J&K: A BJP 'recipe' for conditional, tamed, controlled political activity, like some charity

Ram Madhav, Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal

Counterview Desk
Counting Days – Kashmir, a Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) initiative, has released an article by chief editor of a top Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) media house Kashmir Times, Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, to respond to BJP's national general secretary Ram Madhav’s article ‘It is time to allow J&K full-fledged political activity’, published in the Indian Express (May 23, 2020).
Madhav in his article had reasons that today the region is “largely quiet”. Criticizing “detractors” who attribute this calm to the excessive presence of security forces and arrests of leaders, he says, “Except for half-a-dozen senior leaders, most politicians have been released. The presence of security forces too has been rolled back significantly. Even then, people are not on the streets pelting stones and shouting azadi.”
Madhav believes, given this situation, “It is time the state administration appreciates this and pays the people handsomely for their openness. Certain harsh measures like denial of 4G services, which were necessary under special circumstances, can now be done away with, as the state administration and security apparatus are capable of handling difficult situations.”

Jamwal responds:

“Political activity” means the freedom to promote a political ideology, liberty to speak, dissent and intervene in social, political, administrative decisions and actions. No political activity exists without the freedom to exercise options and freedom to express ideas.
What does political activity mean in Kashmir? What does it mean in a place ruled by military jackboots and concertina wires?
Hundreds of political activists of all hues faced months of detention. Some released on conditional bonds that forbid them to speak on certain matters including the dilution of the special status of Jammu & Kashmir and its reorganization, some continue to be jailed and many also placed under house arrest.
Tens of hundreds of ordinary men -- activists, traders and lawyers -- continue to be in prison in distant lands. Journalists are summoned by Cyber Police for their reports and social media comments and three are facing criminal charges under draconian laws. These rules of engagement are reinforced with regular surveillance and methods of control. Summon! Intimidate! Detain! Demonise!
So, when Ram Madhav writes about time being ripe for introducing “full-fledged political activity”, it could only mean a euphemism for politics that is certified, endorsed and stamped by New Delhi and his party.
The idea of political activity in fetters is not only being normalised. It is being sold like a commodity and so it must come with its pack of lies that serve the interest of denigrating politics of any kind that does not comply with the whims of the rulers.

Everybody incarcerated is thus tarred with the brush of terrorism and called a ‘terrorist-sympathiser’ to give legitimacy to the hegemony of one kind of politics and political agenda. The calm in Kashmir, induced by maintaining a constant atmosphere of surveillance and intimidation, is being presumed as public acceptance, consent and involvement.

Madhav sees the notification for the new domicile rule as the logical end of the abrogation of Articles 370, 35A, which he deems discriminated against those were not holders of Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) and robbed them of “their fundamental rights”.

The calm in Kashmir, induced by maintaining a constant atmosphere of surveillance and intimidation, is being presumed as public acceptance, consent and involvement

Doors for the outsiders for getting domicile status will open by trampling the rights of the original inhabitants, subjecting them to prolonged sufferings and indignities. And now, according to Madhav, the time has come to “reward” them for their coerced silence with the offer of conditional, tamed and controlled “political activity”, thrust upon them like some charity.
This article is full of exaggerations and absolute white lies. For example, not all west Pakistani refugees belong to scheduled caste (SC) communities. The sanitation workers brought from Punjab in 1950s are less than 2000 (300-400 families) in numbers. The Chhamb refugees are already state subjects, and so are the Kashmiri Pandits, unless he's talking about Pandits who migrated 200 years ago!
One of the main claims of the Home Minister, while announcing the abrogation of 370 in the Indian Parliament was how this will liberate the women of J&K. He lied about the fact that the question of gender rights was pretty much settled after 2002 in the state. Women do not lose permanent residency rights after marrying.
Women had 50 percent reservation in professional colleges. In reality, all that is now vanished after August 5, 2019 and the women of Kashmir are legally reduced to the stature of Indian women, who did not enjoy many of the freedoms that existed in Kashmir’s customary and legal mechanisms. Similarly, the refuge that Madhav is seeking under the pretension of saving the SC community and giving a large number of residents their legitimate opportunities under the new domicile rules is nothing but pure white lie!
Their Lies! Their Politics! Their Activity! Their Agenda! - and History, our witness. History is testimony to who were the jackals and who were the hyenas in our land!

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog