Why banned Jamaat is contesting Kashmir elections after 37 years

On August 27, the last day for filing nomination for the first phase of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, three obscure men submitted their nomination papers from various constituencies in South Kashmir as independents.

While independents fighting elections is not unusual, the trio drew attention since they were former and current members of the banned socio-religious group Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir.

The last election that the Jamaat had contested as a regional party was the 1987 Assembly poll. Widely believed to have been rigged in favour of the National Conference at the behest of New Delhi, the poll became one of the catalysts for the eruption of militancy in Kashmir in 1989. In the years that followed, many members of the Jamaat took up arms.

In 1998, the organisation distanced itself from militant outfits. But two decades later, the Centre banned the Jamaat in the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama attack that left 40 paramilitary personnel dead. A home ministry notification accused the organisation of “indulging in activities, which are prejudicial to internal security and public order, and have the potential of disrupting the unity and integrity of the country”. In February, the Centre extended the ban under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for another five years.

As a banned outfit, the Jamaat cannot field candidates. But with Jamaat-backed candidates in the fray this time, questions are being asked about why the outfit has chosen to return to electoral politics after 37 years.

Scroll’s conversations with Jamaat’s members suggest the decision is rooted in the group’s ongoing negotiations with the Centre to get the ban revoked. Although there has been no official confirmation from the government, a spokesperson of the Jamaat told Scroll that since 2022, eight of its members have been holding talks with the government.

Shamim Ahmad Thoker, the spokesperson of the eight-member panel, said they were hopeful that the ban would be lifted before the Assembly elections. “We had said we will contest only after the ban is lifted,” he said. But even though that did not happen, “we have shown sincerity”, he added.

Jamaat-backed candidates are contesting elections in only 10 of the 47 assembly constituencies in Kashmir. However, since they have struck a pre-poll alliance with the nascent Awami Ittehad Party of maverick Member of Parliament from Baramulla, Engineer Rashid, they are expected to wean away votes from the older regional parties, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party.

Many believe a fragmented verdict in Kashmir could help the Bharatiya Janata Party, which enjoys a significant lead in Jammu, wrest power in the union territory.

Negotiations with the Centre

The Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir is an offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami, an organisation established in Lahore in 1941 by theologian Abul Ala Maududi, who believed Islam was central to politics.

After the British left the subcontinent, in the aftermath of Partition, the Jamaat split into different units. With both India and Pakistan staking claim to Kashmir, an independent Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir took shape in 1953.

Although it did not accept what it called “the forced accession” of Kashmir with India, the organisation participated in electoral politics in the erstwhile state from 1965 to 1987. With the rise in militancy in the 1990s, some of its members joined armed groups, and the Jamaat came to be associated with the pro-Pakistan outfit, the Hizbul Mujahideen, although it never acknowledged any formal ties.

As the violence ebbed in the late 1990s, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, who was then the chief of the Jamaat, declared that the group would distance itself from the Kashmir dispute. Internal differences eventually led to the suspension of two members, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, who in 2004 formed the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, a separatist group dedicated to resolving the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means.

Recouping from its losses, the Jamaat shied away from direct participation in politics, including electoral politics, focusing instead on socio-religious activities like running schools and charities, organising disaster relief programmes. And yet, it remained in the crosshairs of the security establishment for its pro-separatist stand on the Kashmir issue. When it was banned, the organisation had approximately 5,000 members.

The Centre’s representatives have laid down two conditions for lifting the ban on the Jamaat, Thoker claimed. “Firstly, they want us to stop supporting separatism and the demand for Azaadi,” he said.

While they stressed there was “no harm in mentioning ideas like plebiscite, implementation of UN resolutions, or dialogue”, they asked the Jamaat to “stop demanding that Kashmir becomes part of Pakistan”, Thoker added.

The second demand, Thoker said, was that the group should completely distance itself from the militancy. “They want us to get away physically from the gun.”

