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| PM's Kashmir visit: Lop-sided approach to create more problems | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 21: It would be too much to say that the Prime Minister is not aware of the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir. He knows everything. There are several agencies which regularly send reports to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) about what is happening in the state, about who is doing what and about who stands for what, as also about the political perceptions of the people inhabiting different regions of the state. These agencies are duty bound to keep their headquarters in New Delhi fully informed about the state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, still it would be desirable to catalogue here a few fundamental factors that need to be taken into serious consideration by the Prime Minister. One, Kashmir, which has a land area of less than 16,000 sq kilo meters and which houses highly diverse population, could not be taken to mean the whole of the state. It is a very small part of the state and it has just less than 12 per cent of the state's land area. Two, the people of Kashmir, including Muslims and Hindus, are vertically divided into five groups demanding autonomy, self-rule, independence, merger with Pakistan and separate homeland within the Kashmir Valley under the Indian Constitution. The displaced Kashmiri Hindus are demanding separate homeland for them within the Valley. The fact of the matter is that the people of Kashmir are a divided lot. They would never ever forget their differences and come on one platform.
Three, those demanding autonomy, self-rule, independence and merger with Pakistan belong to one particular sect, with the bulk of Shiite Muslims, Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims and Pahari-speaking Muslims struggling very hard to obtain a status the Scheduled Tribes enjoy elsewhere in the country under the Indian Constitution. It is this particular sect that has been ruling the roost since 1947 and it is primarily the members of this particular sect who are also involved in the subversive activities.
It would not be out of place to mention here that almost all the Kashmir-based organizations, including the "mainstream" and separatist, are controlled by and consisted of the members of this particular sect. The case of the Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) is no different. The story of the Kashmir-based media persons, including opinion-makers and columnists, is also similar. A bulk of them belongs to this particular sect. Similarly, a very vast majority of teachers, including teachers in the Kashmir-based universities, also belongs to this particular sect. Significantly, the members of this sect, barring a few exceptions, are highly prosperous. They own most of the orchards. They own most of the big business establishments. They control the transport system and industry. They run the tourist industry as well and they man almost all the positions in the government and semi-government establishments, located in Kashmir. Almost all the legislators belong to this particular sect. The most significant aspect of the whole situation is that this Kashmir-based sect constitutes not more than 28 per cent of the state's total population. Jammu also houses members of this sect, but they, like the non-Muslims, are a neglected lot.
Four, those demanding autonomy, self-rule, independence and merger with Pakistan do not see eye to eye with one another. Most of them are not even on talking terms. Each one of them has been consistently seeking to let down all others. Five, an overwhelming majority of the Kashmir-based Shiite Muslims, Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims and Pahari-speaking Muslims, like their counterparts in Jammu, are opposed to the idea of the state getting more autonomy or self-rule or independence. They have been demanding political reservation in the state legislature as well as reservation in government jobs. The Scheduled Tribe Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims have already got reservation in government jobs. These distinct ethnic and social groups believe that any political concession to those demanding autonomy, self-rule and independence would mean the rise of a situation under which they would suffer more at the hands the Kashmir's political elite, which includes all those demanding a dispensation outside the Indian Constitution. They believe, and rightly, that India is the only country in the world where certain sections of Muslim society are entitled to obtain government jobs and seek admission to the professional and technical colleges and universities under reserved category and that there is not a single country in the entire Muslim world that treats any section of Muslim society differently on any ground whatever and reserves jobs for it. (To be continued)
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