Because of the Pakistan sponsored guerrilla warfare in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir State since July1988 the Kashmiri nation has been exposed to catastrophic death and destruction. More one lakh people have lost their lives, thousands have been injured, miamed and blinded over the 31 years.Property worth billions of rupees has been damaged and the youth have lost opportunities of education, employment and recreation in the conflict-ridden ridden state.The Kashmir conflict over Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan is there since 27th October 1947 when Indian troops were invited by Maharaja Hari Singh to defend the territory of erstwhile princely state against the Pakistani tribal raiders who had invaded Kashmir on 22nd October 1947.
The Indo-Pak territorial dispute over Jammu and Kashmir became the main reason for four wars between the two countries from 1947 to 1999. The guerrilla warfare launched by Kashmiri youth with the logistical support of Pakistan from 31st July 1988 onwards reached its climax in ending February 2019 which the oven ground armed conflict escalated into air strikes by India and Pakistan into each other’s spatial jurisdiction.The nuclear deterrent available with both India and Pakistan, like the Kargil War in 1999, however, deterred the two countries from going into a formal war with each other.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS OF KASHMIR CONFLICT:-
The UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir State from 1948 onwards as well as the Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration between India and Pakistan in 1972 and 1999 respectively have recognized Pakistan as a party to the territorial dispute over Jammu and Kashmir State between the two countries.The Government of India and Government of Pakistan need to engage with each other at diplomatic and political levels to find a common ground for resolving the territorial dispute between them on permanent basis.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir State in general and the Muslims of Kashmir in particular who have been struggling since 1996 under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, People’s Democratic Party and other Indian mainstream political parties for the restoration of internal sovereignty of Jammu and Kashmir State.The leadership of separatist camp in Kashmir was reluctant to talk to the Indian parliamentarians in 2016 but very recently Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, leader ofJoint Resistance Leadership has expressed the willingness of the liberation camp to talk to the Government of India for the dignified solution of Kashmir problem.
In order to take forward the negotiations between the Government of India and the Kashmiri leadership, New Delhi has to take an initiative to start structured dialogue with all stakeholders in peace and development within the state.The dialogue between the political leadership of Jammu and Kashmir State and the Government of India has to be arranged by the Ministry of Home Affairs,Government of India.
The outcome of the India-Jammu and Kashmir political dialogue won’t prejudice the agenda and outcome of Indo-Pak dialogue to be held under the auspices of Ministry of External Affairs.Since as per the Instrument of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union by Maharaja Hari Singh on 26th October1947, the control over foreign affairs of Jammu and Kashmir has been surrendered to the Indian Union, so neither the Government of Jammu and Kashmir State nor the political parties of the state can directly deal with Pakistan. Moreover, as per Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, the two countries would resolve the Kashmir issue bilaterally, so there is no scope for involvement of Kashmiri political leadership in the Indo-Pak negotiation process.The Government of India is sovereign enough to retain the control over defence, foreign affairs, communication and some other subjects of Jammu and Kashmir State, transfer them to the Government of Pakistan or the Government of Jammu and Kashmir State.So the jurisdiction of Indo-Pak dialogue is altogether different from the jurisdiction of the India-Jammu and Kashmir State dialogue and the two dialogue processes won’t prejudice the outcome of each other. The question arises, that who are the genuine representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir State?
POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE:–
First of let us make it clear that the people of Jammu and Kashmir State are not ideologically a homogeneous category. There are Hindu nationalists in Jammu region who want complet integration of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union.
The Buddhists of Ladakh want complete integration with the country as a Union Territory. The Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir State want either an independent country or merger with Pakistan. Those who want an independent country have three subcategories namely secular, moderate and Islamists.The secular Kashmiries want internal sovereignty within Indian Union.The Islamists want some kind of affiliation with Muslim world in general and Pakistan in particular.The moderate Muslims want an independent country.
The moderate Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists are happy with India but if the majority of population is in favour of an independent country, they are not against any such proposal.One of the advantages in the spatial distribution of varying political aspirations in Jammu and Kashmir State is that there is a regional pattern of their concentration.The people of Buddhist majority Leh district and Zanskar tehsil are demanding Union Territory status whereas the Hindu majority Sambha, Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur districts demand separate statehood for Jammu region.The people in the remaining Muslim majority territory aspire for an independent country. RE-ORGANIZATION OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE:-
The Government of India has through out past three decades of political turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir State maintained its policy that it is ready to talk to all stakeholders for the resolution of Kashmir problem within the framework of Indian Constitution. The political implications of such a stand are that the Government of India is not going to compromise on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, so the demand of the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir State to have liberation from India is unacceptable to New Delhi. In order to fulfill the mutually exclusive political aspirations of majority of the people in Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh regions within the framework of Indian Constitution, the re-organisation of Jammu and Kashmir State becomes very essential.
The secular political parties like Indian National Congress, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party and several other smaller parties have been against the trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir State on the basis of religion.The control over political power at the Centre by Hindu nationalist parties like Bhartiya Janta Party, Shiv Sena and others has offered the opportunity for the Hindus of Jammu region and the Buddhists of Ladakh region to realize their long pending political demands. The parliament elections in Jammu and Ladakh regions were won by BJP both in 2014 and 2019 on the promises of granting statehood to Jammu region and UnionTerritory status to Ladakh region. Keeping in view the forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly elections in the month of September or October 2019, the newly elected BJP Government led by Shri Narinder Modi at the Centre has started its efforts to have re-organisation of Jammu and Kashmir State.
The objective of BJP is to separate the entire Jammu Division and entire Ladakh Division from Kashmir Division against the wishes of Muslim dominated Chenab Valley, Pir Panjal and Kargil regions who want to stay with Kashmir Division.It is therefore very essential that the Muslims of Kashmir Valley, Chenab Valley, Pir Panjal region and Kargil region remain vigilant against the undemocratic designs of BJP Government at the Centre.The Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir State in general and the Muslims of Kashmir Valley, Chenab Valley, Pir Panjal region and Kargil region in particular must not oppose the re-organisation of Jammu and Kashmir State.
The political demands of Hindu and Buddhist majority districts and tehsils of Jammu and Kashmir State must be respected by the people of Muslim majority districts and tehsils of the state, in order to satisfy the mutually exclusive political aspirations of the people living in different regions of the conflict-ridden state.The separation of non-Muslim majority districts and tehsils of Jammu and Kashmir State from the Muslim dominated territory can help in eliminating the chances of opposition to political demands of internal sovereignty of Kashmristan.
CONCLUSION:-
The decades old conflict situation and mutually exclusive regional political aspirations in Jammu and Kashmir State demands that the Government of India must engage both Pakistan and the political leadership of Jammu and Kashmir under its foreign policy and domestic affairs frameworks respectively to address the external and internal dimensions of Kashmir problem.
The proposal of RSS to trifurcate Jammu and Kashmir State on the basis of religion and regional aspirations of the people, is likely to be taken up by the BJP Government at the Centre.The Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir State in general and the Muslims living in Kashmir Valley, Chenab Valley, Pir Panjal region and Kargil region in particular have to respect the political aspirations of the Hindus of Jammu region and the Buddhists of Ladakh regions but at the same time have to remain extra vigilant about the territorial integrity of the geographically contiguous Muslim dominated districts and tehsils of the state, referred to as Kashmiristan.
Prof.G.M.Athar can be reached at ghathar@yahoo.co.in
