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| Jammu a symbol of nationalism | | Guru's lawful execution | | Rustam
JAMMU, Feb 14: Much has been written and continues to be written on the hanging of Parliament terror attack case convict Mohammad Afzal Guru and its consequences as if his hanging was an extraordinary event. It was not an extraordinary event: He had committed a heinous crime against the State and he paid the price. That's it.
However, his hanging and the manner in which Kashmiri leaders, both "mainstream" and separatist, have been reacting to his hanging, as also the developments which unfolded, and continue to unfold, in Kashmir following his lawful hanging, have once again established that the State of Jammu and Kashmir is not just an unnatural formation like the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, but it consists of three disparate regions - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh --- with the Kashmiri leadership going one way and the people of Jammu and Ladakh another.
The hanging of Guru and the response it has been evoking in Kashmir has, in fact, finally clinched the whole issue and established that Jammu and Ladakhs represent ethos different from those of Kashmir, that they have nothing to do with what has been happening in the militant and separatist-infested Kashmir valley in the wake of Guru's hanging and that it was a mistake on the part of the founders of the Indian State to keep the State of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh intact after it acceded to India in October 1947. The State should have been trifurcated in 1947 itself considering the fact that the relations between Jammu and Kashmir and between the latter and Ladakh pre-1947 period were extremely bitter or considering the fact that there existed in the state -- formed in March 1846 -- historical antagonism between them. Remember, Kashmiri leadership considered Jammu as an "alien" country and Dogras as "oppressors" and launched a number of agitations against the Dogras of Jammu to achieve political redemption, the last being the 1946 "Quit Kashmir Movement" unleashed by the founder of National Conference (NC) Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
The "Quit Kashmir Movement" had culminated in the migration of Dogras and Punjabis from the Valley on an unprecedented scale. Even some Kashmiri Hindu families had migrated to Jammu and a few other parts of the country.
Just compare the prevailing situation in Jammu province and the cold-desert Ladakh region with the prevailing situation in the Valley and you will yourself see the difference. Kashmir has turned extremely volatile. There is the possibility of Kashmiri extremists and terrorists exploiting the hanging of Guru and creating serious law and order problem there. As a matter of fact, they have already been playing mischief after mischief with a view to provoking gullible and emotional Kashmiris to rise in revolt against India, with the State Government - willingly or reluctantly -- taking all the possible steps to defeat the evil designs of evil forces in the Valley.
Imposition of curfew and its strict enforcement and preventive detentions of certain separatists constitute just two of many such instances which serve to indicate fear on the part of the State Government, which is headed by NC leader Omar Abdullah, who himself has made certain statements he was not supposed to make considering their dangerous ramifications. The Valley continues to be under curfew even after five days of Guru's hanging. There is no need to worry about the prevailing situation in the Valley because the institution of the State will have to take care of the mischief-mongers, if needed. It has no other option.
What about the prevailing situation in Jammu province, which is almost two times bigger that of Kashmir and houses almost half of the State population comprising Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities? Have the people of Jammu province reacted adversely to the Guru's hanging during the past five days? The answer is a big NO. Leave aside a few stray incidents in half a dozen towns in Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts on February 9, the day Guru was sent to the gallows in Delhi, and two minor incidents in Rajouri on February 12. The situation in all these districts, like six other districts of Jammu province - Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Reasi and Poonch - and two districts of Ladakh - Leh and Kargil -- unlike Kashmir's all the 10 districts, is very peaceful. The fact of the mater is that Jammu province and Ladakh region, which also house a substantial chunk of Muslim population, have hailed the execution of Guru and shown the Kashmiri leadership their rightful place by reposing their faith in the Indian State and Indian criminal justice system. Besides, sections of population in Jammu have been demanding stringent action against JKLF chairman Yasin Malik, who only the other day shared dais with Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in Islamabad, Pakistan, and organized a dharna there to register his protest against the Guru's hanging.
The prevailing peaceful situation in Jammu province is a proof that the people of this province were and are nationalist to the core. The nation must salute them and the people of Ladakh. But a mere recognition of Jammu and Ladakh as symbols of nationalism would not be enough. They are needed to be separated forthwith from Kashmir so that they become stronger enough to help New Delhi tackle Kashmir more effectively. There is no logic in maintaining Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh as a single political unit. It came into being by a quirk of history and it should be trifurcated to undo the past wrong and enable the people of Jammu and Ladakh to lead a dignified and prosperous life in their own houses under the Indian Constitution. |
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