news details |
|
|
| Kashmir -- a way forward | | Kathwari Formula And Its Implications | |
Rustam
Jammu, Jan 13: The Kathwari proposal not only envisages legislative bodies for the proposed self-governing regions on this and other side of Jammu and Kashmir but also suggests that India and Pakistan would have joint-control over the defence-related issues as well as foreign policy. There is nothing new in it except the suggestion regarding the constitution of separate legislative bodies in the proposed self-governing regions to be "governed by an agreed set of democratic principles, preferably determined and accepted through a consultative procedure that would take place with the region".
It is obvious from his proposal that he has no complaint whatever against the Kashmir's ruling elite which has consistently subverted democratic principles to deny the non-Muslim minorities, as also several other religious and ethnic groups in the state as, for example, the Shiite Muslims, the Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims, the Pathowari-speaking Muslims and so on, of their legitimate democratic and economic rights. He knows it full well that it is Kashmir and a particular religious sect to which he himself belongs that has been ruling the roost and exploiting all others ever since October 1947, when New Delhi handed over the state power to Sheikh Abdullah of the National Conference throwing to the wind all the democratic norms.
However, to say all this is not to suggest that his idea of creating separate legislative bodies in the different regions of the state is bad. It is not bad. It is a positive suggestion. Jammu and Ladakh, which have suffered enormous losses during all these years of the Kashmiri domination and hegemony, do need separate assemblies invested with all those legislative powers which are available to all other Indian states under the Indian Constitution. For, the problems facing Jammu province and Ladakh are different from those of Kashmir. In Kashmir, the problem is communal and demand separation from the Indian liberal framework. In Jammu and Ladakh, the problem is essentially humane, political and economic. The people of these two provinces not only seek their empowerment but also seek full merger with India, notwithstanding the New Delhi's highly negative attitude towards them.
The Kathwari proposal also suggests that the "borders of the regions with India and Pakistan, as well as those between regions, would remain open for the transit of people, goods and services". The suggestion is ill-motivated; it is simply designed to help Pakistan send more terrorists and radical Islamists to this side of Jammu and Kashmir to create more troubles for India. His suggestion simply means porous borders between the two countries and the porous borders, in turn, mean Pakistan's easy access to the Indian Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan is a rogue and failed state; it is the epicenter of global terrorism; its single-point agenda is to "finish the unfinished agenda of partition" and dismember India; its another aim is to avenge its 1971 humiliating defeat at the hands of the Indian Army and creation of Bangladesh out of Pakistan. Islamabad just cannot be depended upon. It is a religious state, whereas India is a democratic and secular country. There is no meeting ground between the two and, hence, it would be very dangerous for India to make its borders porous or irrelevant. The need of the time is to strengthen our security grid and spend more on the defence preparedness.
The Kathwari proposal regarding the Line of Control should also be viewed in this context. Similarly, the suggestion of Kathwari regarding reduction in the military presence in the state deserves no consideration at all, as his suggestion, if accepted, would automatically mean the rise of a situation that would enable Pakistan and its handful of agents in Kashmir to exploit the situation and accomplish what they have failed to accomplish because of the splendid role played by the Indian Army. Army is an integral part of the institution of the state and, hence, there is no question of tinkering with this institution. India is not living in a vacuum; it is a sovereign state like other sovereign states, including Pakistan. (To be concluded) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
