Early Times Report
JAMMU, Aug 10: The other day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a statement at Bhabra (MP), which was quite inspiring. Reaching out to the people of the restive Kashmir, the PM reassured the people of J&K that they will have equal freedoms like all other Indians and that he would want the people to become proud Indians.
Reaching out to the people of the turbulent Kashmir, which had witnessed the death of over 55 people in clashes and a record-breaking curfew in large parts, PM Modi said "it was painful to see innocent youngsters, who should be holding laptops, books and cricket bats, 'handed' stones and appealed to them for maintaining peace and harmony in the heaven on earth".
But more important than this was his another statement, which read: "The people of Jammu and Kashmir have the same freedoms as enjoyed by every Indian".
Why was this statement very significant? Why because he talked about equality between the people of the state and rest of the Indians. Should it be taken to mean that he has finally realized that the people of the state do not enjoy equal freedoms as all other Indians enjoy in the rest of the country, which is a fact? It should be taken to mean like that.
For, there are at least two Articles in the Indian Constitution, which do make unjust distinctions between the people of the state, called State Subjects, and the rest of the Indians. One is Article 370. This Article deprives the people of the state of those fundamental rights and freedoms which the people in the rest of the country enjoy.
The other is Article 35-A. This Article has created high wall between the State Subjects and other Indians in the sense that while the State Subjects could buy immovable property and enjoy all rights across the nation, the non-State Subjects do not. And, this has kept the state backward. No non-State Subject can set up any industry in the State on his own because he is not a State Subject and the result is there is no investment from outside to the extent it should have been.
Now that the PM himself has talked about equal freedoms, one can hope that he would take all the required steps to not only integrate the state fully into India but remove from the statute books all those provisions which have harmed the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. |
