Art 370: Single lens view will not work

Arun Joshi

KASHMIRIS were clinging precariously to Article 370 as a definition of their special status within the Indian Union. Article 370 has been removed from the Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir is not even a state now. Two union territories are waiting to appear on the geographical and political map of the state.

An aura of triumph has been conferred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for having corrected a “historical wrong” in less than 10 weeks after coming to power in 2019. The BJP always thought that Article 370 was a sore point in the complete integration of J&K with the rest of India. The nation is celebrating. It is a reflection of the single lens view with which the country has viewed Kashmir. Before the abrogation of Article 370, J&K was an integral part of India. The greater integration should be seen in that context only. The drum beat of victory tends to infuse confusion too.

The government has done its job as per its agenda, but the task ahead is much more difficult and challenging. It is hoped that given the strong leadership in the country, all challenges would be surmounted.

That people in the Kashmir valley and a few other parts of J&K are unhappy is an absolute understatement, given the mood of people in these places. They are simmering with anger of potential dangers. Kashmir is wondering how the situation came to this pass where it was made to lose special status and the statehood. A lot of fear-mongering is at work. Things have not stabilised a fortnight after the state’s new destiny was foretold in Parliament on August 5. Kashmiris have viewed things largely through their own angle – that the Union Government fulfilled its Hindu nationalist agenda to effect demographic change in this Muslim majority region. But cool thinkers have pondered over something else too.

There was rampant corruption in the system. The ruling political class always acted arbitrarily in the matters of appointments in the government and the semi-government institutions, there was price for everything, and nothing was available without the right connections at the right places. Each and every home was affected in the state.

“We sold a piece of our land to enable our son to complete his engineering, and when it came to job, his merit was not considered. Those with less marks but with money to bribe got it,” bemoaned an elderly villager who had come to visit Srinagar to enquire about the welfare of his loved ones in the city. This finds a loud echo all across the Valley.

If Articles 370 and 35A, they ask, were the guarantee for our land and jobs, we got nothing in spite of these constitutional provisions. That is a reality they have understood, but want their cultural and other values to be protected. The least the Kashmir-centric parties that raised the slogans of the restoration of complete autonomy and self-rule, leaving only three subjects, defence, communications and foreign affairs, with the Centre and absolute sovereignty over all other matters with the state could have done was to govern the state well. Governance always became a casualty that was sought to be hidden under the political slogans.

In 2016, the calendar year known for worst agitations and violence in decades when over 100 persons died and several hundreds were treated in hospitals instead of attempting the restoration of normalcy, the state government did not allow the police to act against mischief mongers. It also did not allow the schools to be opened to save their buildings from acts of arsonists who were bent upon burning down one school after another.

Good governance is not possible without peace, it was argued. True! But no attempts were made to bring peace back to the Valley. And those who did, the security forces and the police, were reprimanded for action against the trouble-makers. All suggestions to put instigators behind bars under the stringent law of the Public Safety Act were rejected outright.

It is very difficult to predict how things will play out in the coming days, but what is becoming clear is that a balanced view of the things is important in the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They have seen very bad times in the past. They want peace with dignity. It can be translated into an irrevocable guarantee to make them live in their traditional atmosphere with their ethnic, linguistic and cultural identities intact. They want statements that can inspire trust with action on ground.