Are we prepared to lose Kashmir?

K B Jandial
While Government of India has dismissed Pakistan’s plea to discuss Kashmir issue except on PoK, saying that it has no locus- standi some Indian intellectuals have launched a vicious campaign to prepare the nation for accepting if not secession, at least weakening ties with Kashmir. Recently, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Rajmohan Gandhi in his recent article “Drop the stone…” bracketed Kashmir with Tibet and Palestine and advised Kashmiris to use new methods for success of their “resistance movement”.
He wrote, “What is the way out for spirited Kashmiris (or Tibetans and Palestinians)? Do not infuriate the Indian people (or the Chinese people, or the Israelis), shame and embarrass them, instead. Knowing well that Indian people will never allow Government to cede Kashmir, and “violent rebellion (by Kashmiris) against overwhelming might” will “invite greater repression, and rebels and their families end up as the worst sufferers.”  He referred to history to say, “So does Kashmir over the last several decades.”
Another scholar, Dr. Karan Singh who is former Sadr-e-Riyasat/ Governor of J&K, Union Minister, envoy in US, and above all, son of Maharaja Hari Singh, has hinted Hong Kong model- one country, two system, while participating in Kashmir debate in Rajya Sabha. He said, “It (J&K) is an integral part, but what exactly the relation will be…in many federal countries it varies…even China has one state, two systems…Hong Kong has a different system.” He has equated the State of Union of India, constitutionally and legally acceded to by no other than his own father, Maharaja Hari Singh, with a British Colony. Is J&K an Indian colony or a full-fledged democratic unit of Indian Federation?
What is this Hong Kong model? During the Second World War, Hong Kong was occupied by Japan but British regained it in 1945. In 1980s, negotiations between the UK and China resulted in the Declaration of 1984, paving way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 and it became a Special Admini-strative  Region (SAR) of China after Macau, both former European colonies. Under the principle of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong maintains a separate political system from China which controls only its military, defence and foreign affairs. For all practical purposes, Hong Kong is actually a separate country to China, governed by mini-constitution.
When the U.K. handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, pursuant to the original lease of 19th century, China promised to respect Hong Kong’s historical liberties. The idea was that Hong Kong would become a part of China, with its own constitution and its own political system. But China has recently started cracking down. In 2014, the Chinese Communist Party started vetting candidates for elections prompted the “umbrella movement,” a series of sit-ins and protests that froze the city for months. Now, the independence movement is real.
Sitaram Yechury is among many who diagnose Kashmir unrest due to “trust deficit” by the Government of India, starting from the “promises made to people of Kashmir at the time of India’s Independence and the string of betrayals that have happened since then”. After touching arrest of Sheikh Abdullah and BJP’s demand (earlier, not now) for abrogation of article 370, Yechury brings politics by talking about ” gau rakhsa” to killing of  “Akhlaq”, ” love jihad”, “Garh wapsi”. Is any of these is the reason for the current turmoil? Perhaps, none.
Kashmir’s stone pelters (rioters) have no love for Sheikh who is accused of bringing Kashmir to India. He was arrested by his own close friend and India’s best statesman, Pt. Nehru, who on Sheikh’s insistence “manipulated self- exile” of Maharaja Hari Singh and made his son Karan Singh, first Regent and then Sadr-i- Riyasat. Sheikh must not have been arrested for nothing. But Nehru’s daughter corrected that mistake, if ever it was, by bringing Sheikh back as CM in Feb 1975 who continued to this position till death, again as undisputed leader and not a puppet of Delhi. Till date, attendance of mourners at his burial is the biggest. Though Beig and Parthasarthy accord did mention review of all constitutional provisions and laws extended to J&K during Sheikh’s absence to see which of these needed to be altered or repealed for being anti -Kashmiris. But no such provision was altered repealed by him during his seven years’ rule. But the politics of pre-1953 was not allowed to die for political reason by his party.
