In a relatively euphoric election season pasting party posters and banners are still done in the dead of the night for fear for backlash. Shafat Farooq spends some sleepless nights chasing the political ghosts who risk their lives to add colour to the process
Pic: Bilal Bahadur
While the political situation in Kashmir has dramatically changed over the years, and the Pro-India parties are openly campaigning these days, there are few things that have remained constant since the eruption of armed insurgency in the state.
Seven young boys accompanied by three middle-aged elders, their faces half hidden with masks, are walking through the narrow and broken lanes of the old city area of Habakadal during the middle of the night. Their aim and the job; is to paste the posters of Shameema Firdous, on anything that catches their eye. The posters are written in chaste Urdu calling for people of her constituency to cast their votes for her in the ongoing assembly elections.
There is a stiff competition between the candidates of National Conference, People’s Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janta Party in Habakadal constituency.
Since the armed rebellion against the Indian rule in Kashmir erupted, overtly campaigning for the candidates belonging to any pro-India party had become impossible, coupled with the killings of many workers of different political parties, it had been an uphill task for anyone to paste the posters or erect wall buntings of candidates contesting elections.
As Muhammad Gulfam Shaban (name changed) an old city resident muses with another senior NC worker about the prospects of party retaining all seats from Srinagar, someone inside a house coughed loudly, breaking the silence of the chilly night – they suddenly, along with the boys moved into a lane to hide themselves.
Since last two days, they have been busy in pasting posters and erecting buntings on electricity poles provided by the party to them.
“I have been doing this even during the peak days of militancy. It’s risky but every time I have managed to do it successfully,” Shaban says. “And moreover there is still social stigma attached to this job.”
A tall but frail looking man, sporting a white flowing beard Shaban, 65, is the political worker of NC. He says he is associated with the party since Sheikh Abdullah’s time, but feels things have changed a lot since last three decades.
He says at least in Srinagar there are very few dedicated party workers who take risks and move out during the night to paste posters, fearing the public wrath or the curse of ‘Azadi Pasand’ youths.
Shaban says the job is risky, but, he has arranged a few young boys by offering them ‘good money’ in lieu of doing this job.
“See if someone is getting paid Rs 1000-1500 for just two hours work, it looks fairly a handsome amount. I pay them this much and they do my job,” he mutters.
Though Shaban is a dedicated worker of his party and offers his services as part of commitment he has made to the party founder Sheik Muhammad Abdullah, other parties find it difficult to get this work done.
So what do they do? I asked Shaban “They (parties) outsource the job. They approach a host of middlemen and touts who have flourished over the years,” he answers.
Within the parties, it starts from providing the election publicity material to their respective district presidents, where from it is distributed among ‘Halqa Presidents’ and then finally they rest at houses of ‘Mohalla Presidents’ of the parties. It’s where the job is tasked to different people mainly the cadres or nowadays to the ‘contractors’.
I was introduced to Shaban by a friend who resides in the same locality, in a jiffy Shaban agreed to take me along with him on a cold Tuesday night. We started from the ‘Bhagwanpora’ area of Habakadal. All of the material had been stored at Shaban’s home.
According to insiders, the job – pasting posters and buntings, is done by paying around 20 thousand to a contractor who then assigns the task to the boys who work for him.
“The amount depends. We pay them (boys) starting from Rs 600 to Rs 1500. The amount varies in the areas and depends where the risk factor is high,” one such contractor told this reporter wishing anonymity.
While it was easy to search for political activists like Shaban; to approach these contractors, it is tough as they’re known within the mainstream circles only.
But, with the little ‘contacts’ within the political circles, one can reach to them to get the tasks done.
However, the funny side of outsourcing this job is that most of these contractors don’t bother about the location where the posters have to be put, the reason of which is that at many places in Srinagar, the posters of all major parties or lesser known parties have been pasted all at one place.
“You could yourself see that the buntings of PDP or NC or Congress at many places across Kashmir have been tied up on the same electricity pole or the tree,” says one contractor “Because we are concerned about getting the job done and saving our lives. That’s it.”
On the other hand for the ‘dedicated workers’ like Shaban it hasn’t been easy every time to venture out during the midnight.
“Once I was beaten mercilessly, even not considering my age, as the scars of the 2008 agitation, were fresh. Around two dozen boys surrounded us and thrashed us and set ablaze all the posters,” Shaban narrates.
Arif, 20, a resident of Sheikh Colony Nowhatta, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree from Islamia College. Lured by the abject poverty of his family, Arif was approached by a friend to go for this ‘job’.
“It’s risky, but the money involved is too good an amount for me,” he says “We have a family of seven and my father is bedridden since last two years.”
But according to Arif none of his school friends know about his ‘other job’.
“Most of them have stone pelting cases against them and they’ll curse and tease me if they know I paste posters of any pro-India group,” he adds.
In the civil lines areas the job has been ‘outsourced’ to former ‘Ikhwani’s’ the infamous counter-insurgents, who are putting up in different hotels across boulevard and Dalgate, well guarded by the security forces. And as the elections approach, their help is being sought to do the works in most of these areas.
While political parties somehow manage to publicize their candidates, elections are equally challenging for pro-freedom camp.
With the arrest of almost all the separatist leadership, ground workers and the ‘potential trouble makers’ (around thousand in number) it has become a daunting task to carry out boycott activities.
Around a week back, posters of all the parties including National Conference, People’s Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janta Party were burned down by youth in Habbakadal area of Srinagar.
“I have been tagged and I have lived my life. I know how much we are cursed in our society for doing these activities. But, we shouldn’t be seen as traitors as we also strive for ‘peaceful resolution’ of Kashmir,” says Shaban in a hoarse voice.
