Saturday, 21 December 2013
Article
370
Article 370 of the
Constitution is making a mockery of secularism, nationalism
and the structure of unity. This
temporary constitutional provision has, in fact,
been
providing encouragement for the establishment of Muslim nation.
Article 370 of the Constitution, which has grouped Jammu and Kashmir as a special and different state, ridicules this declaration that Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. This special status delinks the state from rest of the country. It won't be an exaggeration if it is called constitutionally recognised separatism. On the basis of this "special status" people of Kashmir, Pakistani rulers and diplomats and intellectuals in the world raise a volley of questions in front of the Government of India. Is accession of Jammu and Kashmir complete like other states? If the accession is complete, why then the special appeasement? Is it so because there is Muslim majority? Had there been Hindu majority in the Kashmir valley, would there have been this clause of the Constitution? Does not this clause give an opportunity to the world to doubt our honesty?
Everybody knows that
Maharaja Hari Singh signed the accession papers on October 26, 1947 under which
the state acceded to India. The accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India was
carried out on the same pattern other states acceded to it. But as a result of
the misfortune of the country, Nehru pressurised the Maharaja for handing over
power to Sheikh Abdullah. The Maharaja gulped the bitter draught and exhibited
his patriotism. The misfortune does not end here. On the request of Sheikh
Abdullah it was decided that the State Assembly will take the final decision on
the accession and it was done to appease the Muslim society in Kashmir. From
here the State was given the special status. The question arose as to what
should be done till the Assembly
took the final decision? For this period Article 370 was incorporated in
the Constitution as a temporary measure. But even when the State Assembly
ratified the state's accession to India, the Article was not scrapped. There
can be no other bigger instance of treachery than the interest of the vote bank
and the politics of appeasement.
With the blindfold
of political interest we lent
permanency
to the temporary character of the Article making our position not only
ridiculous before the world but also provided a golden opportunity and solid
base for separatist-oriented terrorism to grow in Kashmir. The most shameful
part is that we are not ready even
now
to throw off the soiled blindfold. Instead we are keen to keep this blindfold
as a permanent feature.
Our Government has
deliberately concealed the dangers of Article 370 because it will expose the
hollowness of its secularism. The exposure of its dangerous consequences will
cut asunder the web of pro-Muslim policies.
It is because of
this Article that the Government of India cannot enforce any law connected with
Jammu and Kashmir without the approval or concurrence of the State Government.
Only defence, external affairs and communications fall in the central list.
Against this the Parliament has the powers to frame laws for rest of the states
in the country. But Article 370 of the Constitution restricts the hands of the
Union Government and the Parliament in doing this in case of Jammu and Kashmir.
Its dangerous consequences have been witnessed in recent years when the law
prohibiting misuse of religious places could not be extended to Jammu and
Kashmir with the result the state does not come within the ambit of secularism.
And even after the independence the ignoble thing happened in Kashmir where
hundreds of temples were destroyed and where people belonging to a particular
community were victimised and subjected to cruelties. On the question of Ayodhya and the consequent
Babri Masjid episode the Union Home Ministry had been issuing threats to the
Uttar Pradesh Government and ultimately the Government was dismissed under Article 356 of the constitution but this
article cannot be implemented directly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The President of
India cannot dare to issue any order under Article 356 to Jammu and Kashmir.
The President has no right to suspend his Constitution in the State. The
National emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution can be extended to
Jammu and Kashmir to a limited extent and the financial emergency under Article
360 cannot be enforced in Jammu and Kashmir.
Under part four of
the Constitution of India there
is procedure for one constitutional practice, one administrative structure and
one economic pattern. But under Article 370 Jammu and Kashmir has its right under its own constitution to do whatever it
likes. It is because of the separate flag and separate symbol that two flags
flutter on the Government buildings in the state. For hoisting freely the
National flag, permission has to be sought from the State flag because it is
necessary to hoist the national flag with the state flag.
