Eroding special law for Jammu and Kashmir

Eroding special law for Jammu and Kashmir

FPJ BureauUpdated: Tuesday, July 02, 2019, 11:36 PM IST
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Parliament’s approval for extending President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir posed no difficulty, even though the Government still has no majority in the Rajya Sabha. Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the enabling Bill in the two Houses, promised to hold the State Assembly poll in the next six months. The debate on the Bill exposed the old fault lines that have disfigured the State polity since Independence. Shah raked up the rather controversial role Nehru played at the time of accession of J and K to India and the alleged blunders committed at the time which allowed Pakistan to control one-third of Kashmir. The subsequent pandering of Sheikh Abdullah, whose commitment to India was always suspect too, came in for an adverse mention.

Predictably, the Congress tried to defend the first prime minister but history weakened its case. India did squander an opportunity to fully integrate Kashmir with the rest of the Union the consequences of which are still being paid by the country. Mitigating circumstances cited by those keen to defend Nehru do not add up to much to justify the huge material, human and diplomatic costs still being inflicted on the nation. In short, the way the accession was arranged at a most critical time, when the beleaguered Maharaja of Kashmir could have signed on the dotted line, must rank as one of the outstanding follies of our times.

However, nothing can be gained by raking up the past when the focus ought to be on finding ways to ensure normalcy in the troubled state. Thankfully, the post-Pulwama, post-Balakot period has seen a sharp drop in ISI-inspired mayhem. Maybe after the Modi Government in one fell swoop demolished the old bogey of a nuclear Pakistan having become invincible against any retaliatory response from India, especially by breaching the sanctity of the Line of Control, the ISI terror factory seems to have suspended its operations.

Besides, the near bankruptcy of Pakistan and the looming threat of blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body to monitor money-laundering for terrorist operations, has forced Pakistan’s Terror Inc to lie low. Post-Pulwama terror in Kashmir is now said to be the handiwork of home-grown jihadis. It is the task of the Government to try and win back the trust of Kashmiris who feel alienated from the country.

The Home Minister offered the olive branch to the separatists, including the Hurriyat, asking them to come to the negotiating table for the redressal of their genuine grievances. Recalling Vajpayee’s famous words about resolving the problem through ‘Jamhooriyat, Kashmiryat and Insaniyat’, Shah said the Government would, however, offer no quarter to those who fomented terror. He was most pugnacious in his attack on the previous governments, recalling how Kashmiri Pundits were driven out of their homes in the Valley, or how the terrorists had wiped out the Sufi influence on its people.

Of course, the Home Minister talked about Article 370 and its temporary status and the ill-conceived Article 35A which bars Indian citizens from other States from owning property or getting employment in Kashmir. A petition challenging Article 35A is pending in the Supreme Court. As for the abrogation of Article 370, it is not on the cards that it can be done even by the present government which has a huge majority in the Lok Sabha and a near majority in the Rajya Sabha.

Crucial is for the J and K Assembly to initiate the process for its removal which on the current reckoning looks highly unlikely. Meanwhile, the J and K Reservation (Amendment) Bill was approved by Parliament. It amends the J and K reservation law to provide reservations in appointments and promotions in state government jobs and in educational institutions to those living within ten kilometers of the international border. In the normal course, these benefits could not be given to the people living close to the international border even in the Jammu region without the prior assent of the State assembly. With no Assembly in place yet, the State Governor’s permission was taken. In very small doses, the constitutional fetters on India to integrate Kashmir fully with the rest of the country are being loosened, which is only to be commended.

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