Buoyed by the engagement with the Centre, members of the banned outfit voted in the Lok Sabha elections. They were hopeful that when the Centre’s decision to extend the ban on Jamaat came up before a tribunal, government lawyers would present a weak defence and allow the ban to be struck down. But that did not happen – on August 23, the tribunal upheld the Centre’s decision.

Despite that, members of the banned group decided to contest elections. “We have chosen this path [electoral politics] and this is that way ahead,” Thoker said. He cited Article 5 (3) of the Jamaat’s constitution, which states that the organisation believes in “democratic and constitutional methods while working for the reform and righteous revolution”. He said this was not implemented because of “elements beyond our control”. “Now, we are going to implement it in letter and spirit.”

Dissensions within Jamaat

However, not everyone in Jamaat is convinced about this. Many are questioning the legitimacy of the eight-member panel. “There is very little knowledge about how this panel came up and how it was formed,” said a member who is against the Jamaat’s decision to contest the Assembly elections.

He pointed out the ban had created disarray in the organisation – its properties had been raided and seized, many members had been arrested. “I fail to understand how they managed to evolve a consensus about the panel when most of the members of Jamaat are even scared of acknowledging being part of Jamaat or indulging in any activities related to the organisation,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Sayar Ahmad Reshi, the Jamaat-backed candidate from Kulgam, however, defended the panel, saying it was “100% legitimate”. The idea of constituting the panel first came up in 2022, he said.

Thoker, the panel’s spokesperson, said the panel was formed in consultation with three former chiefs of the organisation, and its leader was selected through a secret ballot.

While some Jamaat members have not questioned the genuineness of the panel, they have rejected the panel’s decision to contest elections.

One of them is Sheikh Ghulam Hassan, the former chief of the Jamaat. “Jamaat is a banned organisation. It (the decision to contest elections) should not have happened,” 88-year-old Hassan told The Telegraph in a rare interview on September 18.

Thoker attributed these disagreements to “a communication gap because of the ban”. “After the ban is lifted, we will put forward our point of view before the people and tell them about our objectives and compulsions,” he said.

‘Not out of compulsion’

Many others not in favour of returning to electoral politics assert that the organisation should have withstood the government’s crackdown.

A Jamaat sympathiser, who did not want to be identified, said there was no reason for the current leadership to appear “so desperate”. “This is not the first time Jamaat has been banned,” he said. “It has been banned twice in the past. Its members were killed and their properties were targeted. In comparison to that, what the Centre has done with its members since 2019 is nothing.”

But according to Thoker, it was introspection, and not persecution by the government, which made them rethink their strategy. “For 70 plus years, this community was in the hands of mainstream politicians and then for the last 40 years, this community supported separatists,” he said. “The question is: what did we achieve and lose in all these years? One lakh people died here.”

“Do our future generations deserve only graveyards?” he asked.

He quickly added that this did not mean the organisation was “denying the existence of the Kashmir issue”. “If all the stakeholders sit on the table to solve it, we will also sit,” he said.

While campaigning, Jamaat-backed candidates have been raising issues like unemployment and the need for social reform. “Our young generation is battling drug addiction,” Thoker said. “In order to address that, Jamaat has a role to play. India should think over this and revoke the ban.”

‘For survival’

Experts believe the Jamaat’s decision to contest elections sits in consonance with its history of calibrating its position according to the prevailing circumstances.

“It feels like déjà vu,” said a Kashmiri scholar of political science, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The main idea behind its recent decision is simply survival. And this is not the first time Jamaat is doing it in its history.”

The scholar added that even parties like the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party have had to adapt to the new political situation arising out of Jammu and Kashmir losing its special status and statehood in 2019. “Same is with the Jamaat,” he said.

“It is an organisation which can have 10 different stands at the same time and each stand will have a justification,” he added. “While only one stand will be dominant at a particular time as per the situation, it is quite a possibility that it can have a totally opposite view once the situation changes.”