By J N Raina



The report on the Centre’s relationship with Jammu and Kashmir is neither consolatory nor worrisome. It is just an exercise in futility. For, barring the ruling National Conference, led by Farooq Abdullah, its findings have left almost every political party befogged and disappointed.
The Working Group, headed by Mr Justice (retired) Sagheer Ahmad, has recommended among other things ;that the Centre ‘could’ consider autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir to the pre-1953 level, as proposed by the National Conference, time and again.


Together with, he has also suggested that it should be for the people to decide how long Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, guaranteeing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, should continue in its present form, and when to make it permanent or abrogate it.
The NC wanted the Centre to examine the question of autonomy in the light of the historic Kashmir Accord (signed by Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah) or in “some other manner—or on the basis of other formula--- to restore autonomy to the extent possible.”

The Working Group’s report was presented to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on December 23, 2009, with all sound and fury, signifying nothing in real terms. The Working Group was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006.

While Mr Justice (rtd) Sagheer Ahmad is seen to be favourable towards the NC, he has rejected the so-called ‘self-rule’ demand voiced by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), led by former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayed., for non-submission of documents. `
Let there be no misunderstanding. Jammu and Kashmir already enjoys maximum autonomy under Article 370. It has its own Constitution and a separate flag.

The Article was incorporated in the Indian Constitution to safeguard the state’s special position. But according to constitutional experts, Article 370 was not considered a device to give Kashmir some special status vis-à-vis India. It was a mechanism for extending provisions of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir, step by step. This is why it is temporary in nature, and the NC is keen to make it permanent.

India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had once told Parliament in clear terms : “ Article 370 is transitional, in other words a temporary provision--- it is not a permanent part of the Constitution. It is part so long as it remains.” Perhaps that is the reason why Mr Justice (retired) Sagheer Ahmad is not so serious for restoration of the state’s autonomy to the pre-1953 position. He merely uses the word ‘could’ and does not seem to lay much emphasis on greater autonomy. He has left it to the people to decide how long Article 370 should continue in its present form, whether to make it permanent or abrogate it. Thus he has made abundantly clear that Article 370 is not a permanent feature.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has however, called the report a ‘farce’. The leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has told Manmohan Singh that the report, recommending autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir,though vaguely, has been ‘improperly prepared’ and New Delhi need not act upon it. Jaitley has pooh-poohed that it is not a ‘consensus document’ of the Working Group, of which he is a member. Expressing dismay that the WG on ‘strengthening relations between the state and the Centre, met only five times between December 12, 2006 and September 3, 2007, he said in a letter to Prime Minister that the Group stood ‘abandoned ‘ for ‘all practical purposes’, as hardly any discussions were held. He is pained that being a member of the Group, he failed to receive any communication to discuss the report. Obviously he has expressed misgivings whether New Delhi is willing to ‘dilute’ the Indian position on Kahmir. “ Is this report showcased for that purpose?” he has warned.

Otherwise, no consensus was possible within a group of 21 members, representing parties including Congress, BJP, PDP and Panthers Party of Prof Bhim Singh, having divergent interests..

Former two-time Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Jagmohan, has in his book: “ My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir” observed that Art 370 is not in the interests of common people of Kashmir. He has furnished several examples to buttress his point. It is the commoners who are affected by this Article, and they have tasted it bitterly during the past 62 years. It is a ‘hoax’, he says, which has led to “untold opportunism, feudal hierarchy, nepotism and corruption.” Jagmohan is of the opinion that the abrogation of the Article would in fact help in removing poverty and the state’s backwardness.
“ It is here that the recognition of the two-nation theory is implicit and the legacy of this theory has shaped the state’s communal psyche”, underlines Jagmohan. The Hindu majority Jammu region has long-standing grievances that under the cover of Art 370, decisions taken over years have been so manipulated by the valley’s leadership that power structure in the entire state has tilted in favour of the Kashmir valley, leading to regional imbalances.
The NC government has been demanding restoration of the pre-1952 autonomous status for the state. Ipso facto, it means the Centre should abdicate all powers and retain its control only on matters pertaining to defence, communication and external affairs.

The Article has been rendered meaningless for the fact that over 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Hindus as well as nearly 30,000 Muslims have been forced to leave the valley at gun point, when Pakistan-sponsored militancy erupted. The Article has failed to preserve the valley’s secular ethos.

When Sheikh Abdullah regained power in early 1975 (after remaining in political wilderness for 22 years, following his removal from power in August 1953), he had constituted an expert committee, to review the application of Central laws which had been imposed in the state during his absence. But amazingly, and on the contrary, he till his death in September 1983, made applicable another 21 laws to his state because they were beneficial. He would not have been deposed if the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was in force during Sheikh’s time.

The main purpose of the Kashmiri rulers has been to obtain a Muslim majority character for the state. The purpose has been almost achieved. Article 370 has otherwise lost its sheen and significance because the state’s demographic character has undergone vast changes since independence.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has an urgent task to curb separatism and close down madrassas, run by the Jamait-e-Islami and other fundamentalist organizations, spreading communal hatred. The crop of jehadi culture has to be destroyed once for all. Omar should act like his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah, who was the symbol of secularism in the valley. END


(J N Raina is a renowned journalist of Jammu & Kashmir, Retired as UNI News editor Mumbai)

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