news details |
|
|
| Mirwaiz crossing the line, provoking Jammu & Ladakh | | Division of State | | Neha
JAMMU, Apr 27: APHC (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has once again reiterated that "Kashmir is a trilateral issue" and the three parties to the "dispute" are Delhi, Pakistan and Kashmiris". What was conspicuous by its absence in the Mirwaiz's suggestion was Jammu province which is two times that of Kashmir in terms of geographical area and houses almost half of the State's population that is committed to India as well as Indian political system, whatever it is. The demands of the people of Jammu province range from trifurcation to reorganization to adequately empowered regional council. He also excluded Ladakh and its people from his sugestion. Ladakh and its people, like Jammu province and its people, are also committed to India. The people of Ladakh are for Union Territory status. Nor did Mirwaiz refer to the original inhabitants of Kashmir, Kashmiri Hindus, who have been living as refugees in Jammu and elsewhere in the country since early 1990. The demands of the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus range from separate Homeland in Kashmir to a security zone within the Valley to Union Territory status, minus Article 370. They will never dilute their demand.
Mirwaiz has been simply seeking to create an impression that the APHC (M) is the only factor in the state's political situation that needed to be appreciated and recognised if peace is to return to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a different story that no one contests his flawed, motivated and provocative contention and suggestion. Mirwaiz represents only himself and a handful of his followers. In fact, he represents vest interests or a microscopic minority consisting of self-seekers and mercenaries.
Mirwaiz and his APHC (M) are out and out sectarian and parochial. Their area of influence is limited only to a few pockets in the downtown area of Srinagar City, especially Jamia Masjid and its surrounding areas. Even Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads Tehrik-e-Hurriyat, doesn't really recognise Mirwaiz. Nor does he vouch for what Mirwaiz considers a viable and workable solution to the "Kashmir problem". Mirwaiz has no definite agenda. Sometimes he supports the Musharraf's formula -- self-governance, demilitarisation, joint mechanism and soft borders. Sometimes he talks of right to self-determination and sometimes he talks of trilateral talks. On the other hand, Geelani is a well-known votary of Pakistan.
It's not just Geelani who doesn't really recognise Mirwaiz. Several religious and ethnic minorities in Kashmir, including Gujjars and Bakkerwals and Shiite Muslims, also don't recognise him and his outfit. They believe, and rightly so, that their fate would be no different from that of Mohajirs, Shiite Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Ahmedias in Pakistan under a dispensation Mirwaiz and others of his ilk have been striving to achieve for Kashmir.
This is the position. How could Mirwaiz, or for that matter any Kashmiri leader, speak on behalf of the people of Jammu province and Ladakh region? They have not given Kashmir or any other Kashmiri leader the mandate to speak on behalf of the people of Jammu and Ladakh and decide their fate and future. The people of Jammu province and Ladakh region are the master of their own fate. They would themselves determine their own political future within India and under the Indian Constitution. Even New Delhi cannot dictate terms to them or impose a Kashmir-centric divisive and communal solution on them.
The fact of the matter is that Mirwaiz and others of his ilk are crossing line by airing views or putting forth suggestions which the people of Jammu province and Ladakh region hate from the core of their heart. Their watchword and battle-cry in the past was full integration into India, their attitude towards India and the Indian Constitution remains the same even today and it shall remain the same in the future as well despite the fact that New Delhi has never ever appreciated their aspirations, needs and compulsions.
The main problem is New Delhi. It has never behaved like a genuine state behaves. It is New Delhi which has given dangerous legitimacy to the likes of Mirwaiz who masquerade as representatives of the people of the state. Those at the helm need to redesign their approach towards Mirwaiz and others of his ilk and appreciate those who constitute the nation's backbone in the state or who constitute the nationalist constituency in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. This is the only alternative left to isolate Mirwaizs, Geelanis and similar others in Kashmir. Besides, the best way to show these Kashmiri leaders their rightful place is division of the state into three states of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Such a division will not only strengthen the nationalist constituency in this strategic part of the country but also reduce the area of contention and strife to the Kashmir Valley. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
