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| Delhi murdered Democracy to hit Jammu below the belt | | May 27, 1949 A Black Day | | STARK REALITY -- II
RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Mar 30: Prof Shah, it must be noted, was more severe in his criticism of the motion in the sense that he urged the Constituent Assembly to repudiate the motion outright. In addition, he fervently solicited the support of the elected Praja Sabha. Justifying his suggestion, Prof Shah said: “Had the situation been in the State as normal and peaceful as in other cases, I would have certainly followed the same precedent, and required that at least part of the representatives should be representatives of the people chosen by their representatives in a proper form. But as the situation is there today, with all the complications that have arisen, all the representatives of the people must be elected…I am not asking too much when I say that we shall not be departing from democratic principles or idea of justice or prudence or wisdom in this matter if we say that the people of Kashmir, and the people of Kashmir alone, shall elect all the representatives to this House. If this party, the National Conference, claims to represent the entire or at least a large majority of the people of Kashmir, then there is no reason to fear that they cannot send representatives according to their wishes. They need not therefore shirk the suggestion I am making…”
This shows that Prof Shah had two basic arguments. One, that Sheikh Abdullah and his political formation did not represent the general will. Two, that the suggestion of Gopalaswami Ayyangar, if accepted, might harm the country’s vital interests. Prof Shah’s first point that Sheikh Abdullah and his political formation did not represent the general will of the Kashmiri people, was elaborated by him in these words: “I am constraint to point out that the developments in the history of Jammu and Kashmir in three and half years should not be overlooked. You must not overlook the agitation that was started in February 1946, whereby a responsible party or the leader of that responsible party, had started a campaign of ‘quit Kashmir’ and in consequence thereof events developed and created difficulties that have since ensued. I do not like the House to be a party to anything that might look as if it was a surrender to one man’s wishes, that nothing can be done until the Maharaja (Hari Singh) is removed or complete power is handed over to him (the Sheikh had told Prime Minister Nehru that he would not be in a position to run the administration effectively until Maharaja Hari Singh was removed from his position). Whether or not he holds the complete confidence of all the people has yet to be proved. I am aware he may have a large following; but at the same time, if you want proof beyond the possibility of doubt, there is no reason why you should not send invitation for an election even under the limited franchise that is prevailing. If you have adult franchise that would be better. But even under the limited franchise of 1946, if you hold an election, you will get the true representatives of the people”.
As for the other issue, Prof Shah opined: “You must also not forget that the events that have happened have invested the other countries (United States and United Kingdom) and the sister Dominion (Pakistan) and those outside with interest in the matter. That being so, they will not take any decision unilaterally made by us without demur. If you want to have peace restored, if you want to live in peace with your neighbour, you should not give needless occasion for them to say that here you are purchasing a design and committing an act and taking steps whereby your own declarations, and what is more, whatever interests the others (the people of Jammu and Ladakh) may have are being jeopardized. If that is going to be a slur on the good name of this country, and its claim to stand always for the people or for those who are oppressed, then I think that it is not too much to demand that the representatives in this case should be wholly elected, and should be the true reflex of the people…”
Ayyangar and Prime Minister Nehru turned down Prof. Shah’s pleas, coupled with an unambiguous warning regarding the grave evils that would follow on the introduction of the formula as suggested by the official motion. Both of them defended the motion, which, in a sense, was designed to undermine the importance of the people, the Praja Sabha, and the State ruler. And, all this, despite the fact that both of them had candidly acknowledged that the process they had suggested for the State was “not ideal”.
It would be only desirable to quote what Prime Minister said in defence of the motion. He said: “It amazed me to hear Shah propose that the so-called Praja Sabha of Kashmir should send representatives to this House. He should know that there is nothing more bogus than the Praja Sabha…He ought to know that the whole circumstances under which the last elections were held in 1946-1947 were fantastic and farcical. He ought to know that it was boycotted by all decent people (read Sheikh Abdullah and his men)…And the type of people who got in the Praja Sabha was the type who had opposed the freedom movement (read movement against the Jammu Dogras) throughout, who had done every injury possible to the idea of freedom of Kashmir till then…”
“…That is the kind of body referred to; it is the bogus body, it is really no body at all; it is the disembodied spirit…I admit that it is not desirable for any member of this House to come by nomination or be selected by some narrow process. Though the process suggested for Kashmir is not ideal, yet I do think that it is the better process…It is the process where you get a popular government with representative of the popular party at the head of it recommending to the ruler that certain names should go. Even from the view of democracy, that is not an incorrect process. It is hundred per cent correct.”
However, what was most surprising was the attitude of other members of the Constituent Assembly. All (or nearly all) of them either sided with Ayyangar and Jawaharlal Nehru or adopted an indifferent attitude to the otherwise heated debate on a subject of far reaching importance. As a result, the Ayyangar formula was adopted. The immediate fall-out of this decision was the entry into the Constituent Assembly of Sheikh Abdullah and his nominees, Mirza Afzal Beg, Maulana Masoodi and Moti Ram Baigra.
Thus, commenced an era in Jammu and Kashmir in which the people’s democracy became the first casualty, with the people of Jammu and Ladakh in particular being deprived of their fundamental right to become part of the country’s law-making process. The bottom-line of the story is that New Delhi murdered democracy in order to hit the people of Jammu below the belt just because it wanted to appease and please someone whose credential were highly doubtful and whose party continues to rule the roost even today and pose grave danger to the national unity and which has been playing havoc with the people of Jammu province. (Concluded)
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