news details |
|
|
| Farooq's opposition to Andhra division | | Fear of trifurcation of J&K | | Rustam
JAMMU, Feb 11: NC president and Union Minister for Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah on Monday opposed the demand in Andhra Pradesh for the creation of Telengana State, saying this southern state should not be divided when its people do not want it. "I think it (the issue of Telangana) has gone out of gear, terribly out of gear. You have seen 70 per cent, 80 per cent of people do no want division, yet a division is taking place....The people of the State do not want division. We should not divide," he told reporters in Delhi as Parliament adjourned once again over the issue. When reminded that the Union Cabinet, of which he is a member, had approved the division of the State, he said he did not attend that meeting as he was out of station.
One can understand why he opposed the age-old demand for Telengana State. He knew that the division of Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telengana State out of it could have its impact on Jammu & Kashmir where the people have from time to time demanded reorganization of the state saying they could not live under the Kashmiri-dominated, separatist-friendly and unfair dispensation. The people of Ladakh have been demanding segregation of their region from Kashmir since 1947 on the ground that their identity and personality has been under grave threat and that the Kashmiri ruling elite, which stands for a dispensation outside the Indian Constitution, has always perpetrated injustice on them. They have been saying that they want UT status for their region so that they are governed directly by New Delhi. Interestingly, the Congress and the BJP, which do not want Jammu province to obtain the status of state, back the demand of the Ladakhis for UT.
Similarly, in Jammu province, there is a near unanimity that the existing politico-administrative and constitutional set-up has outlived its utility and failed to cater to their needs as it is Kashmiri-dominated. A number of political groups have been demanding trifurcation/reorganization of the state. Some of the prominent political groups include the Panthers Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Jammu State Morcha. These parties are holding meetings on the issue and demanding separation of Jammu province from Kashmir at regular intervals. As for general public, an overwhelming majority of people want separation from Kashmir. Hold a referendum in Jammu province and one would find an overwhelming majority voting for separate Jammu State. Besides the people of Jammu province and Ladakh region, the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus too have been demanding bifurcation of Kashmir and creation of a separate homeland for them within the Valley invested with UT status. They have been saying they cannot co-exist with those who hounded them out of their homes and hearths in the early 1990 to facilitate the formation of a theocratic state.
Farooq Abdullah is aware of the growing demand in the State for its reorganization and, hence, his opposition to Andhra division. The fact is that All Kashmiri leaders, including separatists, oppose Jammu & Kashmir division because they treat Jammu province and Ladakh as Kashmir's colonies. But the fact remains that the state would have to be reorganized some day, as it consists of disparate regions housing people whose aspirations are conflicting and mutually exclusive. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
