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| When politics of opportunity took over national interests | | Congress & Kashmir-IV | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 20: From the clay Nehru took charge of Kashmir affairs to the exclusion of everybody else congress approach towards this State has been dictated by political opportunism rather than national interest. When Sheikh Abdullah began showing signs of breaking free of the union and creating his own independent state, the situation was brought to Nehru’s notice by the Praja Parishad as well as the Bharatiya Jana Sangh whose then president, Dr Syama Prashad MookerJee, repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament only to be rudely snubbed by the Prime Minister. For instance, in his inaugural speech in the first session of the first elected parliament of Independent India (May 1952), Dr MookerJee referred to Sheikh Abdullah is politics which had begum to threaten the very unity and integrity which had been unleashed by Sheikh Abdullah who had also recently declared that parliament did not have any jurisdiction of Jammu & Kashmir. At this point Nehru interjected Know more about Kashmir than Dr Mookerjee.” It is this overwhelming confidence in himself and himself alone, that left the Government stumped when Sheikh Abdullah finally decided to break free, The Government was unprepared to meet the crisis. Obviously, Nehru did not know enough about either Kashmir or its politics. If he knew as he claimed time and again and did not act in time, he is guilty of acting against the nation’s interests.
A quick look at Jammu & Kashmir’s political history as it has unfolded ever since Sheikh Abdullah failed in his final putsch for the creation of an independent sheikhdom" will be course of Congress' disastrous Kashmir policy.
On May 3, 1953, American Democrat leader Adlai Stevenson visited Srinagar where he and Sheikh Abdullah were closeted for many hours. In the discussions that took place, Sheikh" Abdullah is believed to have repeated what he told the then US Ambassador to India, Loy Henderson when he secretly visited Srinagar in September 1950' Henderson reported his talks in these words: ..... in discussing future Kashmir, Abdullah was ,vigorous in restating his opinion that it should be independent; that overwhelming majority population desired this independence; and that he had reason to believe that some Azad Kashmir leaders desired independence and would be willing to co-operate with leaders of National Conference ... " Soon after Stevenson's talks with Sheikh Abdullah, The New "York Times published a map of "independent Kashmir" on July 5, on July 10, Sheikh Abdullah declared from Mujahid Manzil "A time will come when I will bid them (India) goodbye." He elaborated on the theme at the Marlyrs Day rally on July 13: "It is not, necessary,• that our State should become an appendage of of either India or Pakistan." Curiously, American Interests in Kashmir at this point of time coincided with British pronouncement that was not dissimilar to what Sheikh Abdullah was saying. On Nov 11, Clement Attlee made a statement in London: Kashmir should belong neither to India nor to Pakistan but be independent.” |
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