Prof. Virender Gupta
The Kashmiri leadership is again on its old track of trying to keep Jammu and Kashmir under disturbed and uncertain situation that was prevailing since 1947, after the accession of the state with Indian Union and that became extreme explosive and violent after 1990. The main responsibility of the situation to which the state has been dragged into lies with the Kashmiri leaders, particularly those who claimed themselves as mainstream leaders. They have been continuously supporting the evil designs of secessionist forces abetted by Pakistan and of the Islamic fundamental forces. The Kashmir based six political parties met in Srinagar on the invitation of National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on 22nd of August and resolved to carry forward the “Gupkar Declaration” of August 4, 2019 which was jointly issued by the leaders of these six parties and Dr. Shah Faisal, who has presently quitted the politics and was not party to the resolution adopted by the six parties. The parties who issued the joint statement include the National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Congress, J&K People Conference (PC), the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI(M)) and the Awami National Conference (ANC).The parties committed themselves to strive for the restoration of Article 370 and 35A, the Constitution of J&K and restoration of the State while rejecting the division of the State. They said that the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A and bifurcation of State was a maliciously short-sighted and unconstitutional step. It was also stated that the series of measures undertaken on August 5, 2019, in reality were the measures of disempowerment and challenge to the basic identity of the people of J&K. The six parties committed to collectively fight to restore the special status of J&K as was guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.
The decisions undertaken by the Government of India to abrogate article 370 (keeping it a mere statute, but making it ineffective) and 35A, and reorganizing the State thereby dividing it into two Union Territories; Jammu and Kashmir (with Legislative Assembly), composing of Jammu and Kashmir provinces and Ladakh were under the provisions of Indian Constitution with power vested in the President and the Parliament of India. There cannot be any going back from the present set up. The nation looked for these steps to happen right from the days when Pt. Nehru was the Prime Minister of the country. Pt. Nehru’s commitment to the nation that article 370 would go in due course of time and the people of the country were assured during the deliberations in the Union Parliament in 1954 that Government itself would bring a resolution before the Parliament regarding its abrogation. Number of central were extended to the State with the approval of the State Government and state legislature where the Kashmiri leadership was in dominating position; thereby, they themselves have weakened the article 370. Repenting on its abolition and making hue and cry is of no use now; this is only going to expose the hypocrisy of the Kashmiri leadership. The present position of Jammu and Kashmir, approved by two by third vote majority in the parliament of the country is irreversible. In the resolution adopted by six Kashmir based parties it is said that measures undertaken on August 5, 2019 amounts to disempowerment and challenge to the basic identity of the people of J&K. The reality is that, the leaders of these parties see their own disempowerment. What is the basic identity of Jammu and Kashmir, Is this the intolerant Kashmiriyat to other faith, religions and non- Kashmiri communities, is this mistrust among the people of various regions of Jammu and Kashmir State and is this the discrimination enforced on the people of Jammu province and those of Ladakh province by the Kashmiri leadership?
The Kashmiri leadership must realize that its own actions have compelled the Government of India to take the decision of August 5, 2019. Kashmiri leaders with exception of Bakshi Gulam Mohamd and G.M. Sadiq always played dubious role. They are adept in speaking with two voices. They are secular as well as communal. When they are in power they swore by the principles of democracy, secularism and declare accession to India as final. However, when they are out of power or when any question is raised against in regard to exercise of power or any of their personal ambition then accession becomes temporary and issue of autonomy and identity are raised and communal passions of the people are aroused. They politicised the religion, paved the way for fundamentalism to flourish and build hatred against India. They always aroused the anti India feelings among the masses and exploited the religion for the political purposes. The attitude the National Conference can be gauged from an incident when Mahatma Gandhi statute was not allowed to be installed in the new High Court Complex in Srinagar on October 2, 1988 by Mohammad Shafi Butt, an advocate of J&K High Court, an active member of National Conference who was given the party ticket to contest election for Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in 1989. Mufti Baha-ud-Din Farooqui, former Chief Justice of J&K High Court and ex-member of National Conference through his writ petition filed on June 1990 said that the raiders from Pakistan were freedom fighters and the Indian Army did not go there to defend Kashmir but to establish a reign of terror and he further stated that Indian Government worked on the plane to weaken and dismember Pakistan and to maintain hegemony on Kashmir through sheer might. Their inherent intensions to keep the unpatriotic elements alive can also be viewed when they used to provoke the communal emotions, anti-India feelings in their propaganda to exploit the innocent and ignorant masses during elections. In their speeches they propagated that the Kashmiri people are slaves of India and their organization (National Conference/ PDP/..) had launched a struggle to get them freedom from the Indian clutches. The Kashmiri leadership encouraged the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, Wahabism and Jahidi cult which resulted into the spread of secessionism and spread of terrorism with the support of ISI, Pakistan and other Islamic countries. The Muslim youth of the state were exploited, poisoned and were motivated to participate in the terrorist activities. The respective Governments in the State indulged in corruption, nepotism, favouritism and in other mal practices. They rendered inefficient governance, and also indulged in promoting separatism in order to garner the support of anti-India elements that resulted into a chaotic situation in the state. The fact of the matter is that it was the criminal neglect on the part of Indian Government that gave a long rope to such type of deceptive and anti-India tendencies.
It is irony that Congress Party which played a crucial role in the freedom struggle and which ruled the country for most of the period after independence, its State President, G.A. Mir was party in Gupkar Declaration and also in the resolution adopted on 22nd August, 2020.The Statement of its national leader P. Chidambaram who was former Home Minister and former Finance Minister of the country while praising the resolution of six parties, appealed to them to stand resolutely behind their demand. Congress party while supporting the resolution is making itself a fool. The role of the party is not in the interest of the country and by doing so it is digging it own grave. It looks that it has not learnt any lesson from its consecutive unexpected humiliating defeats in 2014 and in 2019 in parliamentary elections and in 2015 in J&K State assembly elections.
Should not these political leaders who were at the helm of affairs, instead of ganging up for their political survival while raising the issues of article 370, article 35A and of the identity, apologise for their misdeeds and follies which put the state into turmoil. The Common masses have understood them and their deceptive policies. There is no goodwill left for them among the people for the leaders. They might have also acknowledged the fact that there is erosion in their following as such there was not a single protest or cry on their arrest. Therefore, instead of repeating their old hymn of greater autonomy, self rule or azadi should listen to the voice of the people and that of the changed time and try to amend themselves, otherwise they would perish.
The demand raised in some political quarters to restore the Statehood to the present Jammu and Kashmir is not appropriate at this juncture of time, when Pakistan being provoked and assisted by the Chinese government, is pursuing aggressively to infiltrate the terrorists, support the anti-India forces to disturb the peace of the state and that of the country; though its these attempts are effectively being countered by the Indian forces and agencies. It is also not suitable time, as apart from the terrorists’ threats country forces are engaged on the borders with China as well with Pakistan. Further to stream line the administration, to pursue aggressively the development activities, to speed up policies of generating the avenues of employment and to finish the terrorism to its logical end, book the elements supporting the fundamentalism and lastly to pave the way for equitable development of both the regions of the State, it is desirable to continue with the present set up Union Territory status. The demand of statehood may be raised in order to compete with the forces that are demanding reversal to pre 5th August, 2019 position for the state. But this competition may weaken the objective for which Article 370 and 35 A was revoked and Jammu and Kashmir was declared as Union Territory.
(The author is a political observer)
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