The political forces in Jammu and Kashmir State belonging to different political ideologies have advocated various visions for the resolution of Kashmir conflict.These visions vary in the quantum of authority, territorial expense and degree of liberal values for Jammu and Kashmir State. Since, Kashmir Valley, the geographical and demographic heartland of Jammu and Kashmir is under the control of India, so the dimensions of political authority, geographical territory and political ideology have been viewed from the Kashmir-centric perspective. A brief account of different political alternatives as well as their critical evaluation is very briefly discussed as under: ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE:-
The alternative options available in Jammu and Kashmir State from the perspective of political authority, territorial sprawl and political ideology are systematically discussed here to highlight broad contours of political phenomenon of the conflict-ridden state.
The political alternatives in terms of quantum of authority for Jammu and Kashmir State include: an independent country envisioned by Maharaja Hari Singh prior to tribal raid in Kashmir on 22nd October 1947, institutionalized by him through the offer of Standstill Agreement offer through an identical telegram to the Government of India and Government of Pakistan on 12th August 1947; the limited legal relationship of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union on the basis of Instrument of Accession submitted by Maharaja Hari to the Government of India on 26th October 1947, thereby surrendering his control over defence, foreign affairs and communications to the Indian Union; the constitutional relationship of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union guaranteed by the Article 1st and the Article 370 of the Constitution of India implemented on 26th January 1950 and the Nehru-Abdullah Delhi Agreement of 24th July 1952; the Centre-State relationship guaranteed by the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly on 17th November 1956 and after the concurrence of President of India implemented by the Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad Government on 26th January 1957; and the special status of Jammu and Kashmir State within lndian Union retained by Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq Government when the nomenclatures, procedures of appointment and powers of Sadr-e-Riyasat and Wazire Azam were abolished on 30th January 1965.
In terms of the territorial expense of Jammu and Kashmir State is concerned, it has been delimited through the Treaty of Amritsar on 11th March 1846 The Instrument of Accession submitted by Maharaja Hari Singh to the Indian Union is about the entire Dogra princely state of Jammu and Kashmir State as it existed on 26th January 1947. However, the territory of Jammu and Kashmir State which is under the control of India extends from the Line of Control to the Line of Actual Control in the north to Punjab border in the south. Since the Buddhist majority Leh district and Zanskar tehsil as well as the Hindu majority Sambha, Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur demand more integration with Indian Union, the disputed territory is actually confined to the Muslim majority Kashmir Valley, Kishenganga Valley, Suru-Shingo Valley, Chenab Valley and Pirpanjal region. Keeping in view the ethnolingual diversity of the Muslim dominated region of Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir, the Kashmiri speaking Kashmir Valley and the adjoining Kashmiri speaking areas of Banihal, Gool Gulab Garh tehsil, Baderwah, Doda and Kishtwar areas situated in Chenab Valley constitute a compact geographical territory where the people have a strong sense of Kashmiri nationalism.The Balti speaking Kargil is part of Baltistan, the Shina speaking Guris Valley is part of Dardistan and the Pahari/ Gujjari speaking Pirpanjal region is part of the so called Azad Kashmir.Thus the Kashmiri speaking territory only qualifies for emerging as a typical nation-state of Kashmiristan in the long run. So far as the political ideology of different political parties of Jammu and Kashmir State is concerned, it varies from the religious theocracy of Jamat-e-Islami to atheism of Communist Party( Marxist) but the dominant ideology of Kashmir is Nehruvian secularism of Congress Party and the religious pluralism of Sheikh Abdullah’s National Conference.The Islamic parties of Jammu and Kashmir State have enjoyed the support of the people in the single digit over the past several decades. Similarly, in the religious minded Kashmiri society Atheism is still a taboo, so the Communist Party of India (Marxist) focuses more on its economic and political agenda to seek the support of common masses rather than its atheist outlook.The Nehruvian secularism of Congress Party focuses on inclusive politics, whereas the multicultural agenda of National Conference although inclusive in nature asserts regional aspirations and Muslim identity distinct from Islamic theocracy.
CRITICAL EVALUATION OF POLITICAL OPTIONS:-
The vision of Maharaja Hari Singh to make his Dogra princely state of Jammu and Kashmir an independent country proved very ephemeral because of internal and external threats to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Standstill Agreement offered by Maharaja Hari Singh to both India and Pakistan was first accepted in principle on 16th August 1947 by the Muslim dominated nation but in practice violated on 22nd October 1947 by allowing the tribal raiders from Northwestern Frontier Province to cross the border of Jammu and Kashmir princely state, if not provided them the logistical support to undertake the misadventure. The Government of India wanted concrete details of the Standstill Agreement, which either Maharaja delayed to submit to New Delhi or the the Government of India was resistant to accept these from an autocratic ruler. So in nutshell, the vision of an independent country based on the Standstill Agreement proved to be a failure. So far as the limited accession of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union by Maharaja Hari Singh is concerned, it was done with an intention to protect the constitutional monarchy of Maharaja Hari Singh in the state because in the covering letter to the Instrument of Accession, the Maharaja had categorically stated that the provisions of the future Constitution of India except for the subjects covered in the Instrument of Accession shall not be a binding on his government.In the same letter he had expressed his willingness to induct Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in the state administration. However, from Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s political perspective, the Instrument of Accession was not sufficient to empower the popular government in the state. Similarly, further empowerment of popular government led by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was in the interest of Government of India.To defend Indian interests at the United Nations, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ensured Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s promotion from Emergency Administrator to Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir State on 5th March 1948. In order to abolish Dogra autocracy and Hindu landlordism Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah required a formal constitutional relationship with India, so that the Congress Government led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru can help him in this regard. The decision to send four representatives from Jammu and Kashmir State, namely, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Mirza Mohammad Àfzal Beigh,Maulana Mohammad Syed Masoodi and Moti Ram Baigra, to the Constituent Assembly of India in 1949 was motivated by this interest.The introduction of Article 1st and Article 370 in the Constitution of India, transformed the legal relationship of Jammu and Kashmir State into a constitutional one to the satisfaction of New Delhi on the one hand and on the other it paved the way for popular leadership in the state to adopt constitutional means to end autocracy, landlordism, exploitation by money lenders and so.
