Bamdooru, the village where Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the architect of the new-age militancy in Kashmir spent his final moments, remained largely indifferent to the polling in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday.
Only 13. 6 per cent polling was recorded in the first of the three-phase polling for the restive Lok Sabha constituency comprising Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam.
Nearly three years after Burhan's killing, the village has come to represent the microcosm of anger and disenchantment with mainstream politics in Kashmir.
Burhan, 22, who attained a cult status among the youth of Kashmir by popularising militancy on social media, was killed on July 8, 2016, along with two of his associates, Sartaj Ahmed and Parvez Ahmed, a day after the three had arrived at Farooq Ahmed Wani's house in the village.
His killing sparked off a six-month-long uprising in which more than 110 people, mostly youth, were killed and hundreds were injured.
Over a 1,000 youth, including several young women, were rendered partially or fully blinded by pellets fired by security forces.
A few days after the popular Hizbul commander was killed, mobs set ablaze 12 houses in the village, belonging to Farooq Wani, his two brothers—Nisar Ahmed Wani, Nazir Ahmed—and their kin on the suspicion that Wani betrayed Burhan.
Wani also faced a social boycott for one year after Burhan was killed forcing him to shift to his in-law's house at Bragham. His brother build a makeshift accommodation for their families who survived on charity from Bail-ul-Maal (local Islamic charity)
''The village Bait-ul-Maal helped us to survive,'' said Nasir. ''We met our MLA Farooq Andrabi of PDP, but he said 'people burnt your houses; what can government do in that?'''
He said when security forces came looking for Burhan, his brother was not home.
''All three of them (militants) were killed when they tried to break the cordon,'' he said. A neighbour seconded Nazir's version of events leading to the killing of three Hizbul Mujahideen militants. He said Burhan was killed in the lane leading to Wani's house, while Sartaj and Parvez were killed some distance away.
''When the mob came, I told them I am not related to Farooq Ahmed Wani, I am Dar, not Wani. After that they spared me.''
Nasir said those who torched their houses were outsiders. ''Their faces were masked,'' he said.
He said he and his brothers faced immense hardship to rebuild their houses. ''We had to sell our orchards,'' he said. ''My son Shaiq Ahmed was also hit with pellets in the eye but he received no help from the government.''
He said his brother Nazir couldn't survive the trauma for long and died.
''In December last, my sister-in-law (Wani' wife) also died,'' he said. ''She was very much stressed by the torching of her house and hardship it caused.''
As Nasir was narrating his ordeal to THE WEEK, one of Wani's daughters shouted from the lobby of their new build house, “How come the media has come to inquire about us after so many years?''
When THE WEEK tried to speak to her she refused to talk and slammed the door shut.
Her maternal grandmother, however, opened up. “They have suffered a lot after the incident,” she said. Wani's eldest daughter joined in. She said she quit studies after their house was ransacked and torched.
''I quit studies after that. I was to join college but I didn't,'' she said.
Her younger sister said she joined a madrassa and completed a course in Islamic Studies.
She said her two younger sisters are continuing their education in school.
A neighbour said they feel sorry for what the Wanis had to endure after Burhan was killed.
''The situation would have been better for the PDP if they had not allied with the BJP,'' said Muhammad Latief Ahmed, a resident of Bamdooru who, along with friend Fayaz Ahmed, was sitting in the compound of a government middle school that houses the two polling booths. ''I have voted before, but this time I have not voted. Most people have voted for Congress today,'' he said.
Fayaz said he has never voted after 1996. ''One of my friends is part of the polling staff. I have bought him food,'' he said. Kashmir has suffered persecution throughout. If the PDP had pulled out of the coalition with the BJP, things would have been different.''
In the last Lok Sabha polls, many residents of Bamdooru had voted for PDP president Mehbooba Mufti.
Mehbooba won the election by over a lakh votes against the NC candidate.
She is again in the race against Congress' G.A. Mir and NC's Hasnain Masoodi.
Anantnag had been a PDP stronghold since 2002. The party won 11 of the 16 assembly constituencies in 2014 assembly elections.
But PDP's alliance with the BJP and mass killing and blindings in 2016 have enraged its supporters.
Since 2016, the security situation has continuously worsened in Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgama, and Shopian that constitute the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in south Kashmir.
The Congress and the NC are hoping to cash in on the anger of PDP supporters against the party.
There is little chance that PDP supporters would vote for its rivals. However, their decision to stay away from the polls would strengthen the chances of the Congress and the NC.
Most of the roads in Anantnag town and villages were deserted. The carnival-like atmosphere witnessed during elections in the past was missing.
Most of the anger in south Kashmir, the most important political swathe in Kashmir comprising four important districts, is directed against the PDP due to its alliance with the BJP. The people are equally upset with the NC and the Congress for “compromising” the interests of Kashmir when in power.
By throwing her hat in the ring, Mehbooba has gambled big. A win will redeem her and rejuvenate her party and improve its chances of a better showing in the assembly elections due later this year. A loss will not only deal a crushing blow to her stature but also demoralise the party cadre much to the benefit of her rivals.
