I. Ahmed Wani:
ان پڑھ آندھی گھس آتی ہے توڑ کے پھاٹک محلوں کے۔
“اندر آنا منع ہے” لکھ کے لٹکانے سے کیا حاصل۔
An-parh aandhi ghus aati hai tod ke phaatak mehlon ke,
“Andar aana mana hai” likh ke latkaane se kya haasil.
On 5 August 2026, the seventh anniversary of the end of Articles 370 and 35A, a Tiranga procession moved through the Housing Colony at Khanabal in Anantnag. It was meant to mark constitutional change. Instead it created a political crisis. Videos showed party workers, led by senior figure Sofi Yousuf, chanting “Maklow Azi Hund Te Fazi Hund Azat.” The line turned an old National Conference slogan on its head. That older slogan had called Article 370 the honour of ordinary Kashmiri women, using the common names Azi and Fazi. The new version declared that honour finished. The words hit hard.
Social media moved first. Clips of the workers spread fast. Criticism and trolling followed within hours. Public anger pushed the BJP’s Kashmir unit to respond. Spokesperson Altaf Thakur said the slogans came from personal feelings and did not speak for the party. Other leaders also condemned the words. Then formal steps came. District president Rakesh Koul issued an order. Nine functionaries lost their organisational posts and had their primary membership suspended. The list included district general secretary Nisar Ahmad Bhat, several secretaries, and constituency presidents. Sofi Yousuf, who led the procession, was not named. Some inside the party said he had already been kept aside for years.
The nine workers held a press conference. They admitted the mistake, called it a serious error, and apologised to the public. In the same meeting they made strong charges against the district president. He soon faced the media, rejected the charges, and made his own counter-charges. The exchange showed a deep split that had grown over time.
The story begins on 5 August. The National Conference and PDP called for protests across the Valley against the change. The BJP announced rallies in support. In Anantnag the Housing Colony had long been a safe place for political leaders. It was built for government officers from other districts. After terrorism rose, leaders from all parties moved there because it stood opposite the district police lines and had military cover. It is gated. Police stand at the entrance. No one enters without permission. Flats have air conditioners and fairly steady power. A cooperative shop supplies basic needs. As security improved and the Home Minister told Parliament that terrorism was nearing its end, the colony stayed comfortable. Leaders preferred to remain. On that August day both NC and BJP workers gathered in the same space. Their slogans met, and the changed Azi-Fazi line was born.
In a Muslim-majority area the BJP often took in anyone who joined. There was little careful checking. Politics here often counted numbers more than character or ability. Early joiners, many with limited schooling or from the edges of society, held positions. They resisted newer people who came with education and skill. The old local saying fits: the grandfather was once a sultan, so the family will not give space to new talent. The result is a group that can gather for a rally but finds it hard to keep steady discipline when attention fades.
Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” The Anantnag events show this truth inside a party that has held power at the Centre for over a decade and wants a stronger presence in the Valley. Winston Churchill added, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” Responsibility means choosing words that do not wound the society one wants to serve. When workers treat the dignity of local women as a tool for slogans, the harm goes beyond one video. It strengthens every negative picture opponents paint and pushes away the quiet people who value calm speech.
On X the reactions showed both anger and the party’s response. One post shared a video of the suspended members apologising and saying “BJP is in our veins, blood.” The words mixed regret with loyalty. Another post noted that the party had suspended those who organised the rally and used the contested lines, then added a couplet about finding neither God nor the beloved and belonging nowhere. News accounts simply reported the nine suspensions. The same platform that spread the original clips became the place where many judged the party’s steps as incomplete.
The real problem sits deeper. Without careful selection, a political group in a sensitive region becomes a shelter for the restless instead of a home for clear ideas. Capable new members find the path blocked by those who treat posts as personal property. The result is constant low conflict between those who raised the slogans and those who now try to control them. Public anger forced the first response. The later press conferences turned the correction into a new round of mutual blame.
Four clear steps are needed. First, the ranks must be reviewed with honesty. Loyalty alone is not enough. Judgment matters. Second, the cadre needs learning in both the party’s stated values and the cultural ways of the region. A slogan that sounds sharp in one setting becomes an insult in another. Third, sensitive issues must be handled with care, not by simply reversing the other side’s phrases. Fourth, real unity and strength must be shown at every level, not only claimed after damage is done.
Edmund Burke wrote that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” In politics the same rule applies to organisational decline. When leaders accept low standards and poor discipline until a public scandal forces action, decay continues. The Anantnag incident is not a single slip. It is a sign of recruitment without clear standards and a habit of placing numbers above quality. A party that presents itself as the force for national integration cannot appear careless with the dignity of the people it says it includes.
Observers of democratic parties have long noted that entering new social ground requires higher internal standards, not lower ones. When a national party works in a region with a history of conflict, every public word is watched for sincerity. One careless slogan can undo months of quiet work. The Housing Colony that once stood for safety has now become the place where internal contradictions appeared in full view.
The nine workers accepted their error and asked for forgiveness. That step is right and necessary. Yet the exchange of charges that followed shows how quickly a correction can turn into another fight for space and influence. Until the party faces the pattern of unchecked recruitment and resistance to capable newcomers, similar storms will return. The end of Article 370 was presented as a firm constitutional act. The politics that follows must be equally firm inside the party’s own ranks. Only then can the claim of national integration rest on something stronger than a viral video and a quick suspension order.
The path forward is clear. Review the ranks. Educate the cadre. Avoid needless controversy. Show real solidarity. These steps will turn a moment of embarrassment into a chance for lasting strength.
