The Politics of Empathy: Kashmir's Opposition and the Memory It Chooses
Compassion without accountability is not politics. It is a performance
Kashmir has always been a place where political memory is selective and political theatre is mistaken for political will. Two recent scenes from the Valley illustrate this tension with uncomfortable clarity. Mehbooba Mufti sat with youth in Budgam under the banner of "Kath Ba'ath” listening, engaging, expressing concern over distress and the constrained lives young Kashmiris describe living. The sentiment, on its face, is admirable. But the question that hangs over every such gathering is one of chronology: where was this listening when it was consequential? The PDP governed Jammu and Kashmir. It held power during years when the valley bled when hundreds of young men were lost, when families fractured, when the very disillusionment Mufti now catalogues was being written into an entire generation's biography. The dialogue philosophy invoked in the name of Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s engagement, communication, and closure was not operationalised with sufficient urgency when the instruments of governance were actually available. This is not unique to the PDP. Omar Abdullah removed his cap in an emotional pre-election gesture, placing his honour in the hands of voters. Since assuming power, the promises that animated that appeal on statehood, on dignity, on ordinary Kashmiri aspirations await substantive delivery. Political amnesia crosses party lines in Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti's concern over cow vigilantism and J&K's social sensitivities is legitimate and must be heard. Her observations on India's foreign policy positioning deserve a considered debate. These are serious contributions. But serious contributions require serious credibility, and credibility is built not through gatherings alone, but through a willingness to account for the years of governance behind you, not merely the suffering in front of you. Kashmir's young people are not looking for sympathy dressed as politics. They are waiting for politics to become something worth believing in again.
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