Sheikh was in absolute power from October 1947 to August, 1953 and was a strong votary of rectification of accession by the State Constituent Assembly and his inaugural speech did not leave any one in doubt about his unspoken decision to go with India. Even though the accession was ratified by Constituent Assembly on 5th November 1951 with Sheikh in jail along with four other members but his words echoed the Durbargarh housing the Assembly through the incumbent Prime Minster Bakshi Ghulam Mohd.
What are the promises made to Kashmir that some people keep talking about? Plebiscite or right of self-determination?  India agreed to UN resolution for plebiscite which remained unimplemented and now un-implementable, only because of non-vacation of illegally occupied territory of Pakistan, a condition precedent to plebiscite. While accepting J&K’s Instrument of Accession, Mountbatten wrote back “…My Govt. desires that as soon as peace is restored in Kashmir and the State gets rid of the aggressors the issue of accession should be resolved after the people’s will is taken into consideration.” This condition was fulfilled by electing a Constituent Assembly which representing the collective will of the people, unanimously ratified the accession on 6th February, 1954. Sheikh Abdullah followed the same Constitution during his second “avatar” as CM leaving scope for debate for 1953 position. Moreover, how can a law good for 124 crore Indians is bad for us. Why we are deprived of revolutionary pro consumers GST law merely we want to assert our autonomy. It is a mere mindset problem to show that J&K is separate from India.
Kashmir’s autonomy flows from article 370 which was drafted in consultation with Sheikh. While the popular perception that it barred Parliament’s jurisdiction to only three  subjects in respect of J&K, sub sections (1) (b) (ii) and (1) (d) of article 370 also provide constitutional mechanism to extend other provisions of the national Constitution and laws to J&K, but only with the concurrence of the State Government. So, all Presidential orders that had been promulgated are issued only under article 370.Nobody talks about it while lamenting on erosion of autonomy. Now some critics say that such extension didn’t have popular mandate, questioning elections of all Govts that came after 1953. When a Govt elected to power and constitutionally established, had mandate to legislate new laws, how could it be devoid of “popular mandate” for article 370.
Even though present unrest in Kashmir was ignited by the killing of Burhan Wani, the mainstream politicians and separatists are jointly responsible for it. There is mad race among Kashmiri politicians, mainly when out of power, to grab separatist agenda and pander to anti-Delhi sentiments. In every unfortunate situation that erupts in the Valley both separatists and mainstream politicians exploit the situation to push their own agenda. In the post- Burhan situation, NC is pushing their agenda-autonomy, 1953 position, removal of AFSPA etc. Then there is PDP’s self-rule that speaks for joint sovereignty of “both Kashmir” by making LOC irrelevant with circulation of currencies of India and Pakistan. Can Pakistan be trusted after what it had done? Are these boys dying for this agenda? They talk of only one agenda, -“Azadi”, (even without knowing its implications) which even PM Modi cannot deliver.
Separatists who too were marginalized by the public enthusiastic response to elections in Kashmir also pushed more and more gullible Kashmiri youth to violence that led to death of about 70 and injury to nearly 9000. The blood that spilled on the streets came handy for all these so called stakeholders to rehabilitate themselves politically. The weekly protest calendar is back again that damages Kashmir’s life and economy. Even though people sitting home are cribbing but they have no courage to defy it for fear of reprisal.
All-Party delegation visit will make headlines for few days followed by some CBMs. More expert groups would be formed but what is needed the most may not be done- educate youth about the benefit of being part of a great nation called India, call for “shame and embarrass Indians” notwithstanding.  Youth and their parents have to be cautioned by all political parties against adopting “suicidal path” of attacking security establishments and rioting and also developing urge for being a part of a failed State called Pakistan where one section of Muslims kills another and  whose sole strength is anti-Muslim China which even ban roza( fasting). Pakistan is the nation which killed Bengali Muslims and now killing fellow Muslims like Baloch, Sindh & Shia while it had already ruined Kashmir’s  economy and its people by putting them on self-destructive path.
(feedback: kbjandial@gmail.com)

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