Anti ‘people’ elements are finding hard to operate & ‘State’ is fast moving towards peace & stability
Daya Sagar
After 2015, more particularly after 5th August 2019, the myths and adverse interpretations that had made the subjects of Indian state of J&K to in a way live in socio-political turmoil ( Valley in particular), the inter- regional and inter religious instabilities and the administrative as well as economic confusions even after October 1947 accession ( of the then princely state of J&K ). with independent Democratic Indian Republic have surely started settling down: The anti India and anti accession forces that had their roots in foreign soils to have started losing meaningful attention to their expressions and stories. No doubt myths like J&K not being total India like other states may still have some impressions but it has to be acknowledged that for nearly 7 decades no ‘meaningful’ regular steps have been taken by the earlier leaderships & governments at local / international level for countering the myths with the real facts.
Even some local ‘main stream’ political leaders as well as some ‘academicians’ have been rearing the myth that J&K had been provided constitutionally a Special Status in Indian Republic since J&K had acceded conditionally with India where as that was not a truth. ‘THEY’ kept quoting some theories / signs in their support like Art-370 of Constitution. But upto 2015 no political party / government negated the myth of Article -370 being a special status Article due to which the negative elements kept finding some roots. And it has been only on 11 March 2015 that in a written reply to Rajya Sabha starred Q-138( Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that through Article 370, the Constitution gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir; (b)………. ) Government of India had very earnestly told that J&K had no special status in Constitution of India through Art-370 ( (a): n the Constitution of India, there is no mention of ‘Special Status to Jammu and Kashmir’. Article 370 provides for ‘Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir’…..). With this serious handling of J&K affairs started which surely could lead to peace and stability in J&K since the anti elements were sure to sense that GOI appears to have started seeing J&K affairs much above treating the issues only from the point of view of local power politics. The day the answer to Q-138 appeared in media one journalist called the ‘writer’ early morning and said “sir, Art-370 is there and special status taken ‘away”, in a way he surely complemented the UPA-1 government lead by Narendra Modi. One news paper reported that it has been for the first time that GOI has given a very sensitive reply on Art-370 but it has very comfortably carried through even in Kashmir Valley .
Indian leadership that mattered in power as well as outside power arena had been keeping and still keeping focus on Kashmir Valley only ( where as “J&K State” then comprised also of Jammu Region about 1.5 times Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region about more than 7 times Kashmir Valley) where after October 1947 the percentage of local non Muslims had fallen to less than 5%. The Valley leadership who were not for Pakistan /and or two nation theory did sense some extra goodwill / favour for them due to delayed accession of J&K as well as Indian leadership (that had just held the reins after independence) engaged with multifarious internal & external issues and hence appears to have nurtured the theories like J&K not being ‘total’ India like other states for their own personal political ambitions. In a way they went uncontested ‘preaching’ that J&K was a Muslim majority state but people of “Kashmir Valley” still decided to accede to India dominion rejecting Pakistan &hence the then Indian government had made some special promises to Kashmiris. And in their support they quoted Art-370 as a symbol of special status & also as abridge with India. Whereas it ( Art-370) is neither a special status article nor a Bridge and instead has been drafted even as a temporary provisions.
Not only Kashmir Valley leaders but even political leaders from outside Kashmir valley have been talking of conditional accession/ special status. No doubt some talked of removing special status but they too indirectly helped the other side since that too acknowledged existence of non-existent ‘specialstatus’ .
The way the issues in J&K and expressions about J&K had been handled upto 2015 it had provided grounds even to the separatists and anti India elements to operate with in Indian territories. Since the Myths about J&K that had been allowed to grow for 7 decades but now have been logically demolished as false on ground more earnestly after 2019 the separatist as well as Anti India elements have started finding it hard to operate in J&K and “State” has started moving towards peace and stability in a regular way. No doubt the wrongs of 7 decades have made the path to peace and stability very rough but it shall smoothen soon.