Restore Articles 370 and 35A! Release All Opposition Leaders in Kashmir!

దేశమంటే మట్టి కాదోయ్ దేశమంటే మనుషులోయ్ – గురజాడ అప్పారావు
“The meaning of a nation is not soil, A nation means its people” – Gurajada Apparao, a great Telugu poet said this in 1910.

The Presidential proclamation abrogating Article 370, dissolving the state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating it into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir is nothing but a betrayal and violation Indian Constitution. It betrays the people of India, and our constitution. All this has been done by the Modi Government, in its usual secretive, conspiratorial, and illegal manner, burning the constitutional and historical bridge that connected Kashmir to the rest of India.
Just like the decision of demonetization did not solve the problem of corruption and black money – rather it encouraged corruption and created new miseries for common people. Likewise, these draconian and conspiratorial decisions regarding Jammu and Kashmir, when an elected State Assembly no longer exists will not solve the Kashmir dispute, but will worsen the situation. The intensified militarization and crackdown on Opposition parties will further alienate the people of Kashmir.

Modi Government knew they were violating the Constitution and destroying democracy; hence Kashmir was put under siege past week. 35,000 fresh troops have been deployed in the Kashmir Valley, which was already the world’s most militarized zone. Warnings issued to tourists and pilgrims to leave the Valley caused panic, even as Kashmiri people have opened their doors to the guests in their state. In addition, Opposition politicians were placed under house arrest overnight, the internet has been shut down, petrol sales have been stopped, and the CRPF has taken over police stations.
According to the Constitution, no decision regarding redrawing the boundaries of J&K or regarding Articles 370 can be taken without the consent of the State Constituent Assembly. Since the State Constituent Assembly no longer exists, Article 370 has the status of a permanent part of the Constitution. In 2018, the J&K State Assembly was dissolved illegally without giving any claimants a chance to form Government. The Central Government then avoided conducting elections to the J&K Assembly together with the Parliamentary elections. Now, without taking the people of J&K or their elected representatives into consultation, J&K itself has been dissolved and demoted to two “union territories” where the Centre will basically rule! This is a violation of the principle of federalism which mandates that the Centre cannot ride rough shod over States.

The Timing of the Decision:

The timing of the move is clearly to shift the headlines away from the economy and Unnao. The country was outraged over the attempt to murder the Unnao rape survivor. Numerous corporate who favored and guided Modi government’s policies have been speaking against the economic slowdown. They were questioning the lack of jobs, rising unemployment, destruction of automobile sector resulting loss of 10 lakh jobs, falling value of rupee, reducing consumption and failing economy. This coup on the Constitution, while arbitrarily annihilating J&K, also gives the Modi government excuses not to answer any tough questions on other burning issues. Ask the Government any tough question – and they will hide behind the triumphalist noises on TV over Kashmir.

Is This A Solution To The Kashmir Issue?

The Modi government describes this betrayal of the constitution and the people of Kashmir as a victory for national integration. There cannot be a bigger lie. Far from bringing the people of Kashmir closer to India, this move has only pushed them away to deeper alienation. The fact that the government has brought the state under absolute central control clearly indicates that the government treats Kashmir only as a land mass with economic potential and strategic significance, and not as a people with their own identity and aspirations for dignity and democracy. This is much the same way the state treats the adivasis and the rural poor who are being subjected to massive eviction to enable the corporate land sharks to grab their land and resources. Why is such heavy handed imposition on Jammu & Kashmir, keeping the people of the state, the biggest stakeholder, out of the picture.

Today Jammu And Kashmir: Tomorrow…?

The injustice meted out to the people of Jammu & Kashmir should serve as an eye-opener for the whole of India. It is a pointer to the shape of things to come. By disregarding the Constitution on Article 370, the Modi government has made it clear that it considers the Constitution as just a document that can be arbitrarily interpreted and tampered with. If 370 can be effectively scrapped such secretively, tomorrow the whole provision of reservation for SC/ST and OBCs can be scuttled in the name of social equality. The RSS brigade have many a times expressed such intentions.

If a state enjoying a special constitutional status can be summarily dismantled overnight and brought under central control, tomorrow any state opposing the Modi government can be equally vulnerable to the Modi government’s marauding mission of centralization. If the government can invoke ‘urgency’ to impose a veritable state of Emergency on Jammu & Kashmir, tomorrow democracy can be similarly suspended in any other state or in the whole of India.

Every democracy-loving Indian should stand with the people of Kashmir at this hour of betrayal and unequivocally call for restoration of the constitutional status of Jammu & Kashmir. All opposition leaders must be released forthwith and the normal democratic rights and communication and transportation facilities restored without any delay. The parliamentary majority of the Modi government cannot be treated as a license to subject India to governance by arbitrary and conspiratorial means.

On the eve of the 72nd anniversary of India’s independence, we must hold the government of India accountable to the constitutional foundation of unity in diversity and to the commitment of a secular, democratic and federal republic.

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