“It’s good these people are in jail,” a fruit seller shared his frustration, keeping his shop open despite a lowered shutter in response to the lockdown called on by the separatists. The year was 2019, precisely a month after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government announced the abrogation of Article 370, and “these people” in question were the leaders of Jammu & Kashmir’s regional parties: the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Five years later, these very people are not just out of jail, but some of them are also set to form the government in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The world can draw an essential lesson from what has transpired in Jammu & Kashmir in the last five years. And this lesson has nothing to do with the polling outcome. Despite the previous unstable assembly (the BJP opted out of the ruling PDP-led coalition), the geopolitical turmoil in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370, and the controversy around delimitation, Jammu & Kashmir chose democracy yet again.

Democracy As A Lived Reality

When an insurgency or an armed conflict continues for too long, democracy is the first to fall. Increased securitisation of a conflict-ridden space undermines democracy not just as a political philosophy concept but also as an everyday lived reality. Political alienation is often the beginning and the end of a conflict. It is also the means and the end of most insurgencies. Secessionists in Jammu & Kashmir, therefore, leaned on boycotts of political processes in the region. These boycotts were successful in forging a sense of identity, delinked from New Delhi, in a section of Jammu & Kashmir’s population.

Jammu & Kashmir’s voter turnout in 2024 has fallen marginally short of 2014. Still, considering the political and security volatility during the past decade, the political remapping of the region, and the trends from the 2024 general election turnout, the absolute figure of 63.88% is a big round of applause for Indian democracy. Not only were the calls for boycotting the elections negligible, but voters also didn’t even think twice before ignoring them. The pre-poll sentiment in Jammu & Kashmir was defined by buoyancy and optimism.

Reigniting Faith

Participation in electoral processes should not be seen as an indicator of peace in Jammu & Kashmir or any other conflict-riddled region. Democracy does not suit all, and efforts to derail it are the strongest whenever it appears to work and emerge as a choice. For peace, the synergy of formal institutions is a prerequisite. The BJP has done well to reignite people’s faith in at least one of them: electoral polity. Jammu & Kashmir, under the governor’s rule for six years, grabbed this chance to assert itself and make its voice heard in New Delhi. The JKNC-Congress alliance has trumped religious extremism-driven parties on the one hand and heavy-handed nationalism on the other.

After almost a decade of aggressive and kinetic strategy in dealing with the hardliners in J&K, this is a perfect moment for the Indian establishment to rethink its attitudes towards conflict resolution. The temptation to discard democracy as a defunct system is at its highest during an armed conflict. But this is also the time when democracy can shine the brightest. A rights-based approach to conflict resolution may appear counter-intuitive, but this is the only lasting solution. The rejection of the right to vote by a dissatisfied bunch of people as a means of their political expression can be the first sign of trouble. The converse is also true.

This Is True ‘Normalcy’

The BJP may not feel warm and fuzzy about the assembly poll results, but New Delhi has all the reasons to rejoice. This is what ‘normalcy’, an oft-touted catchword of the current dispensation, looks and feels like. This almost violence-free election is the festive bonus that everyone hoped for, but nobody could have been sure of it. Reams will be written about the “success” of this election within the security paradigm. However, the real success is allowing the decriers of democracy to come into the fold. After long periods of violence and quasi-violence directed primarily against the Indian state, this election is an affirmation of the core principles of participatory democracy. 

No political system, even the good old democracy, can and should be treated as the panacea for all ills. At best, democracy can achieve an environment where people who are affected by policies feel like stakeholders. This precludes compulsive resistance and fosters a sense of ownership. Jammu & Kashmir’s ‘problem’ is both a function and an origin of political alienation and disempowerment. Increased participation on the population’s part and more open-mindedness on the part of the establishment during political processes help create a secure environment that doesn’t rely solely on securitisation.

What and how Jammu & Kashmir’s political arena will look like with a government in place after six years of Governor’s rule remains to be seen. For now, these lessons of democracy are for all to see and emulate. 

(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

“What we have seen in Haryana today is a victory of manipulation and subverting the will of the people; it’s a defeat for transparent democratic processes…We can’t accept it.”

If you heard this on TV or read it in the morning papers, you might assume it came from a radical left leader or a separatist. But that’s not the case. This official statement was made by Jairam Ramesh, the Congress party’s communication chief. He delivered this declaration at a press conference at the party’s headquarters on Akbar Road shortly after it became clear on Tuesday that the Congress, despite its high-profile election campaign, was losing, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was making history by winning the Haryana elections for the third consecutive time with an increased majority.

The Congress social media cell quickly posted Ramesh’s statement on X (formerly Twitter) for wider circulation, both nationally and internationally. It’s worth noting that Ramesh is a well-educated leader, a former Union minister, and currently one of Rahul Gandhi’s most trusted lieutenants. It’s no wonder, then, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi accuses Congress of outsourcing its thought process to “urban naxals”.

‘The Sultanate Is Gone’

Flashback to 2017, when Ramesh felt sidelined within the Congress’s hierarchy after the party lost power in 2014, and the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, secured a majority. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said, “The sultanate has gone, but we behave as if we are sultans still.” He argued that the Congress was facing an existential crisis and that old methods wouldn’t suffice to tackle the challenges posed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then-BJP chief, Amit Shah.

Ironically, the late Sheila Dikshit, a prominent Congress leader and Delhi’s chief minister for 15 years, countered him by stating, “Jairam Ramesh is one of the sultans.”

Today, Ramesh is near the top of the Congress’s leadership structure. His proximity to and perceived influence over Rahul Gandhi amplifies his significance within the organisation, which is evident to anyone closely following politics.

The Congress Echo Chamber

His statement on Tuesday afternoon, that the party “can’t accept” the Haryana election results, reflects the “sultan and sultanate” mindset he previously critiqued. It highlights the Congress’s smugness; they assumed a victor’s stance after the 2024 parliamentary elections despite falling short of three-digit numbers and landing at 99 seats – one of the lowest tallies in the party’s history. Rather than thoughtfully considering the road ahead, the party appears trapped in its own echo chamber. Its supreme leader seemed to find a panacea in the rhetoric of a “caste survey” and “threats to the Constitution and institutions”.

The complacency among Congress leaders was evident when the party’s IT cell chief and spokesperson, Supriya Shrinate, boldly claimed on a television channel that she would change her name if the BJP exceeded 15-20 seats in Haryana. That video clip has since gone viral. In reality, the BJP secured 48 out of 90 seats – higher than its 2014 and 2019 tally – with a vote share of nearly 40%.

While the BJP focused on unity, addressing dissent, and reaching out to the electorate, a supremely confident Congress was preoccupied with debates over who would be the Chief Minister, who would be the Speaker, and whose proxies would be in the Cabinet.

They appeared to have learned nothing from a similar debacle in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh just a year ago.

Allies Losing Confidence?

The results in Jammu and Kashmir were also disappointing for the Congress. Although the National Conference-Congress alliance won a majority, the latter’s performance was dismal, with its numbers dropping from 12 seats in the last elections to just six, thanks to the National Conference’s resurgence. The 12 seats it secured in 2014 were already down from 17 in 2009.

Now, the Congress’s allies, including those for the upcoming elections in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, have begun questioning the party’s credentials and its ability to win seats in a direct contest with the BJP. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool mocked the Congress for its performance in Haryana, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday snubbed its seat-share request for by-polls to 10 seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly later this year. 

It’s time for Jairam Ramesh and his colleagues to reflect on his own words from that famous 2017 interview: “Old slogans don’t work, old formulas don’t work, old mantras don’t work. India has changed, and the Congress party has to change.”

(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author