The religio-cultural, ethno-lingual and ideological differences of people within Kashmir have been politicised throughout by the vested interests to foster alien rule by the indigenous collaborators of external powers, be they Mughals in 1586, Afghans in 1752, Sikhs in 1819 ,Britishers in 1846, and Pakistan in 1988.The persecution of Sunni religious scholars by Chak rulers compelled the Sunni nobles of Kashmir to invite the Mughal army to annex Kashmir in 1586.Similarly after the Mughal misrule in Kashmir the indigenous Kashmiries invited Afghans in 1752 to rule over Kashmir.
The Kashmiri Pandits were instrumental in inviting the Sikh army in 1819 to overthrow the Afghan ruler of Kashmir. After Gulab Singh hatched a conspiracy with the British in 1846, Kashmir passed on to the Dogra dynasty and finally the Muslim Conference leaders wanted Pakistan to invade Kashmir after Maharaja Hari Singh released Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah from jail on 29th September 1947.The move was punctured by the Dogra ruler and the Kashmiri nationalists under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah by inviting the Indian troops on 27th October 1947 and by defending Kashmir against the Pakistani tribal raiders.
GUERRILLA WARFARE IN KASHMIR:-
The ongoing guerrilla warfare in Kashmir is not the result of any realization of the need for national solidarity within the Kashmiri nation but simply an overreaction to the rigging of Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly elections on 23rd March1987which was exploited by the Pakistani agencies to misguide the Kashmiri youth to motivate them to eschew the path of violence sugar coated as the armed struggle for national freedom.The HAJY Group of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front including Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Javed Ahmad Mir and Mohammad Yasin Malik who crossed the Line of Control soon after getting frustrated because of police torture and election rigging in15 Assembly segments in, were imparted arms training and supplied with arms and ammunition from across the border by Pakistani agencies to start militancy in Kashmir on 31st July 1988. As many as about 50,000 freedom loving Kashmiri youth crossed over the Line of Control in late 1980s and early 1990s to seek arms training and arms and ammunition from across the border.
The enthusiasm of Kashmiri youth in participating the freedom struggle of Kashmir became a cause of concern for the Pakistani agencies because the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front then led by Mr Amanullah Khan demanded freedom forJammu and Kashmir State.In order to diminish the role and influence of the secular and pro-independence JKLF in Kashmir, the organization was denied arms and ammunition as well as arms training to its fresh recruits and contrary to it the pro-Pakistan militant organizations like Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkatul Ansar, LashkareToiba,Jaishe Muhammad and Al Umer Mujahideen etc.were established to take control of the armed struggle in the Kashmiri heartland.
The discrimination against JKLF and the patronage to Hizbul Mujahideen by Pakistani ISI led to the inter-group armed clashes between the two organizations both in their training camps across the border and in the operational ground in Kashmir. The shortage of arms and ammunition as well as the dwindling manpower forced Mohammad Yasin Malik to announce ceasefire in May 1994.The ceasefire by JKLF marked the end of the Kashmiri nationalist armed struggle and the beginning of the political struggle for freedom of Kashmiristan from India.The presence of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in the Muzzaffarabad based United Jehad Council led by Syed Salahuddin, Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Commander, and the participation of Mohammad Yasin Malik in the Joint Resistance Leadership in which pro-Pakistan Huriyat Conference(Geelani) puts a question mark on the nationalist and nonviolent character of the two factions of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.
POPULAR POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS IN KASHMIR:-The Kashmiri political struggle has evolved from 13th July ,1931 onwards. The. Initial demand of Kashmiri nation has been the socio-economic and political empowerment of Kashmiri Muslims under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. In 1944 the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference released the Naya Kashmir Manifesto which talked about the modern welfare state based on democracy, secularism, socialism and constitutional monarchy. In May1946 the people of Kashmir participated in Quit Kashmir campaign launched by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah against Maharaja Hari Singh.From the third week of October1947 onwards the Kashmiri nationalists participated in defending Kashmir against the Pakistani tribal raiders.Then from 9th August 1955 the loyalists of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah demanded the people’s right of self-determination under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front led by Mirza Mohammad Àfzal Beigh.
