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| People of Jammu too are conscious of their identity | | Imposing will in unwilling people | | Neha
JAMMU, Dec 18: A section of Kashmiri leadership is insulting the people of Jammu province and Ladakh region by putting forth outrageous formulations and trying to impose its sinister and communal will on the unwilling people of these two historically, politically, culturally and ethnically distinct regions. It is saying that the "people of Kashmir have always been conscious of their identity and the history bears witness to the fact that the people here have prioritized the secular principles" and that "our state is unique wherein we have constitution within the constitution and we have to preserve the identity of the state".
Even a superficial look at these formulations would make one conclude that this brand of Kashmiri leadership considers the identity of the people of Kashmir (read members of a particular religious sect that has been in the driver's seat since 1947 because of New Delhi's unqualified support to it) as unique and dismisses the people of Jammu province and Ladakh region as third grade subjects whose only duty is to obey its diktats, serve it and pay taxes. One would also conclude in no time that it wants to impose its solution to the so-called Kashmir problem on the entire population of the state knowing it fully well that the people of Jammu and Ladakh hate the separate constitution from the core of their heart and want the application of the Indian Constitution to the state in full, minus Article 370 that has enabled the ruling elite in Kashmir to enslave an overwhelming majority of the population and jeopardize the interests of all the social groups and communities, barring the members of a particular religious sect inhabiting the Kashmir valley. Besides, one would also conclude that this brand of Kashmiri leadership wants to maintain the unity and integrity of the state not only to force the entire population to adhere to its regressive ideology but also to exploit Jammu and Ladakh and its resources.
The people of Jammu and Ladakh have their own distinct identity. They have demonstrated their psyche at regular intervals and brought the authorities to their knees. Have they forgotten what the people of Jammu did in 1952-1953, 1966, 1967, 1979, 1998, 2008 and even their after to assert their identity and their patriotic psyche? Have they forgotten what the people of Ladakh did in October 1989 to achieve separation from Kashmir? And have they forgotten that it was the pressure from below in Jammu and Ladakh that forced the Congress Government to introduce several central laws in the state and bring it under the jurisdiction of various central institutions, including the Supreme Court, Comptroller and Auditor-General and Election Commission?
The Kashmiri leadership would do well to recognize the distinct identity of Jammu and Ladakh and appreciate their political aspirations, including their age-old goal of merging their identities completely with New Delhi. |
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