Tinkering with Article 35A intolerable, will "undermine" Kashmir's identity, character

By Syed Mujtaba Hussain*
The Supreme Court of India is currently hearing petitions under Articles 370 and 35A filed by an NGO over the special status of the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The Kashmiris have rejected the move terming it ill-intentioned and BJP quest for change of demography.
To recall, according to Lord Mountbatten’s plan for partition of subcontinent (June 3, 1947), around 500 princely states acceded to India. But on October 27, 1947 the Indian army landed in the Himalayan valley of Kashmir, leading to what many consider as leading to one of the world's deadliest disputes.
The Indian forces entered Kashmir after Maharaja Hari Singh, faced with an internal revolt as well external invasion, requesting assistance from India's armed forces. Pakistan's Pashtun tribal militias had crossed the border of the state, and the Maharaja had already lost control of the western districts of his kingdom.
The Maharaja agreed to hand over control of his defence, communications, and foreign affairs departments to the Indian government. Though both sides agreed the accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh would be ratified by a referendum, which was to be held after hostilities ceased, that vote was never held even after 70 years, making Kashmir an unsolved legacy of partition.

Articles 370 and 35A of Indian Constitution

Indian political leadership, instead of attending to United Nations resolutions over Kashmir, tried to pacify Kashmiris through different legal deceptions. In 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru struck a deal with Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, an influential political figure in Kashmir, and inserted Article 370 in the Indian constitution.
The article defines Kashmir’s political relationship with New Delhi by granting special status to J&K. It restricts New Delhi’s legislative jurisdiction only to defence, foreign affairs, and communications.
In 1954, through a presidential order, Article 35A was passed under Article 370 (1) (d) of the Indian constitution. The Article accords special rights and privileges of the permanent residents of Kashmir in government jobs, land acquisition and other public projects.
On September 14, 2018, Indian Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the constitution to January next year in view of the ongoing law-and-order situation in the Kashmir Valley.
The Supreme Court’s hearing on the annulment of Article 35A has once again created fear in the valley. Former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief and National Conference, two regional mainstream parties, did not contested the planned polls in Kashmir.
Separatist leaders, trade unions, religious organisations etc threatened that any attempt to change the demography of the state by “tinkering” with Article 35A will be “intolerable” and warned that Kashmiris would “spill their blood” to safeguard the identity and character of the state and “no court, whether in India or in Pakistan, has any jurisdiction to take decisions that can in any way affect the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir”.
Article 370 and Article 35A have been a contentious issue ever since the state of J&K was annexed to the Republic of India. India has avoided resolution of Kashmir through UN resolutions and have been scheming many political and legal strategies to portray settlement of the issue. Judicial activism is one of the key features of South Asia since 1980.
The judiciaries in Pakistan and India, on numerous occasions, have turned down overturned controversial policies of their respective governments in the greater public interests and attempted to deliver justice to the weaker sections of society.

Syed Mujtaba Hussain

Tinkering with the Article 35A, 370 is used as a political strategy by the Centre to change the demography of the state. Be it the rigging of 1987 elections or atrocities inflicted by Public Safety Act (PSA) and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), New Delhi’s policies towards Kashmir haven’t changed much, Centre has never really given Kashmir the promised ‘right’. What Congress did behind the curtain BJP is doing it openly.
It is time for the Supreme Court of India to decide the issue on merit. The Apex court may decide not to attend to the petitions that go against UN resolutions, rather bound its government to sincerely settle the fate of Kashmiris being humiliated on a daily basis. Let the petition in the Supreme Court be the beacon of hope and peace in the region.
---
*Human rights activist, observer of socio-political contexts. Contact: jaan.aalam@gmail.com

Comments

US research: 40% of India's casteist Facebook posts are anti-reservation, anti-Dalit

By Rajiv Shah
A recent American civil society research has found that 40% of India's casteist posts on Facebook (FB) have anti-reservation slant. Asserting that the reservation policy in India is similar to affirmative action in the United States, the research study, titled "Facebook India: Towards The Tipping Point of Violence Caste and Religious Hate Speech", says, this type of hate content on FB is mainly directed against Dalits and Adivasis.

Sanjiv Bhatt paying price for deposing on Modi role in Gujarat riots: Wife Shweta

Counterview Desk
Following the Jamnagar sessions court ordering life imprisonment to former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for his alleged involvement in three decades old custodial death case, his wife Shweta Bhatt has said that he has been sentenced for a “for a crime he did not commit”, even as criticizing the Indian Police Service (IPS) Association, Gujarat, for not standing up for him.

Senior advocates targeted because they took up cases against Amit Shah: Lawyers' NGO

Counterview Desk
The Lawyers Collective (LC), an NGO claiming to promote human rights issues, has expressed surprise at the latest move by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR against the Lawyers Collective (LC), its president Anand Grover and unknown office bearers for alleged violation of the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA).

How Gujarat govt imposed curbs on livestock export for 'fear' of losing BJP vote share

By RK Misra*
Insidious are the ways authorities function, preaching one thing, practicing quite another. Administrative muscle-flexing to suit political goals was on display when the BJP-led Vijay Rupani government in Gujarat banned the export of livestock days ahead of Eid. Even the Narendra Modi-led government expressed its intent to confirm it countrywide, but stopped short of doing so.

One of the least peaceful countries, India's global peace ranking deteriorates: Report

By Rajiv Shah
A just-released report has asserted that India's ranking in the Global Peace Index (GPI) is 141st among 163 countries, deteriorating by four ranks in a year. Ranking 163 countries by providing a score to each, the report, prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), headquartered in Sydney, Australia, has found India to be one of the least peaceful nations in the region.

Demand for Bharat Ratna to Dalai Lama as top RSS leader warns China of 'strong' action

Nava Thakuria*
Dharamshala: Indian supporters for a free Tibet have urged the Government of India to confer Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, on the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, for his “immense contributions” in creating goodwill for India in the last six decades. A declaration, adopted at the 6th All-India Tibet Support Groups’ Conference held on June 15 and 16 in Dharamshala township of Himachal Pradesh, said that the Nobel laureate continues to be a holy ambassador of Indian culture enriched with non-violence, compassion and religious harmony.

Sabarmati 'cleaned up' swimming pool style: Untreated effluents discharged in river

Counterview Desk
In a fresh letter to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, senior Gujarat environmentalists Rohit Prajapati and Krishnakant of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (PSS) have taken strong objection to the recent clean-up drive of the about 11.3 km stretch of Sabarmati riverbed undertaken by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), terming it as “swimming pool type clean-up.” The river’s total length is 371 km.

Jharkhand mob lynching: Adivasis protest police 'inaction', FIR against victims

Counterview Desk
The Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch (JJM), a civil rights network, on Monday sponsored a protest against the police action against the Adivasi victims of the lynching which took on April 10, 2019, in Jurmu village of Dumri block in Gumla district of Jharkhand. The incident led the death of Prakash Lakda, aged 50.

Gujarat govt 'considers' temples, charitable institutions as shops and establishment

By Pankti Jog*
The Gujarat state assembly recently passed a new law which would "govern" the working condition of shops and establishments. One of the most talked about provisions of the Act is, it allow shops and establishments across Gujarat to function 24 hours.

There is no 'separate' Kashmir story, as there is for Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, Palestine

By Mohan Guruswamy*
Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of South Asia. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. The name Kashmir derives from the Sanskrit Kashyapmeru. The Greeks knew it as Kaspeiria. Herodotus called it Kaspatyros.

Counterview

Search This Blog