There is only one
system of citizenship for the people of the country but in case of Jammu and
Kashmir, it is dual citizenship, one of the state and the other of India. The
citizens of Jammu and Kashmir are citizens of India but the citizens of the
rest of India cannot be citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. He does not have the
right to have property and the right to vote in Jammu and Kashmir. If a girl
belonging to Jammu and Kashmir marries a boy from outside the state, who is not
a state subject, she loses all her rights in the state. Even the wealth tax
cannot be imposed in the state. The Urban Land Act, 1976, which is enforced in the entire country is not applicable to J&K. The result of it
is that rich landlords, belonging to the majority community in the Valley,
indulge in economic exploitation of the poor and the Indian citizens, who are
non-state subjects and living in the valley, cannot even secure loans from the
financial institutions.
It is because of
Article 370 that political groupism receives encouragement and no local
nationalist Government can remain durable if it is not the product of
anti-national elements. The state Government did not accept the Anti-defection
law adopted in the country and instead made several amendments. Here the
decision on defection is not taken by the speaker of the Assembly but by the leader
of the connected political party. This gives constitutional legitimacy to the
unbridled authority of the leader of the party. Since the Governor usually is
not a citizen of the state, he has no right to vote, the separatist elements
treat him an outsider and equate themselves with slaves. During the 80's the
Wazir Commission had recommended measures for political reforms in Kashmir but due to Article 370
these recommendations have not been implemented.
Burning of the national flag is not a cognizable offence
in Kashmir because there cannot be proper arrangement for the basic duties
enshrined in the Constitution under which the tricolour, the national anthem
and the national symbol have to be shown due respect. Under Article 370
the Indian Parliament cannot increase or reduce the borders of the state. The
Union Government implements international agreements and accords under Article
253 of the Constitution but Jammu and Kashmir is beyond its jurisdiction.
Muslims from other parts of the country become successful in getting the
citizenship of the Jammu and Kashmir but about one lakh Hindus, who had been
uprooted in the neighbourhood at the time of the partition, have not been given
citizenship so far. Under the umbrella of Article 370 the fundamentalists have
received strength in their campaign for Islamisation.
Article 370 revives
the two-nation theory and secures security for it in the future. On one side we
proclaim in the world that in India
there is
no discrimination on the basis of religion, community or sect, on the other
hand special facilities are being given to Kashmir because there the Muslims
are in majority. If these special privileges are being given on the plea that
Kashmir is a backward area,
is there no other place in India where backwardness and poverty are less
important? In fact several
thousand crores of rupees have been spent in Kashmir and the result is
apparent. Anti-national elements are active. Instead of bringing the people to
the national mainstream, we have, in comparison to other states, given
unlimited rights to the people which have made them a pampered lot. People of
Kashmir became suspicious about the accession and the anti- national elements
got an opportunity for launching an open disinformation campaign against India.
Pakistan supported these separatist organisations. The result was that Kashmiri
youths picked up arms against India and forced over three lakh Hindu patriots
to leave their houses and property in Kashmir and live in the plains a life of
penury and misery.
Our Constitution
gives equal rights to all citizens but this right is not available in Jammu and
Kashmir. It is the tale of local versus non-local who are not state subjects.
They do not enjoy any political and economic rights. Their wards cannot get
admission in the colleges in Kashmir. Article 370 has violated the principle of Indian
citizenship. The maker of
the Constitution of India, Dr. Ambedkar, had cautioned Nehru on the plea that it
can create difficulties in full integration of the state with India. This
Article would sow the seeds of separatism in the Valley. At least Dr.
Ambedkar's warning can be understood now but the politics of vote appeasement
does not allow it.
It is quite evident
that Article 370 has not integrated Jammu and Kashmir with India but it has
delinked it. There in Kashmir is no place for secularism and nationalism in the
mind of the youth. The feelings of regionalism, communalism and separatism have
been developed in their mind. Instead of coming closer to the national mainstream, they have distanced
themselves from it and have now started raking up the question of independence.
