the constitutional provisions pertaining to J&K including the special status in the Constitution of India’. BJP that had the abolition of Article 370 as its core ideological position not only has shirked away from insisting on its abolition but also accepting it as a ‘political reality’ of the state and agreeing to maintain it! Whatever it may say in future, the very fact that it has changed its stance at the moment, has already become a recorded history and BJP cannot take it away any time in future. Equally important is the recognition of conflict by the BJP as seen from Kashmiri perspective. The Agenda takes the party back to Vajpayee’s peace process and not merely acknowledges the need for dialogue with Pakistan but also with the Hurriyat. It would be important to emphasise that the the party has not been keen on either of the two and in the aggressive posture that it has taken in the period after 2004, it has not allowed even the Congress government to go ahead with that. That the party commits itself to the peace process and promises to further boost the cross LoC interactions, is not only recognition of the external (India-Pak) and Internal (Delhi-Kashmir) dimensions of conflict but also the acknowledgment of the needs of softening the borders. Most significant is the reference to the possibility of examining ‘the need and desirability of all the special laws being applied to the state in view of the situation which is improving’ and the possibility of de-notifying the Disturbed Areas Act with a view to enable the Union Government to take a final view on the continuation of AFSPA in these areas’. BJP’. This is rather a bold statement given the ‘nationalistic’ and ‘non-negotiable’ position of BJP on AFSPA so far. Equally crucial is the commitment about the land under the control of the Security forces - whether returning to the rightful legal owners or making provision for monetary remuneration. Another concern that has been often raised in Kashmir about the financial autonomy of the state, and not only the handing over of some of the NHPC projects to the state but also revisiting the royalty issues. While acknowledging the Kashmir’s perspective on conflict, the Agenda goes on to refer to issues which are raised mainly from Jammu’s perspective. Most controversial of these is the one related to West Pakistan Refugees which commits the PDP to ‘take measures for sustenance and livelihood’ of these refugees. Seen in Kashmir as an issue raised by BJP with the aim to change the demography of the state, its treatment is quite nuanced. It commits to deal with the issue in a humanitarian rather than political way. What the Agenda goes on to acknowledge is the varied implications of conflict on different kinds of people and seeks to address their issues - the Kashmiri Pundits whose return to Kashmir remains the most crucial issue; the POK refugees of various kinds; the people living on the border and facing the violation of ceasefire on day to day basis. Also acknowledged is the need for equitable development of all the regions and addressing a major grievance of Jammu region that its tourist potential has not been fully tapped by the governments so far. Other than one issue that might be considered to be controversial most of the other issues have been dealt with in a very nuanced manner. This one issue relates to the constitution of the delimitation commission, which has been a long-standing demand for Jammu region and the Kashmir-based parties have been opposing. Leaving that aside, the Agenda for Alliance can be seen as quite an interesting political document that shows at least three possibilities: Of these, the first is of having a dialogue between the two opposite political positions and finding a middle ground. On many issues as we have seen, the Agenda is a beginning in the process. If not finding the middle ground, it has sought to acknowledge the differences and put the divergent perspectives in the same document. The second is the possibility of filling the inter-regional gaps and working towards the political consensus within the state. The Agenda very clearly acknowledges the fractured polity with regions being the faultiness. This agains is a good beginning, for only such acknowledgement will lead to developing the very much needed politics of going beyond regional exclusivities. The third is the possibility of working towards a national consensus on Kashmir. With BJP taking the lead, for whatever reasons one may say (maybe to flaunt a Muslim-majority state in its kitty), there is possibility of a national dialogue on Kashmir taking place. With this being the party that has been taking the strongest position so far, its own initiative would be welcome by other national parties. (Comments welcome at rekchowdhary@gmail.com)