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| Secular space for minorities in a theocratic neutral zone? | | Taking Jammu and Ladakh for a ride | | Neha
JAMMU, Aug 31: Give us autonomy, says the ruling National Conference. It says the grant of autonomy (read semi-independence) to the State would end unrest in the Valley on a permanent basis, resolve the "Kashmir issue" and forge a lasting peace in South Asia. Give us self-rule, says the People's Democratic Party. It says the grant of self-rule (read quasi-independence and India-Pakistan joint control over the State) would go a long way in restoring peace in the restive Kashmir Valley. Hold referendum in the State and allow us to join Muslim Pakistan, says Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of Tehrik-e-Hurriyat. He says the merger of the State with Pakistan is the only solution, as Jammu and Kashmir is unfinished agenda of partition. Accept the Musharraf's four-point Kashmir formula as a staring point, says All-party Hurriyat Conference (Mirwaiz) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. He says our ultimate objective is separation from India but the self-governance for and joint control of the State by India and Pakistan as suggested by former Pakistani President could be the staring point. There is no fundamental difference between what he says and what the PDP suggests. Give us independence, say Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief, Yasin Malik, and Democratic Freedom Party chairman, Shabir Ahmad Shah. They say separation from India and independence of Jammu and Kashmir are the only lasting solutions to the festering Kashmir problem. All these Kashmir-based formations are one as far as their opposition to the presence of India in Jammu and Kashmir is concerned. Their whole approach is sectarian.
The other day, another solution was put forth by a supporter and sympathizer of Kashmiri separatists. The operative part of his solution read: "They (people of Jammu and Kashmir) want to live as a free people in a neutral zone of Jammu and Kashmir with a democratic and progressive political system with religious freedom for all those who inhabit this land in a federal system of Government with regional autonomy for all the four regions of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan with a single Parliament to represent the people of the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir which is its official name, for its entity and unity". This enlightened, realistic and viable solution of the problem of Kashmir which is based on equity, justice and honour for all will bring glad tidings to the millions of innocent people of the subcontinent and will heal up their wounds caused by the division of India," it also reads. The author excluded the so-called Azad Kashmir from his proposed neutral zone. It is a significant omission.
He says that "this neutral zone of Jammu and Kashmir will establish relations with all its neighbouring countries touching the borders of the State as they are equally the members of the United Nations Organization and they shall have to guarantee the neutrality of Jammu and Kashmir State through United Nations' Organization where the case of Kashmir is yet pending for last 65 years". He wants the proposed neutral zone to "play the greatest role by becoming a bridge between the two independent countries of India and Pakistan who have become estranged brothers and distant neighbours".
The proposed solution indicates many things. One, it wants separation of the Indian Jammu and Kashmir from New Delhi on the ground that the State's merger with India was unlawful and also wants recognition of the Pakistani claim over part of the occupied territories, called "Azad Kashmir". It doesn't want the so-called Azad Kashmir to be part of the suggested neutral zone. Two, it seeks to convince the international community that the people of Jammu Pradesh, Ladakh region and Gilgit-Baltistan are one with the Kashmiri leadership as far as their political future is concerned. It is not the case. The people of Jammu Pradesh and Ladakh region see in New Delhi their saviour. Three, it ignores the opposition in the Kashmir Valley to the idea of Jammu Pradesh and Ladakh region getting regional councils invested with certain legislative, executive and financial powers or opposition in the Valley to very concept of federal polity. Four, it suggests some "secular" space for the people of Jammu Pradesh and Ladakh region under a dispensation that it seeks to establish on purely religious grounds - a suggestions no sane person would ever appreciate. It, in fact, suggests the establishment of a dispensation in the proposed neutral zone similar to the one established in Pakistan that eradicated almost all the non-Muslim minorities or reduced the non-Muslim minorities to a nullity for all practical purposes. How could the non-Muslim minorities have some "secular" space in a communal polity?
Jammu and Kashmir is not a bridge. Jammu and Kashmir is a State and part of the Indian Union. This is a fact. No one would be allowed to tinker with the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India. The people of Jammu and Ladakh and the nation as a whole have consistently displayed their commitment to the territorial integrity of India and they continue to do so almost on a daily basis. |
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