The’e Khabar Garam, Ki Galib Ke Udain Ge Purze; Dekhne Hum Bhi Gaye, Par Who Tamasha Na Houa. (The news was that Galib will be torn into pieces; we too went to watch the fun but nothing of the sort happened).
August 05, 2019 BJP-led government, fulfilling the desire and the dream of one of its founding fathers, Shama Prasad Mukherjee, did away with the Article 370 and 35A and bifurcated erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories — J&K and Ladakh.
Lot of water has flown down the Jhelum since then. But come Aug 05, political actors, opposed to what BJP did, as also those who side with it, ensure that they are in the news on this particular day.
So, Aug 05, 2026 was no different. Theatre was on full display whole day. NC’s second rung leadership held a symbolic protest at party headquarters; PDP, did the same with selfies and Instagram posts; Congress chipped in with half-hearted show of solidarity, Peoples Conference issued a statement….
Fine, but the question is, where were the people of Kashmir?
Shopkeepers were on their shops; students in schools, colleges and universities; government employees in their offices; workers at their workplaces, farmers in their farms….
So, who was actually protesting against the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A.
Point is not that people of J&K (particularly Kashmir) are not upset about August 05 decisions. They certainly are, because from being the Crown Of India their beloved state has been reduced to a glorified municipality.
But their complete lack of interest in the drama of the day is indicative of their resolve to not trust those who feign and claim to represent and lead them.
People have seen such theatrics for too long and are no longer moved by hollow symbolism.
Kashmiris could be anything but not naive. Yes, they got swayed by some international events and misjudged the situation post 1990. But within a few years, they understood that they have got fooled but by then, nothing was in their hands. They just had to follow.
But once bitten twice shy. Right now, they understand that those who contested elections under The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 are not the ones who can help restore pre 2019 position of Kashmir and thus they stayed away from the theatre. A resounding message to politicians who think they can fool the people all the time
They were cheated for more than 30 years in the name of Azadi. They got involved as they trusted the leadership of the time. They paid for it, actually (not just in proverbial sense) through life and limb, and then ended up losing even what they already had. Reason being that the politics of the time was pure theatre, with no organic strings whatsoever.
People here are fed up with political theatrics, they are fed up with slogans (they have raised so many in the past, which were more cool and sexier than the present ones).
Now they want a break; they want to breathe.
Politicians are making sentimental statements, they can afford doing that as they have a kind of immunity. But, if swayed away by such statements, a common Kashmiri posts something on FB or X, s/he will be booked under UAPA. And what happens then in anybody’s guess!
By their conviction-less rhetoric, are these politicians really serving Kashmir or Kashmiris? People are wise enough to draw their inferences.
Bashir Manzar
August 05, 2026
