Ever since Article 370 was declared null and void in Parliament, the
debate on the past, present and future of Kashmir rages on unabated with most
of them being ill-informed, jingoistic or hypocritical in nature, be it the
Indian Government, the Pakistani establishment or the Kashmiri Leadership.
Let us start with India itself and the claim of the current dispensation that Article 370 was the biggest stumbling block in the
integration of Kashmir with India and was responsible for all the unrest, hence
had to be abolished.
Firstly, if Article 370 was such a stumbling block in the process of
National integration then article 371 should also be treated similarly. Article
371, also has special provisions for other States, mostly from the Northeast,
aimed at preserving their unique culture, much like the logic behind J&K. Why
then Article 371 is continuing? Or could it be that national integration is
more about integrating people than integrating plots of land or abolishing
legislations?
Secondly, the assertion that Article 370, was the reason for the
unrest and rise in extremism is pure bunkum as there is no correlation that has
ever been established between the constitutional provision providing special
rights to the state and extremism.
A dual charade is being played out in the Indian media for the
consumption of the gullible and the xenophobic that Article 370 was abolished
in an absolutely constitutional manner and that Kashmiris have accepted the
change with an open mind.
The manner in which the change was implemented is anything but
democratic. The highhanded approach of turning Kashmir into a veritable jail
and clamping down on all possible political opposition does not bode well for
democracy. The act of dismembering a state by bypassing the state legislature enabled
by its dismissal is a frontal assault on the very concept of “Union of States”
as envisaged in our constitution.
Lastly, the background of shuttered shops and deserted lanes, said
more about “normalcy” in Kashmir than the loquacious statements made by NSA
Ajit Doval while posing with a few locals, trying to project a sense of
normalcy. The real test of normalcy will not be Eid or Independence Day, with
Kashmir under the shadow of the gun, but on the day when all restrictions are
lifted.
Focusing on the second major actor in this entire tragedy i.e. Pakistan,
the less said, the better. They have become the self appointed champions of the
Kashmiri cause for everything ranging from Human rights to plebiscite to
territorial integrity of Kashmir, while conveniently forgetting that it was
Pakistan which sent in Pashtun tribals and their army regulars in 1947-48 who
killed, pillaged and ravaged innocent Kashmiris, forcing the state to accede to
India.
On the issue of Plebiscite, again Pakistan chooses to selectively
forget that the resolutions adopted at the UN were to be implemented
sequentially and the first requirement was that Pakistan would withdraw all its
militias and regular forces from the parts of Kashmir they have occupied. When
Pakistan refused to withdraw, the rest of the resolutions became inoperative consequently.
It is duplicitous for Pakistan to still selectively raise the issue of
Plebiscite when after seventy years later both the demography and the
cartography of Kashmir has changed with now an overwhelming majority of the
population in Pakistani Occupied Kashmir being Punjabi in origin, by design. I
also wonder, where were the champions of Kashmir in Pakistani intelligentsia,
when Pakistan willingly ceded parts of Kashmir to China without the consent of
Kashmiris or their leaders?
Over the years, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan has brought multiple
administrative realignments and in many ways, the residents of PoK are still
treated as second-class citizens in Pakistan. Is that not a violation of basic
human rights of Kashmiris? And how are the administrative reorganizations
carried out by Pakistan any different than the ones being implemented by the
Indian government?
Last but not least, I would also like to ask some pointed
questions to my fellow citizens from Kashmir. The first being that with article
370 being in force for so many years, did it result in any peace or prosperity?
The answer is irrevocable “No”. Then does it not make sense to give peace a
chance by embracing this move of the government and probably reap the benefits
of integrating with one of the largest and fastest-growing economies of the
world?
Secondly, I would like to remind all my fellow citizens from Kashmir
that it was the Indian army that protected the ordinary Kashmiri citizens from
rape, plunder as well as an alternative future; as a second class citizen of a
failed state as is the fate of the residents of PoK.
Thirdly, I would also like to remind the people of J&K that J&K
has received 10 per cent of all Central grants given to states over the
2000-2016 period, despite having only one per cent of the country’s population,
as per an analysis by The
Hindu. This has resulted in schools, hospitals, infrastructure etc. in
Kashmir that is sorely lacking in PoK across the border.
I would also like to ask the so-called Kashmiri nationalists like
Geelani, “Why were they silent when Pakistan ceded parts of PoK to China?” “Why
were they silent all these years, when citizens in Gilgit-Baltistan did not
have basic rights in Pakistan?” “Why were they silent on human rights when
there was the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Brahmins?”
Resolving the Kashmir conundrum requires honest intentions, not
hypocritical grandstanding. I hope that the Indian government lifts the
restrictions at the earliest and initiate a process of dialogue to find a
political middle ground with Kashmiri leadership that includes the restoration of
statehood for J&K at the earliest. I also hope that the J&K leadership
realizes that Article 370 is now past and is not a necessary condition to craft
a prosperous future for Kashmir as an integral part of India while retaining
its “Kashmiriyat”, “Jamhooriyat” and “Insaniyat”.
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