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| Integration chapter is closed | | | | Some of the leading and most celebrated intellectuals and thinkers of the country have made right though belated intervention in warning the so called liberals against overstepping their brief on Kashmir. For past few months several liberal thinkers and writers got hugely undue space in the media by supporting the cause secessionists on Kashmir. In journalism we have been taught that it is no news until a man bites the dog. Some sanity must prevail. Those working for the integration of the country are going unheard while some people talking about dismemberment are being accorded celebrity status. Unfortunately these voices have enjoyed a field day without any proper counter from the Civil Society. It is deeply appreciated that a group of leading intellectuals have got up with reservations against the stray voices in the media which have been questioning, with surprising nonchalance and lack of depth, the wisdom and expediency of retaining Kashmir as a part of India. This matters not because such voices reflect any growing view in our country but because they play into the hands of enemies of the nation. Their suggestions embolden subversive forces both within and outside the country, and encourage our adversaries to entertain the hope that with a little more effort, Kashmir will secede from India. National will is a critical component of state power. In the absence of military might, psychological warfare is the weapon of choice of a devious adversary to attempt to break national will, and to also confuse and demoralise the Indian state. No nation aspiring to become a major player in global power dynamics can afford to fall victim to such psywar. The legal validity of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India is unquestionable and was in accordance with the popular will. There is no basis on which any change in the political status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir could be considered. The UN itself has accepted that in the vastly changed circumstances the UN Resolutions of 1948 and 1949 are no longer relevant. In any case, there is no provision for holding a referendum only in one part of the undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir or for holding separate referenda in the three geographically distinct sections of the state. It must be understood that proper reasoning that chapter of Jammu and Kashmir’s integration with rest of the country is closed. This state is as good a part of India as any other state in the country. There may be some dissidence, some dissentions which have always been respected. India is a free and democratic country with a vibrant media and we are proud of it. But freedom of expression does not mean unbridled licence to flout the law of the land by airing or fanning seditious views. Such views also do a disservice to the people of Kashmir. It is therefore suggested to intellectuals, writers, authors and journalists to realize their power of shaping up the public opinion and use that in right perspective with an element of maturity, responsibility and wisdom. |
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