The People’s Conference is one of the very few separatist organisations of Kashmir which has its roots in the power politics of the pre-militancy era. It has a well-knit cadre as well as a mass base. All this gives it an advantage — of keeping its politics closer to the changing popular responses as well as giving it a chance to test its representative character — a luxury that not many other separatist organisations can afford to indulge in. The popularity of the party in northern Kashmir is well-recognised. The presence of the ‘proxy’ candidates of this party in the districts of Handwara and Kupwara during the 2002 elections had generated massive popular response in favour of elections.

The entry of Sajjad Lone into the electoral politics, however, should not be misread as the decline of separatism in Kashmir. His statement that he has changed his strategy and not his ideology makes it clear that he seeks to justify his shift within the separatist paradigm. The separatist sentiment in Kashmir remains intact, despite the expansion of democratic politics and despite the impasse in which the separatist leadership finds itself.

The writer teaches political science at Jammu University