The abolition of the institution of Maharaja to replace it by Sadr-e-Riyasat was a transitional phase in the process of full integration of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union.The elections to the Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly in September and October 1951 was a win-win situation for both National Conference as well as the Government of India. Now the popular government of Jammu and Kashmir State headed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah could enter into Delhi Agreement on 24th July 1952 to work out the centre-state relationship between Indian Union and the Jammu and Kashmir State. Once Abdullah resisted in giving full cooperation to New Delhi in its integration project, he was removed from the power to empower his Deputy Prime Minister. The Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly led by Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad willingly ratified the accession of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union on 6th February 1954. The Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad used the opportunity to its advantage by getting Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution approved to safeguard the preexisting citizenship rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir State.The financial integration of the state with Indian Union done in 1954 to secure funds for governance and development and above all the adoption of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State by Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly on 17th November1956 and securing it’s approval by the President of India to implement it in the state on 26th January 1957 helped in the consolidate Bakhshi Government’s position in the Jammu and Kashmir State.
The integration project of New Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir State was far from being over. Once Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad after the implementation of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State resisted the centralization process of New Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir State, he was asked to resign under the Kamraj Plan of Indian National Congress, even though he was not the member of Congress Party.The nomination of Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq an honest leftist leader as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir State, was apparently to give the feeling of corruption free government because the Bakhshi Government had to use corruption model to win the support of the people against the popular demand for people’s right of self-determination under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front led by Mirza Mohammad Àfzal Beigh following the dismissal from Prime Ministership of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on 9th August 1953. The position of Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, the leader of Democratic National Conference, was weakened by New Delhi by making him dependent on Congress Committee led by Syed Mir Qasim and controlled by New Delhi.
The Wazir-e-Azam of Jammu and Kashmir State deserved the protocol commensurate with his higher status but New Delhi treated the Wazir-e -Azam of Jammu and Kashmir State at par with the Chief Ministers of the country. primarily because of the fact that for the Central Government it was both unconventional and unbearable to accord higher status to the head of one particular federal unit. So Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq got either mentality ready for it or was enticed/compelled to get rid of Jammu based Sadr-e-Riyasat as well as his false prestige or embarrassment of being the Wazir-e- Azam of Jammu and Kashmir State. After swearing as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir State on 30th January 1965, Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq declared that there was no change in his status, meaning that he was treated only as a Chief Minister even though he was a Wazir-e- Azam earlier. The Sadr-e-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir State was changed into the Governor of the state to bring Jammu and Kashmir State at par with other states of India. The process of integration by New Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir State continued in the field of bureaucracy and judiciary as well.The extension of central laws to the Jammu and Kashmir State continued unabatedly, no matter which party was ruling the state.The original Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State was amended several times to erode the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir State.
The Parliament of India has passed a unanimous resolution in 1994 declaring the entire former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir State as an integral part of Indian Union. Given the fact that ndia is unable to ensure peace and security in its part of Muslim dominated state, how can it convince the people of other part of the state to join India. Since both India and Pakistan have a nuclear deterrent, so the two countries can ill-afford to go for war with each other to have control over the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir State. What perhaps is within the realm of possibility is realignment of the Line of Control to have unification of Balti, Shina and Pahari/ Gujjari speaking areas presently divided along the Line of Control between lndia and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir State.
The Jammu and Kashmir is a mult-religious state so the secularism is the most viable ideology for it.The exposure of Kashmiri Muslims to the modern social and natural sciences, has helped in the creation of scientific temperament in the society to a large extent over the past seven decades So religious orthodoxy of any kind and theocracy has no future in Jammu and Kashmir State.
THE WAY FORWARD IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE:-
Different political parties have suggested different solutions for the resolution of Kashmir conflict. Liberation of Jammu and Kashmir State from India or assimilation with the country are two extreme solutions unacceptable to the Government of India and the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir respectively. The Instrument of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union can serve as the basic legal framework for Indo-Kashmir relationship but the constitutional relationship of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union developed from 1949 to 1956 under the framework of Constitution of India enforced in 1950, Delhi Agreement of 1952, and the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State adopted by the state Constituent Assembly in 1956 are very essential mechanisms that can create a balanced centre-state relationship of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union. The political status-quo in Jammu and Kashmir State and the centralization policies of the Government of India will prove counter productive for the Indian interests in Kashmir as it will kill the fundamental logic of Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir State’s accession with the Hindu majority India and it’s reluctance to accede to neighbouring Muslim dominated Pakistan.Thus the restoration of all the provisions of Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State implemented by Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad Government on 26th January 1957 is the most pragmatic way forward in Jammu and Kashmir State.
Prof.G.M.Athar can be reached at ghathar@yahoo.co.in
