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| Tailored Neglect of Jammu Muslims | | | Daya Sagar
The way the Congress, SP, RJD, CPI (M), NCP, TDP, BSP and the like are today coming up with slogans that divide Hindu and Muslim in the name of minorities/ rights of minorities/ reservations for minorities/ projecting enemy of Muslims resting in BJP, the dangers in J&K too are growing.
WE have to today accept boldly that all people in Kashmir Valley may not be against 1947 accession or against India. But surely it can also not be certified that all are for India. There are surely some people who may not be against India but they are also not for India. Similarly there may be some who have liking for Pakistan but it is also not sure that they have knowingly disliked India. They may not know about India and neither any body has told them about India. Simple sadbhawana yatras and like programmes conducted by Government agencies can not fill the gap for such like deficiencies.
Information as given by co religious elements, neighbours, friends and community people may not be rational and true but still could be taken as dependable & true by the kins. Over last 20 YEARS most of those in Kashmir Valley who were in primary school in 1989 have grown to youth in a total social vacuum. So to answer the question :::: what do the people of Kashmir want , we have to first acquaint ourselves with the progressive history of socio political events in J&K since 1940s and the way in which the complaint against Pakistan as aggressor by India in UN is today being talked world over as Kashmir dispute even by the “ Indian people” . Even the resolution of Indian Parliament on getting POK vacated appears to have been forgotten. In Oct 08 some Jammu based papers have started referring POK as PAK . :::What do Kashmiries want ? > can be answered in the way J&K ( Not Kashmir ) can be seen today.
Kashmiri kids who were in primary class in 1989 have now (2008) surely started thinking of some dispute regarding their Nationality and some might be father of a kid by this time or would be himself encountering with similar gestures from his kid in a year or so..
Non Hindu Kashmiri is regularly so mis informed after 1989 about the intentions of Bharat Sarkar that they may find it difficult to believe in confidence building efforts taken through the government officials as well as the security forces taking them government loyalists. Rearing grounds have hence emerged for anti India forces (Pakistan,foreign mercenaries and local insurgent as well as Pakistan loyalists) to win religious sentimental favours / sympathies against India. Had Government of India set return of migrant Kashmiri Pundits to Kashmir Valley as priority number one , the social matrix would have not damaged so great. These are the hard facts. May be bitter. But Indians can not go without acknowledging the taste and asking for the cure of taste buds at least now.
Local Hindu from Kashmir Valley is out side valley for over 20 years. They form about 7 lac of the J&K Population at todays standards. They donot want Pakistan. They want India. They want a separate STATE for Kashmir Hindu ( Panun Kashmir ) to be carved out of Kashmir Valley. Their demand is more to register a view point against the separatist/ anti India elements / pro Pakistan elements in J&K rather than their ultimately hoping to get through with Panun Kashmir State. This is enough to convince the outside world that India has some serious problem in J&K. Truly and very painfully one could so easily say that this day 100 crore Indians are migrants from Kashmir Valley.
J&K leadership of the past has/ had been labeling allegations on government of India for having eroded special status of Kashmiries and had been promising to get the due of “Kashmiri” from GOI. Ms. Mehbooba Mufti , President JK PDP addressed a press conference in Srinagar on 10-05-03 at the venue of her party’s executive committee meeting . She was reported to have accused that state terrorism was intact in J&K and expressed her party’s Government’s helplessness before Centre and security forces. She further said that people come out in the streets to express anger against security forces and she was with them. Surely she had to say so under the compulsions of the existing ground realities/ environment .
The way the issue of J&K Permanent Resident ( Disqualification) Bill 2004 was passed by the J&K Legislative assembly on March 5th 2004 and was left pending inview of lot of heat generated outside the Legislature by the J&K Legislative Council, was used by BJP and Kashmiri Pandit organizations calling it anti Jammu Region or anti Hindu ; and the Kashmiri Muslim leaders and some from even PDP by terming those against the Bill as anti Kashmiri & Kashmiri identity . Such happenings and approach has been doing a great damage to any efforts ever made by GOI for repairing the social matrix of J&K. Even Congress would have called the bill as anti Hindu/ anti Jammu to secure some political mileage in Jammu Region ( in Kashmir Congress has been pushed deep into the ground by PDP & NC) but since it had voted for the bill on floor of Assembly it would have been too humiliating about turn for its Delhi leadership.
The Kashmiri Pundits do not appear to be so easily interested to return to Kashmir. Their youth can not forget the days of 1990 when they had to run away carrying what ever they could pick. The delay in their return is causing more and more damage. Under the present circumstances they will not find it easy to live honouably with the post 1990 Muslim Community. They may be getting the benefits in education, business , jobs and sympathies as migrants but this can not substitute their agony in losing rights of the Valleys. But some hard decision will have to be taken..
Demands have been raised from Jammu Region for dividing J&K into three parts, the State of Jammu ( Jammu region of 10 districts ) , The State of Kashmir ( Kashmir region of 10 districts ) and Union Territory of Ladakh ( Ladakh region of 2 districts ). Some of the Kashmir centric leaders sensing loss of political domain are now attempting to divide the people of even Jammu Region on the basis of religion to simply gain some number strength in the name muslim majority areas.. Such elements have to be immediately routed other wise they may not succeed in communalizing some areas of Jammu region as they did in Kashmir region by cleaning the Valley of Kashmiri Pundits. The exercise that the National Conference Government had done through the Commission for Regional Councils suggesting dividing Jammu Region in three sub regions having three separate Regional Councils too was an attempt to divide people on the basis of religious majority simply for maintaining the upper hand of the Kashmir centric leaders over the Jammu Region. So far the people of Jammu province have well stood the onslaught . Ties if weaken ,it will help only Pakistan.
The proposed State of Jammu can extend over the area of Jammu Region as was also the Jammu Province of Maharaja Hari Singh’s pre 1947 days . Even then it was under the charge of a separate Governor inview of the ethnic, geo administrative needs .Kashmir Region, the Kashmir Province of those days, was under a separate governor . Ladakh, though it was in Kashmir Province, it was under a Wazir e Wazarat i.e a District Collector . May be there is better management of affairs in case J&K is reorganized to form two States and one Union Territory out of J&K. Those who call the demand for Jammu State to be a communal game are mostly belonging to Kashmir Valley from where majority of Hindu is living in exile in their own Bharat. The Jammu Region having a large population of muslims as well has suffered of tailored injustice at the hands of Kashmiri leaders aided and abetted by Delhi .Even the commissions like Delimitation commission have neglected the rights of the people from Jammu region. Allowing the affairs to continue in the existing state would be more damaging. Remedial measures need be taken to check the further damage, even if these measures are not that sweet for some .
( Daya Sagar is social activist and leading scribe on Kashmir affairs [email protected] www.dayasagr.blogspot.com) |
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