Jammu and Kashmir, the crown of India, has been split into two Union territories against the aspirations of its residents. To accomplish this, the central government curbed all the voices of the state and put its residents under house arrest. Further, the politicians who helped the Indian government earlier in executing their policies were also being treated as anti-nationals and were detained hours before the special status of the state was revoked.
People have always fought for their rights in the world. However, the Indian government has curbed even the rights mentioned and guaranteed in its Constitution. The BJP government has claimed that this step will bring development in the Kashmir valley and help fight the terrorist activities. First, let’s take a look at the argument of growth and development, which has been reported in various articles taking into account some selected development indicators.
As far as terrorism is concerned, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is already governed by the AFSPA— a central law which gives full rights to the security forces to deal with the terrorist activities. In the valley, the security forces execute all operations. However, we can see the result. There has been a rise in militant activities during the NDA-led government with a surge in militancy from 63 militants in 2014 to 128 in 2017. Many experts have attributed this as the failure of the government policy in Kashmir.
The ‘development and security’ are just statements from BJP. The real, hidden, and polluted agenda is to spread the doctrine of the West Bank of Israel and promote Hindutva in the Muslim majority state. They have planned the abrogation of Article 370 for a long time even when there were no conflict outfits in the valley.
BJP’s intention on the unique status of Jammu and Kashmir was on the cards for a while. They mentioned it in their election manifesto of 2014 as well as 2019. In the 2014 election manifesto, the party indicated that after the consideration of stakeholders, Article 370 would be erased, but in 2019, the stakeholders’ voice has been erased too.
It looks like it is not a big deal to deploy thousands of troops in a state and turn it into a prison, and then bring out a Presidential order to dilute 370. Moreover, split the state into Union territories without the consent of the state legislature. Is this not against the spirit of the federalism of the Indian Constitution?
As it is seen from the debates on the TV, the mainstream media is biased towards one party, bullying others when they dispense the truth. They keep talking about the ‘normalcy’ of the situation in the valley. On the other hand, the BBC News, Al Jazeera and many other YouTube channels show the opposite side of the case.
For the past few days, there’s been an internet lock-down along with communication blackout in the valley. Ironically, the mainstream media is showing that the situation is in order. They have forgotten their responsibility to work independently. They do not care about the situation in the state.
Is The Kashmir Issue Solved?
Nowadays, a majority of citizens from various states are celebrating Jammu and Kashmir’s complete integration with the Indian Union. They are happy that they can now purchase land there and marry Kashmiri girls! The statement from Haryana’s Chief Minister and many others promote this idea of marrying Kashmiri girls. These statements depict the polluted intentions behind this move. The core motive behind this move is not the ‘welfare’ of the natives, but to demoralize the sentiments of the Kashmiri Muslims and make them feel like secondary citizens. Some people are even treating this issue as avenging the Kashmiri Pandit migration!
It is also being said that with the dilution of Article 370, the 73rd Constitutional amendment will now be implemented in J&K, and hence, the Panchayats will become dominant. Nevertheless, we know what the position of the majority of states is in terms of development and progress of Panchayats, where this amendment is already applicable. This, too, is a statement to gain public sympathy for this decision.
Regarding the Panchayats of the country, the Parliamentary Committee (2016-17) reported:
“The Committee wonders how in the absence of basic infrastructure facilities, Gram Panchayats can fulfil their various responsibilities. Besides, there is a shortage of adequate human resources at all levels of Panchayats in a majority of the states, particularly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, etc. The Committee notes that approx. 50,000 Gram Panchayats do not have any buildings. The Committee feels that due to lack of adequate workforce and basic infrastructure facilities like Gram Panchayat Buildings, the functioning of Panchayats at levels would be adversely affected.”
These people should understand that integration is done with people’s wishes and not by force. Violence will only lead to counter-violence. First, the Indian government was only fighting with the separatist camp, but now, the fight is with all sections of the valley. Even those who have served as their alliances are against this unilateral and barbaric decision. The people of the valley feel that the Indian government has betrayed the belief, which merged them with the Indian Union.
The dilution of Article 370 has dangerous implications through the regional perspective; it will create further alienation among the citizens of the valley. It will also germinate the seeds of hate in the Kashmiri society. This move will establish a new era of separatism, and that would be more dangerous compared to the previous one. It will also affect the Kashmiri culture negatively.
In Kashmir, no one is happy with this move as the locals feel it’s an attack on their honour and dignity. There was an emotional connect among the natives of the valley towards Article 370. Moreover, on August 5, 2019, the NDA government broke this emotional thread very harshly without the consent of the Kashmiris. It has hurt them a lot. It is ironic to think this move will build a strong emotional bond between Srinagar and New Delhi.