The Caged Bird Sings

The issue of prison and prisoners has found a space in the election vocabulary of Kashmir

- Fahad Sha

AS political parties have been campaigning for elections in Jammu and Kashmir, a blind man was asked to vote and told that if the party comes to power, the government would provide him relief. “I want my eyesight back,” he wished. His wish is a reminder of the distance between what is promised and what is possible. In Kashmir, hopes are politicised by every manifesto but are likely to never become reality.

In the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir, candidates from all walks of life have chosen to contest with promises of development, vying for people’s trust. All of them are promising electricity, roads, hospitals, education and jobs. No candidate has neglected to call for restoration of the now-revoked constitutional provision Article 370 that once granted the region limited autonomy and connected it with New Delhi conditionally. Every politician promises to fight for its restoration, even though the decision lies in the hands of the Parliament, where J&K holds only five seats—a reminder that these promises, like many before them, are often more symbolic than attainable.

Amid this chaos of campaign promises and political rhetoric, the issue of prison and prisoners has found a space in the election vocabulary of Kashmir. Two major political parties— the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—have pledged to release prisoners and repeal detention laws, such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) of 1978, which have been long wielded to silence dissent and detain those with alleged ties to militancy.