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| Jammu, Ladakh equally important factors | | Kashmir doesn't constitute the state | | Rustam
JAMMU, May 29: The demand for a discussion on the separate status of Jammu and Kashmir has triggered a fierce controversy. During the past two days, almost all the news channels held debates on Article 370.
Notwithstanding the fact that a number of anchors and the panelists belonging to the various political parties only referred to Kashmir and Kashmiri aspirations suggesting that Kashmir means the entire state of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and the aspirations of a section of Kashmiri population needed to fulfilled, there were other panelists and anchors who talked about Jammu and Ladakh and the people of these two regions house. They must have shocked the champions of Kashmiri Muslim sub-nationalism who had been trying their level best since 1947 to impose their regressive will on the people of Jammu and Ladakh. For, these champions, who were backed to the hilt by the communal leadership in Delhi represented by the Congress and outfits like the CPI and the CPI-M, had never considered these two regions as two other important factors in the state's political situation.
Even "secular" anchors like Rajdeep Sardesai (CNN-IBN) countered the pro-Kashmiri and pro-autonomy panelists saying there is Jammu also and there is Ladakh also and the people of these two regions also have a say. And he told this to those who represented the NC. And the panelists like Prabhu Chawala (India News) defended the critics of Article 370 in Jammu and Ladakh saying if the Kashmiri leadership could express its views on this Article, why can't the elected representatives from Jammu and Ladakh do the same? On Wednesday, Prabhu Chawala, a leading journalist and former editor of Indian Express, snubbed the votaries of Article 370 and asked "why should there be Article 370"? Those who represented Kashmir had no answer. He even lambasted the Congress's spokesperson Rashid Alvi and others of his ilk for their insistence on Article 370 and talked about Jammu and Ladakh. Not just Rajdeep Sardesai and Prabhu Chawla, even Arnab Goswami sounded quite positive. Significantly, former interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir Dileep Padgaonkar, who is former editor of The Times of India, acknowledged that there are many stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir and that he would want a holistic debate on the issue. There were many others who referred to Jammu and Ladakh and their aspirations and asserted that they cannot be ignored.
The mandate 2014 has, it is manifestly clear, changed the political discourse on Jammu and Kashmir. It's wonder that the Kashmiri leadership has got alarmed believing that gone are the days when it would dictate terms to New Delhi and get concessions from it over the heads of Jammu and Ladakh. In other words, the mandate 2014 has created a novel situation for the people of Jammu and Ladakh whose voice would now be heard not only in the news channels but also in the Parliament. Two BJP MPs from Jammu province and one BJP MP from Ladakh would be there in the Lok Sabha to speak for and on behalf of the people of these two regions, as they have got the mandate to this effect. They would be there to counter those who would only talk of Kashmir and Kashmiri aspirations. No one had ever expected that there will be such a situation, but it has happened and this change augurs well for the future of the state. In sum, it can be said that gone are the days when the Kashmiri leadership would reign supreme and Jammu and Ladakh would be at the receiving end. |
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