K N Pandita
Restoration of statehood for the UT of J&K is stressed upon among other things in NC’s election manifesto. While introducing the J&K Reorganization Bill in the parliament in August 2019 the Home Minister had promised to restore J&K’s statehood status at proper time.
The first thing Omar Abdullah did in his cabinet meeting was to get a resolution passed for the restoration of statehood. The Lt Governor is reported to have endorsed it. Chief Minister rushed to Delhi with the resolution to convince the Home Minister and the Prime Minister that the demand for restoration of status be accepted without delay. Omar met some of the senior cabinet ministers in New Delhi also to garner support for restoration of the status of his state.
Apparently, New Delhi is not averse to the restoration of statehood of J&K but the caveat is “at proper time”. What is the criterion of a “proper time” and who has the powers to do the needful? We reckon that for a proper and logical answer to these questions, we need to find out the why of changing the complexion of J&K State. No people of any state of the Indian Union would like down grading the status of their state much less the people of J&K. It means there must have been very serious circumstances that compelled the Union government to take a drastic step in 2019 and bring about the Reorganization Bill.
Now that the NC-led government is pushing the status-restoration issue hard, Kashmir observers infer that most of the reasons that had led to the truncated status have been resolved. This means that a free debate must ensue on the major issues like security, free flow of secular democracy, restitution of displaced population, free flow of the fundamental rights of the people as enshrined in the constitution, review of responding to constitutional propriety and lastly de-radicalization of indoctrinated population for smooth and fair enforcement of guidelines of public safety and freedom.
In the week following the oath taking by the NC-led Government, there were several terrorist attacks at various places in the valley that took the precious lives of at least nine innocent persons. Army authorities entrusted with the security of the state have been warning of escalation in infiltration and terrorist activities. The freshly inducted suicide bombers are equipped with highly sophisticated weaponry generally used by the gorilla forces fighting the Government.
Looming threat from the armed terrorists was the primary cause for bringing in reorganization of J&K State. There is some reduction in the intensity of terrorism in the valley but we are not out of the woods. Therefore, the demand of restoration of statehood seems an impulsive gesture rather than sanguine diplomacy.
We understand the compulsion of the chief minister. It is his election manifesto and commitment the people. The question is should a manifesto be based on emotions and impulses rather than on ground realities. The situation has arisen out of the recklessness of NC policy planners. Handing over a copy of the cabinet resolution to the Home Minister does not mean that the incongruities enumerated in the constitution of the J&K (J&K had its separate constitution) will be overlooked and status quo – ante revived.
NC Government thinks it has placed the ball in the court of the Home Minister and now he can easily project himself before the people as an honest leader who can take the horse to the river bank but cannot make it drink water. Remember the day he was declared as the leader of the house, he had no qualms of conscience in telling the people through public media that “the powers that took snatched Article 370 from their hands are still in power and to expect that they would return it to us is foolishness.”
We accept that the ball is in the court of the Home Minister. Logic, justice and propriety demand that the Home Minister should engage the State Government in a fulsome debate on prioritized issues as follows before taking a final decision on the restoration of statehood.
* Set up an independent commission of inquiry into the rise of separatism, jihadism and terrorism in Kashmir from early 1970s that brought calamity to the state and its people.
* Set up a separate inquiry mechanism to probe into the rise of communal politics in Kashmir beginning with Anantnag district riots in 1986 leading on to the cataclysmic events of the genocide and religious cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus. This mechanism should have the important term of reference of suggesting a viable formula of return and restitution of the displaced Pandit community keeping in mind the fundamental principles of restitution of displaced persons in the definitions of a Refugee/IDP given in the Manifesto of the Working Group on Minorities with the UN Human Rights Council.
* Appoint a Commission of retired SC justices to suggest whether J&K should be restored its statehood status or continue with the present position as a UT for next three or four decades.
It is important that the Union Government should invite advice from legal and constitutional luminaries in these critical matters. It must be made clear here that threadbare restoration of the statehood to J&K means restoration of its separate constitution which is not at all acceptable to the minorities of the state because it denies them outright the minority rights as enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Union Government will be damaging the secular-democratic construct of the Indian nation if it thrusts an illogical and unscrupulous state constitution on the minority communities of J&K state.
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