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| Syed Shahabuddin is a well known in the political and academic circles as well as in the mass media and does not need an introduction. In his many incarnations he has been a university teacher, a diplomat, who served as an ambassador and a government official who was at the time of his seeking pre-mature retirement, the Joint Secretary in charge of South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the Ministry of External Affairs. He was a MP for three terms between 1979 and 1996 and made a mark as a Parliamentarian. He has edited Muslim India, the monthly journal of research, documentation and reference from 1983 to 2002 and again from July 2006. He has been a regular contributor on current affairs in the media and a familiar participant in seminars and TV discussions. He has been a member of many learned bodies and associated with several Muslim institutions and organizations. More... |
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| Break-up J&K, Integrate Jammu and Ladakh and Grant Autonomy to Kashmir An ideologically motivated governor, an insensitive state government, an inept administration, opportunist political parties, an indifferent centre, secessionists in the Valley and separatists in Jammu combined to create the biggest political crisis in the state of J & K since 1989. Perhaps the governments, like the observers, were blinded by the apparent return of normalcy, with spectacular rise in tourist traffic, to ignore the simmering discontent in the Valley over the proposed lease of 100 acres of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Yatra Board. The formal Notification at the end of the June, 2008 set into motion the vicious cycle of action and reaction and widened and brought to the fore the political and emotional gulf between the two regions and uncovered the historical and psychological roots of the Kashmir problem. The agreement between the state government and the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti is welcome but it is not likely to restore the status quo ante or provide a lasting solution because the crisis has not only politicized but communalised the long-standing conflict of interest and historic antipathy between the Valley and Jammu and turned them into incompatible partners in a forced marriage. The Act, which established the Board, needs to be amended so that the Governor is not the ex-officio chairman and that it is composed of state subjects only with an eminent person as its chairman. It should clearly distinguish between the statutory responsibility of the state government to provide necessary facilities for the Yatris all along the route and limit the role of the Board to arrangements at the holy site and the performance of religious rites. The state government should take all necessary measures to make shelter, food, health facilities and other necessities available to the Yatris at affordable prices apart from making security arrangements. The Act should also associate the Kashmiris who have been serving the Yatris since the Yatra began.The Yatra should not become a purely Hindu affair. The blockade of all commercial traffic to and from the Valley leading to shortage of medicines, even baby food, has made the Kashmiris conscious of their vulnerability and isolation. Consequent march to the LoC on 11 August by the fruit industry supported by the Hurriyat and PDP, unprecedented and massive demonstrations in the Valley displaying Pakistani flags and Jinnah’s portraits and shouting pro-Pakistan and pro-Azadi slogans, followed by total boycott of Independence Day and total bandh, by week long curfew and severe police repression have alienated the Valley, particularly the younger generation, and added to mutual distrust between the Valley and Jammu. The Valley has been turned into a theatre of open rebellion for the first time since 1989. The political clock has been turned back by two decades and we feel helpless. All our investment over the years has been reduced to nought. Kashmiris are angry and openly spout hatred towards India. Indeed free election, peace and stability, development and prosperity have failed to win the heart and mind of the people. Kashmir is no longer a bilateral problem between India and Pakistan or between India and the Kashmiris. Relations between the Kashmir and Jammu now stand completely polarized on communal and regional lines with no meeting point between the two. The main demand of the people of the Valley is fulfillment of the promise of self-determination which may result in secession, while the core demand of Jammu is removal of political and administrative dominance of the Valley through separation from the state and integration with the Union. In one word, Kashmir demands secession and Jammu demands separation. It is true that the people of Jammu and Ladakh do not see eye to eye with the people of the Valley; despite their long list of grievances they would live and die in India, while the people of Kashmir are divided between accession to Pakistan and independence, but united in their rejection of India. We claim sovereignty over the entire state as on the date of accession. Years ago we expressed our resolve to liberate the PoK, whatever the cost. We never adopted the same line towards the area under Chinese occupation. The question today is not whether we can ever regain PoK and Northern Areas, not to speak of Aksai Chin, but whether we can keep the Valley, Jammu and Lakadh. The artificial state of J & K created by the Sikhs, the British and the Dogras and laboriously nurtured by India for 60 years has developed such deep cracks that it would be wise to consider the break-up of the state into three ethno-geographic regions taking note of the religious, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and social differences among the three regions and come to terms with the reality. It is possible to reduce the problem to well-defined Kashmiri-speaking areas. Jammu and Ladakh in any case do not share the secessionist goals. So trifurcation, not on the basis of religion, but of geography and language appears to be a necessary step forward towards a final solution. Also the people of the Valley want Azadi and not replacement of India by Pakistan. They know that India and Pakistan are not comparable in what they can give to, or do for, the Valley, be it tourist traffic or educational facilities for its students or market for its products. They are aware of the situation in Pakistan and may see a continuing link with India a matter of lasting benefit. Therefore, if today the people of the Valley are to be consulted on their future, they should have four options; integration with India or Pakistan, independence and autonomy within India. Kashmiris may well opt for the last in their own interest. A permanent settlement indeed serves the national interest of both India and Pakistan. Both can reduce their defence expenditure and invest the savings in development at accelerated pace. With Kashmir out of the way, bilateral economic, cultural and educational cooperation may scale new heights, with free movement of skill and experience, knowledge