Incarceration: A Collective Experience Contesting In Kashmir Election (image:x.com/Wajahatfarooqbt)

Jail, imprisonment, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Public Safety Act (PSA)—these terms are not unfamiliar to Kashmiri people. Prison as an existence and incarceration as a harsh reality have been looming large over their lives, identity, and agency long before. The turbulent political history of Kashmir cannot be addressed without jails and imprisonments.

While the Assembly election was held in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade as an electorate exercise of democratic self-determination, jails were an active point of discussion. Political parties and candidates brought their election campaigns around their experiences of imprisonment, and even poll manifestoes addressed the unjust detention of youths. For most of the candidates, the jail term has given them an added ‘credential’ worthy of seeking votes in the Valley.

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The slogan “Jail Ka Badla Vote Sai” (revenge for jail through votes) was, at first, introduced in the political arena by PDP Youth Wing President Waheed Parra. On November 25, 2020, Parra was arrested under the UAPA in an alleged conspiracy to support the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group. While in prison, Parra won the DDC elections as his family campaigned on his behalf. On May 25, 2022, after 18 months, he got released from jail. The supporters celebrated this slogan when Parra ran for the Lok Sabha polls contested early this year. While talking about his experiences in jail, he promised to fight for a “jail-free and cases-free” Kashmir, which was indeed a new beginning for placing ‘jail’ on electoral cards.

Hundreds of local youth faced detention following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, and many still remain in jail. Families claim that new arrests were also made. Thus, bringing up the plight of imprisoned youths turned out to be an inevitable topic in the election. Though Parra initiated the jail as a sentimental issue, the narrative was effectively utilised by Awami Itihad Party (AIP) founder-chief Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid. Rashid has been in prison since August 9, 2019, and he was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) on a terror funding charge. The case itself stays controversial since no trial has taken place since his arrest five years ago.

Rashid contested as an independent candidate from Baramulla and defeated political heavyweights such as NC vice president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and People’s Conference (PC) leader Sajjad Gani Lone. In his surprise victory, Rashid garnered over 4 lakh votes, underlining a significant political statement. His win was primarily attributed to the successful emotional appeal of Rashid’s two sons for their jailed father, enabling the public to establish a personal chord with him and extend massive support.

“Your vote can prove pivotal in the release of my father, whom I haven’t seen for the last five years. My elderly grandfather and grandmother are eagerly waiting for their son, who has been suffering because he was raising issues of people,” Abrar, Rashid’s elder son, said in an emotional speech in a public rally. The emotion communicated, and it turned Rashid’s win more than a personal triumph but an answer to common people’s collective suffering, an emblematic of their battle in quest for democracy and lost status.

When Rashid was released on interim bail to participate in Assembly election campaigns, his supporters welcome was overwhelming. Since his release from Tihar jail, Rashid has shared stories about his experiences in jail, the plight of the Kashmiri prisoners, and medical negligence they encounter in jails.

Rashid’s win and release on bail became a huge motivating factor for jailed cleric and separatist leader Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, alias Sarjan Barkati‘s contest from the Ganderbal and Beerwah Assembly segments. Known as “freedom chacha” or the “pied piper” of the 2016 unrest, Barkati is currently in jail under the UAPA, citing his alleged involvement in a terror-funding case. His wife was also arrested later. Witnessing changes in Rashid’s success and release, Barkati’s family hopes to recreate the same. Similar to Rashid’s elder son Abrar Rashid, Barkati’s daughter Sugraa is involved in the election activities and is seeking villagers’ support for her jailed father. This time, AIP and banned-Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir are in a pre-poll alliance.

Meanwhile, in the Sopore constituency, another jail narrative has been voiced by Afzal Guru’s brother, Ajaz Ahmed Guru, who is contesting the elections as an independent candidate. Afzal Guru was convicted for the 2001 Parliament attack case and executed in 2013. Ajaz said he was contesting an election for his son Shoaib Aijaz Guru (26) who was arrested in 2023 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and is currently put in jail under the PSA at Jammu’s Central Jail. He claims that his son was unjustly detained and was arrested in a fabricated case.

Similarly, Shoaib Sheikh, who is also arrested under the PSA for alleged involvement in militancy-related activities, is contesting the election from jail. He is contesting elections as an independent candidate from Rafiabad, his home assembly segment.

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Aside from the candidates, the poll manifestos of political parties, especially Valley-based parties, underlined the need to find solutions to unjust imprisonments and detentions of youths. The National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are advocating for the revocation of the controversial PSA. Besides, the parties pledged to end arbitrary detentions if they came to power. The AIP has also promised unconditional release of all prisoners in jails. It will put efforts into the abrogation of laws like PSA and UAPA, the manifesto added.

The jail is undoubtedly a significant factor in the election. The candidates relied on their narratives centered on emotions linked to those languishing in jail, wherein the electorate seems to reciprocate the deep-seated sentiment equally. When incarceration becomes the collective experience of the people in the Valley, through raising slogans on ‘jail-free’ Kashmir, a new political discourse has been initiated, but, how it will influence the election needs to be observed.