From 1988 onwards the Kashmiries participating in street protests against the Indian control over Jammu and Kashmir State are chanting the slogans, “We want freedom” and “Hum kya chahtay-Aazadi” which is a clear attestation of the fact that the people want an independent country, free from both India and Pakistan.There are however a few practical problems in realizing the goal of sovereign Kashmiristan. Firstly Jammu and Kashmir State is under the military control of India for the last more than three decades and it is a hericulian task to liberate the territory from one of the mighty military powers of Asia. Secondly, the Kashmiristan is surrounded by three strong nuclear powers of Asia, namely China, India and Pakistan.
Pakistan on the basis of Indian Independence Act of July 1947, UN Security Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir State, Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan in 1972 and the Lahore Declaration by Atal Bihari Vajpayee-Nawaz Sharief in February 1999 is a well recognized party to the Kashmir issue, so without its consent Kashmiristan can’t become an independent country.The official stand of Pakistan is that Kashmir is its unfinished agenda and shahrug meaning the jagglary vein of Pakistan.Thirdly, being a landlocked territory, Kashmiristan has to depend on its immediate neighbours which include Pakistan, India and China for communication purpose. Fourthly, given the mountainous terrain, hostile climate and limited natural and human resources, Kashmiristan will always remain dependent on other countries for its financial requirements. Fifthly, the lack of large scale agricultural and industrial production as well as the nonavailability of quaternary services, Kashmiristan has necessarily to bank upon the goods and services available in the Indo-Gangetic plain. The above mentioned ground realities were probably the main reason behind the decision of Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly in February 1954 to ratify the limited accession of Jammu and Kashmir State by Maharaja Hari Singh with Indian Union on 26th October1947.
THE WAY FORWARD IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE:-
The Indian mainstream political parties and the pro-liberation political forces in Kashmir have proposed various conflict resolution mechanisms for Jammu and Kashmir State which range from complete integration of the state with Indian Union or Pakistan to complete freedom from both India and Pakistan.The political solutions offered by the liberation camp are unviable either because of their latent idealism or Pakistan centricism.
The pragmatic political solutions of Kashmir problem offered by the Indian mainstream political parties include Greater Autonomy by National Conference, Self-Rule by People’s Democratic Party and Achievable Nationhood by People’s Conference.The solutions for resolution of Kashmir conflict offered by the above mentioned Indian mainstream political parties are based on their political considerations to monopolize the electoral space in Jammu and Kashmir State.The Jammu and Kashmir National League has therefore suggested a realistic solution of Kashmir problem that is informed both by the political history and futuristic considerations for Jammu and Kashmir State.
The restoration of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly on 17th November 1956 which after the concurrence of the President of India was implemented by the Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad Government on 26th January 1957.The restoration of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution of 1957 has many advantages over other solutions as it is well written, time-tested legal and constitutional document which includes attests the ratification of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir State with Indian Union, upholds the retention of Article 35-A of the Constitution of India and takes care of the financial requirements of Jammu and Kashmir State but at the same time excludes the preexisting bureaucratic and laborious permit system for entry of tourists, pilgrims, businessmen, technocrats, artisans and other people into the Jammu and Kashmir State.
CONCLUSION:-
The religio-cultural, ethnolingual and ideological cleavages within Kashmiri society have influenced the political history of Kashmir.The former Kashmir Sultanate has witnessed a long history of external rule ever since the Mughals were invited to invade Kashmir in 1586 C.E. After complete four centuries since Mughal takeover the Kashmiri youth approached fifth time in 1988 to an external power for military intervention in Kashmir.The Indian troops that were perceived as saviours of Kashmiri nation in October 1947 were through continuous propaganda converted into an occupational force.
The Kashmiri people are demanding freedom from India without knowing how to achieve, defend and sustain it.The death and destruction caused in Kashmir due to three decades of guerrilla warfare has made the people to realize the value of peace but their senses of loss is so deep that without a proper political package the peace with dignity is not possible in Kashmir.The Jammu and Kashmir National League has put forth the proposal of restoration of the 1957-Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State for the diffusion of political crisis in the conflict-ridden state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prof. G.M.Athar can be reached at ghathar@yahoo.co.in
