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| Irreconcilable contradictions in political perceptions | | Unity between Jammu and Kashmir | | Early Times Report
Jammu, July 18: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Fridaybemoaned that Jammu region and Kashmir Valley are behaving differently and it is his wish to bring about unity between the two regions. He yet again said that he was not hankering for power but had taken the step to "put an end to uncertainty in the state" and change its destiny, adding that he joined hands with the BJP only to end uncertainty in the state and create a peaceful and conductive environment. He expressed these views while speaking at a function to commemorate the birth centenary of Congress leader Girdhari Lal Dogra, held in the University of Jammu.
He also made two other significant statements. One was that he wanted the integration of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of the country, asserting that it is an issue of vital importance. The other was that he had not been able to connect Jammu with Kashmir. "It is my dream that we want to connect Jammu & Kashmir with rest of the country, but we have not been able to connect Jammu with Kashmir. I want to promise to the people of Jammu & Kashmir that we want to do justice and end the sense of discrimination in the state. We have done justice with all the three regions of J&K --Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu during my 2002-2005 rule", he said, and added that his government will take necessary steps to "change the destiny of Jammu & Kashmir" and will try to "resolve contradictions".
The Chief Minister only spoke the truth when he said that Jammu province and Kashmir region had been behaving differently and that all the efforts to connect Jammu with Kashmir had failed to produce the desired results.
The question to be asked is: Why the behaviour of Jammu province and Kashmir Valley is different or why Jammu opposes Kashmir and the vice-versa? The answer is simple and straight. The answer is that the political aspirations of the Jammu region and Kashmir Valley are contradictory and mutually exclusive; the contradictions are irreconcilable. In Kashmir, the leadership, both the "mainstream" and separatist, hates the Indian constitutional framework and says day-in-and-day-out that Jammu & Kashmir is an unsettled issue and the fundamental cause responsible for the alienation of Kashmiri Muslims from New Delhi is the manner in which it has brought the state under the ambit of central laws and institutions. Contrarily, in Jammu province, the entire population, barring a few disgruntled elements here and there, have all through endorsed the Indian constitutional framework and consistently demanded complete integration of the state with India. Apply the Indian Constitution to the state in full, barring Article 370, was, and is, their watchword and battle-cry.
The fact of the matter is that the history of relations between the two regions after 1947 has been one of distrust and that the Kashmiri leadership has, instead of appreciating the urge in Jammu for complete integration with India, insisted on the maintenance of the state's special status within India. If the Kashmiri leadership sincerely wishes to connect Jammu with Kashmir, it has to recognize this reality and change their attitude accordingly. There is no alternative to it. It simply has to adopt the Indian Constitution in its entirely, repose its full faith in the Indian polity and work against Pakistan, its sponsored dreaded jihadis in the state and reined in separatists of all varieties.
The other factor that never allowed Jammu to connect with Kashmir has been the policy of discrimination being followed both by the Kashmiri leadership and New Delhi. Even a cursory glance at the official statistics will establish that Jammu has never got its due share in the governance of the state and that its status in the state is the status of a colony. The fallout of this policy of discrimination is the complete alienation of Jammu from Kashmir and rise of groups who have been demanding division of the state, saying Jammu cannot afford to have any kind of truck with Kashmir. Even the Congress leadership from Jammu region has started vouching for the state's division, leave alone parties like the Panthers Party which have been demanding reorganization of the state on a regional basis since decades now. The ongoing movement in Jammu for the establishment of the sanctioned AIIMS for Jammu in Jammu is a classical example of the policy of discrimination being followed by New Delhi and Kashmiri leadership.
The Kashmiri leadership has also to appreciate this reality and come forward to amend the state's unitary constitution to federalize the state's polity so that the aspirations of each region are fulfilled within the framework of the Indian Constitution. There is no alternative to it.
All in all, it can be said that the ball is in the Kashmir's court. |
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