and technology, goods of trade and culture and development resources. Such exchanges may over a period of time obliterate the unhappy memories of Muslim invasions and Muslim rule from the Hindu mind, heal old wounds and erase old complexes and set both countries to strive jointly to find their due place in a shrinking world. Those who oppose any concession on Kashmir argue that autonomous status for Kashmir would weaken the Union, generate demand for similar status by some states as well as strengthen and revive separatist tendencies in some others. It has to be understood that Kashmir is unique. To begin with J & K was not a part of India when we became independent, but became a part of the Union only on accession. Also, Kashmir is only one among more than 500 princely states on accession to the Union, to retain its original boundary. All others were broken up and integrated at various levels in different states. Also we should realize that all over the world decentralization of power and devolution of resources to constituent units have removed grievances, smoothed points of friction and strengthened the federal set-up by making the units realize that their future lies in togetherness. India will not disintegrate because all states have a stake in its unity. It is also argued that special status for the Valley, a Muslim majority territory, will weaken India as a secular state and on the rebound transform it into a Hindu state. India has a huge population with many religions and denominations and a big area and the recognition of the distinct status of the Valley will make only a marginal difference to the Hindu-Muslim proportion in the country and secular order will continue to be essential for its survival. Moreover, India is a secular state not just because of its large Muslim population but because of its age-old traditions, also because our philosophy of life rejects the divisive ideology of Hindutva which equates Indian nationalism with Hindu religion, rowing against the universal trend against theological states. Some people apprehend that if the Valley becomes an autonomous state, sooner or later it will gravitate towards Pakistan. This is extremely doubtful in view of its history and culture. As an autonomous state, Kashmiris are bound to become more jealous of their identity and see advantage in maintaining free intercourse with both India and Pakistan serving as a bridge between the two. Kashmiris know the plight of Kashmiris and others who migrated to Pakistan and what is happening in Baluchistan and Sindh and what happened to East Pakistan. Why should they lose their identity and became part of a failing state?. On the other hand, how long can we use Jammu to restrain the Valley, if it wants to break away? We are a state based on the free will of the people. We cannot deny freedom to the Kashmiris to define their ultimate destiny. When we accepted accession, it was done only after endorsement by Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah, the acknowledged leader of the Kashmiri people. This was not a legal requirement. When we promised self-determination to the people when circumstances change. This was also not a legal requirement. We have to be true to our word and fulfill our moral obligation. Moreover,we cannot rule over an angry and sulking people by force of arms. After complete autonomy is granted to the Valley, we can negotiate with Pakistan not only for a regime of free movement across the LoC but also for grant of similar autonomy to PoK and the Northern Areas. We may also take the initiative in due course to propose a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation which will pave the way towards the formation of a South Asian Union. If Kashmiris agree, we may offer partnership to Pakistan in managing the Valley, which will ultimately give Kashmir its own place in the South Asian Union. It is finally said that Pakistan will not give up its long term ideological goal of restoring Muslim rule in India and therefore it will find new excuses and invent new pinpricks; it will continue to train and arm terrorists for operation in India. This is an absurd proposition like the propaganda that India has not accepted Partition and will one deny swallow Pakistan. The Pakistani people will see through the game. And we are strong enough to defend ourselves. It has been alternatively proposed that J & K should have a federal structure to cater to the legitimate aspirations of Jammu and Lakadh. The addition of yet another level will make the structure not only unstable but also unmanageable. It will not serve to reduce Jammu’s grievances. It will add to the distance between the common man and the apex of the pyramid. In any case, internal autonomy alone will not do. India has to press Pakistan to open more land routes across the LoC and facilitate trade, withdraw armed forces from the urban areas to the LoC/international borders for their defence, for patrolling the highways and for securing strategic civil and military installations. There has to be zero tolerance for violation of human rights by the armed forces. The state government has to generously compensate the next-of-kin of those who have been killed in the disturbances or extra-judicial and fake encounters, and of those who have been traceless for years. The state government has to release those who have been under detention without trial for more than two years and expedite the prosecution of those against whom there is concrete evidence. The state government has to decentralize administration and development and, as far as possible, man the administrative structure, from the Panchayat to the state government, with local people. The crisis has uncovered the core of the Kashmir problem. The political establishment as well as the intelligentsia should not shut their eyes like an ostrich in a storm but apply their mind seriously to find a permanent solution. The Kashmir problem has been like a millstone round our neck, vitiated the environment of the Sub-continent and, if I may add, blocked our admission to the UN Security Council as a permanent member and denied us our due place in the comity of nations. To sum up, Pakistan cannot snatch Kashmir from us by force; Kashmiris cannot gain complete independence by force against the will of India and Pakistan; India cannot win the trust and the loyalty of Kashmiris by force. Our only logical, rational and realistic option is to reduce the problem to the Valley, offer special status with real autonomy to the Kashmiris with external relations, defence and communication under our control. There are times when old shibboleths have to be demolished and new beginnings have to be made, as we did in 1953 and 1975. We failed to gain peace with Pakistan and the trust and loyalty of the Kashmiris despite enormous expenditure of valuable resources. We have a moral option to fulfill the promise of maximum autonomy (‘sky is the limit’) made by the late PM PV Narsimha Rao, in terms of Article 370 of the Constitution and the Agreements of 1950 and 1953. In any case, it militants against our overall national interest to keep the Kashmir fire burning. New Delhi 1 September, 2008 |
