OVERVIEW
Say ‘Kashmir’, and what are the associations likely to pop up in people’s minds? Beauty, Himalayas, a paradise on Earth? Not really. A pop quiz conducted by Newsroom showed that the majority of people associate Kashmir with terrorism, Pakistan and of course, the highly controversial Article 370.
This Article has been a spark point amongst the Indian Intelligentsia for ages now and the common people have been polarised to two opposite sides. 370, in its essence, gives the state of Jammu and Kashmir an autonomous status, thus giving India very limited control over them. I feel that while this was justified in the past, it is high time that Article 370 is abolished.
HISTORY
Most of us would have studied that Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state pre-independence. So how come it ended up as a state of India? Ironically, it was actually because Pakistan indirectly forced it to.
The state, as mentioned earlier, was an independent princely state with a Hindu king, Hari Singh, and a majority of Muslims. While India and Pakistan battled for Kashmir, an independent secular organisation, The National Conference, led by Sheikh Abdullah represented the views of the common people clearly. This view was simple: Jammu and Kashmir should be an independent state, and the King should be removed.
Pakistan felt that since Kashmir had a Muslim majority, it fundamentally was to be a part of their nation. So in accordance to that, in October 1947 they sent a group of tribal infiltrators from their side to capture Kashmir. This forced the Maharaja to call upon military support from India. While India was willing to provide the support they made sure that the Maharaja signed an instrument of accession beforehand. This eventually led to the signing of article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir becoming part of India.
What it States: The article gives Jammu and Kashmir special status under whichThe citizens of Jammu and Kashmir have dual citizenship.The national flag of Jammu and Kashmir is different than that of India.Jammu - Kashmir's assembly's term is of 6 years, whereas that of the assemblies of other states of India is 5 years.Within Jammu and Kashmir, insulting the Indian national flag or national symbols is not a crime.The orders of the Supreme Court of India are not valid within Jammu - Kashmir.
Parliament of India Jammu - Kashmir may make laws in respect of the extremely limited area.If a woman from Jammu and Kashmir is married to a man from any other state of India, then the woman's J&K citizenship shall be terminated.
Conversely, if they get married to someone of Pakistan then he will get Jammu - Kashmir citizenship.Because of Article 370 RTI (Right to Information) is not applicable in Kashmir. RTE (Right to Education) is not applicable. CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) does not hold authority.Shariah law is applicable to females.Panchayats do not have rights in Kashmir.Minorities in Kashmir [Hindu-Sikh] do not get the 16% reservation.Because of Section 370, people from other states cannot buy land in Kashmir.
Different Voices:
Indian Government: The Modi government has had a shaky stand on Article 370 throughout its 4.5 year tenure. Their stand seems more like a political rhetoric to gain Hindu support. Narendra Modi belonged to a constituency which wanted the repealing of Article 370, so, naturally, he raised a lot of noise about removing 370 during his election campaign.
However, when the Modi led government came to power they entered into an alliance with The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the speculation of abolishing 370 dissipated.
After a meeting with the PM in August 2017 Mehbooba Mufti went on to say that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given "100 percent assurance" to the PDP-BJP government's Agenda of Alliance which says there will be no fiddling with Article 370.”
Even in the ‘No Confidence’ meeting pulled by the opposition, when asked about the commitment of the government to scrap article 370, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, replied by saying the government had no plans of doing such a thing.
The speculation has returned now that the Modi government has pulled out of its alliance with PDP in June. This move by the government is being judged as a play to gain the Hindu vote bank as elections are just 6 months away.
International Community: The international community has come out again and again saying that it is high time the bloodshed in Kashmir should end and that all three, The Kashmiri people, The Indian government and the Pakistani Government should have a written dialogue with the United States of America as the mediator.
Kashmiri: The Kashmiri people feel like Article 370 is a testimony to the fact that accession of Jammu & Kashmir to India was not absolute; and no matter to whatever extent the Indian parliament may have diluted it, it still holds its importance till the time the citizens of J&K are allowed to choose a future for themselves through a referendum as per the promise of India's first Prime Minister. Majority of them do not want it repelled and even the ones that do say that it should be repelled, and then Kashmir should be declared an independent state.
Basharat Ali, 24, student of Conflict Studies said, “The existence of Article 370 does not serve the interests of the people of Kashmir. It only gives status quoist elements a reason to believe that Kashmir has already been 'granted enough', so there is no need to give them anything else. I think we need to challenge this notion, let the Article 370 go, Kashmir will see a new movement.”
The Opinion
According to me, Article 370 should not longer exist; its damage is far greater than any benefits it may reap. There are several factors which point to the conclusion that it should be put out of effect.
Firstly, it encourages separationist tendency, which frankly is a contradiction to India’s pride, which is the concept of unity and integrity in diversity. This also happens to be one of the nation’s core values and having people of an Indian state feel as though they are not citizens of the country is detrimental to the unity of India.
Second, there are adverse effects on the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir, given that people from outside Kashmir cannot invest in the state, but property or land there, and practice any business. Article 370 has put a cap on the economy for Kashmir as well as the country as a whole; and this was brought upon by Kashmiris themselves.
The CAG, Lokpal, and CBI all have the power to operate in all Indian states, except Kashmir. Hence, none of them can investigate corruption issues there.
If Pakistanis get married to any Kashmiri girl, they, by default, become Indian citizens. Keeping in mind the fact that Pakistan, due to its deep involvement with terrorism, is a growing security threat to India, this provision makes India more vulnerable.
The Right to Information is invalid in Jammu and Kashmir, along with the right to file a complaint. These are essential pillars of a democracy and necessary for a transparent government. Their absence leads to the assumption that politicians there have something to hide and therefore, refuse to abolish Article 370. Lastly, only Muslims can become Chief Ministers of J&K. Politics seems to be in the name of religion- not a very democratic characteristic. In conclusion, due to all the reasons listed above, it is vital that Article 370 is done away with. Maybe it was imperative that it existed earlier, or maybe not, but in the present, it is evident that it must be abrogated, for the betterment of the people of Kashmir as well as the nation as a whole.
Comments