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| JSM makes a right noise | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 4: The Jammu State Morcha (JSM), which ha been spearheading a movement for the trifurcation of the State into Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh States in its own style for more than 24 years now saying this is the only panacea available to end discrimination with the people of Jammu province and Ladakh region, on Thursday demanded abrogation of Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution. "The Government of India must revoke Article 35-A which was added to the Indian Constitution mysteriously and illegally as Appendix-II in May 1954, simply by a proclamation of the President of India without taking the Parliament into confidence," the JSM said, and rightly added that the "Article is against the basic structure of the Indian Constitution that guarantees equality to all the citizens of India". "Article 35-A paved way for the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir State to incorporate in the State Constitution Sections 6, 8, and 9, thus defining which Indian citizen can be a permanent resident of the state that can enjoy the citizenship rights of the state. These are unique clauses not found in any of the countries throughout the world and violate human rights and the basic rights granted in the Indian Constitution…This Article which was enforced unconstitutionally needs to go as it is responsible for the discriminatory treatment to the women of the state and the West Pakistan refugees. Women folk of the state are debarred fro claiming equality to their counterpart men folk of the state in the matter of their rights as being state citizen. Under the cover of these sections of Jammu & Kashmir
Constitution the Kashmiri leaders are prompted to introduce and pass Anti-Women Reservation Bill in the State Assembly. By enforcing the Article the problems of West Pakistan refugees have been made perpetual an permanent as they can never be the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir", it also said. Besides, the JSM asked the State Government to "incorporate in the State Constitution the fundamental rights as provided in the Indian Constitution and also the words "Secular" in its preamble" and asserted that the time has come to declare Hindus, Shiite Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians and Jains as religious minorities so that they exercise the rights the minority communities exercise in the rest of the country and lead a dignified life. The JSM did make right noise by demanding abrogation of Article 35-A. indeed, it is this Article that has deprived the womenfolk in the state and the refugees from West Pakistan of their fundamental right to exercise all those citizenship rights which the make state subjects exercise across the state. It was this pernicious Article that empowered the communal leadership in Kashmir to not only incorporate unjust and invidious provisions in the State Constitution to deny the womenfolk and refugees from West Pakistan of the natural right to live like Indians in the state, but also barred all the Indians from exercising citizenship rights in the state, notwithstanding the fact that the so-called state subjects exercise all rights all over India.
It would be only proper to say that Article 35-A is as dangerous as Article 370. If the people of the state and the rest of the country are to be brought at par, then both these Articles have to go lock, stock and barrel. There is no other alternative available.
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