With BJP-PDP alliance finally turning out to be a reality in trouble torn Kashmir, Mufti’s are busy preparing the ground in Jammu for the final showdown. Anybody keeping a tab of the post-result events in Kashmir can clearly see that how senior Mufti played his part pretty well by not exposing his cards till the last movement; he was even missing from the scene for almost entirely.

Nobody, not even his close aides got a whim of what was happening behind the closed doors of once dreaded Papa 2 or Fairview Guest House, an address now associated with Muftis. Only a few trusted point-men, who worked in almost total secrecy, were allowed to negotiate a deal with rightwing BJP. But, Mufti must know that Kashmir is a different ball-game altogether. Things can go completely wrong at any moment; it just needs a small spark, a trigger, a pulse, etc to undo or do the unthinkable. There are no rules of engagement either when it comes to Kashmir. So thinking of doing the unthinkable and managing to get away with it without getting bruised is too wishful a thinking for a senior politician like Mufti.

But then power has its own downfalls. It can be absolutely intoxicating at times. And Kashmir’s history is full of such wishful great-falls where great leaders, intoxicated by deafening applauses, set-out to create history by keeping entire population hostage to their short-sighted beliefs. Thankfully Mufti is witness to many such dare-devil heroics.

But with BJP’s formal entry into Kashmir politics almost a reality now, how is PDP going to justify this “ideological sell-out” remains to be seen. How will Mufti justify his handshake with what is considered as devil in Kashmir? Or the unprecedented era of development and positive change will make people forget everything? Only time will tell. But then Kashmir is not like any other part of the world. And Kashmiris have a bad habit of remembering things, that too with clarity. They have not even forgotten the number of massacres that took place some 25 years ago in January. They have not forgotten Sheikh Abdullah and his contributions. They have not forgotten Maharaja’s rule either. They still talk about begari system even when it was abolished some 100 years back.

Kashmiris are hard learners though. But when they learn something they cling to it like a dying man clings to life. So it will be really interesting to see how Mufti and his associates are going to whitewash people’s memories in order to create new and rosy ones. Or may be lotus one. Let us wait before BJP actually makes a homecoming viz-a-viz Muftis.

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