On April 7, 1958 the Plebiscite Front, of Sheikh Abdullah adopted a resolution
and the wording of the resolution clearly indicates how Kashmiri leaders have
been working for making the Muslim society anti-India and pro-Pakistan and for
this the leaders took the refuge under Article 370. The resolution had made a
mention of this Article and said:
"Jammu
and Kashmir has not yet acceded
to any of the two dominions, India and Pakistan. Therefore, it will not be
right to call Pakistani invasion on Jammu and Kashmir as an attack on India."
Under Article 370
Kashmiri Muslim leaders have been opposing any welfare schemes formulated by
the Government of India. No scheme relating to family welfare, formulated by the Government of India, is enforced in Kashmir. The programme was implemented in the Jammu region Becawe of being a
Hindu majority area. A former Chief Minister, G.M. Shah, had said that the aim
of the Government family planning programme was to convert the Muslim majority
into a minority. Such type of false propaganda has given birth to separatism
which received shelter under Article 370.
According to a
former Governor, Jagmohan, Article 370 should be scrapped because it has become
an instrument of injustice and inequalities. It waters the roots of corrupt
elements. It nourishes narrow-minded and reactionary forces. It fully accepts
the principle of two-nation theory. It fills the mind of the youth with the
garbage of false desires. It
gives
birth to narrow lines and narrow faith. This encourages and nourishes regional
tensions.
Historical facts
reveal that prior to this Article, both Hindus and Muslims were part of the
national mainstream. There was no animosity or hatred. During the 1947 Pakistani aggression on
Kashmir, Kashmiri Muslims not only welcomed the Indian Army but also assisted
them in nabbing the infiltrators. Then why the same Muslim society is launching
an attack on the Indian Army at present? This is the result of the poison of
Article 370. On seeing the Poisonous impact of this Article on the Kashmiri
mind that a former External Affairs Minister, M.C. Chagla, had told the United
Nations that the Article was a temporary measure. This Article should be abolished.
The two former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and
G.M. Sadiq, too wanted this Article to be repealed. The Government of India too
had assured people that when the time comes, the Article would be scrapped. But
our political interests and the mean and directionless politics of vote bank
based on appeasement have not allowed this to materialise
A political section
is of the opinion that this Article cannot be abrogated. But according to Dr.
Babu Ram Chauhan, an expert on international law and the Constitution of India,
this Article can be scrapped even without the concurrence and approval of the state Assembly. The President of India
and the Indian Parliament can repeal it. It is clear from Articles 3 and 5 of
the State Constitution that Jammu and Kashmir state will remain an
"inseparable" part of India. The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir
has been framed under the Constitution of India. Why cannot the Government
abrogate the Article in the interest of the nation when the same Government has
allowed the State to frame
its constitution?
The utility of
Article 370 has been finished now. Its utility has ceased with the people in
Kashmir having launched an open revolt and with their guerrilla war against the
Indian Army. What is the meaning of the
bait of
Article 370 for those who are fully equipped with arms to secure independence
for Kashmir? Now only one way is left: launch a full military campaign against
the anti-national elements for finishing them and start, on a war footing,
measures for bringing the remaining Kashmiri society to the national
mainstream. For this there is need for a search of nationalist leadership among
the Kashmiri youth, particularly the Muslim youths. This plan can fructify only
after giving up the politics of narrow-mindedness. This is certain that it can
pave the way for the national plan of abrogating Article 370.
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Article 370 was outcome of Nehru's short sightedness Sheikh Abdullah's ambition and Sardar Patel unwanted loyalty .Nehru is to be blamed for Kashmir's fiasco due to his tendency of giving preference to personality over issues which was cause for his debacle in kashmir as well as in 1962 which shattered his image as statesman.The coming generation will always question his floundering policies on kashmir and china which still haunts and will continue haunt India's foreign ,domestic and defense policies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with almost every thing you say but will you please elaborate this - "Sardar Patel unwanted loyalty"
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