Commentary :
Kashmir is a Question of Respecting Peoples ’ Aspirations
The petitions filed before the Supreme Court of India challenging the Article 35A of the Constitution ( Application to Jammu and Kashmir ) Presidential Order of 1954 have triggered off a wide debate in the country and massive protest in Kashmir .
The opinions among the ‘ mainstream ’ political forces seem to be broadly divided into ‘ for or against ’ the Article 35A . However , this difference makes a little difference because both view the special status of Kashmir within the jurisdiction of Supreme Court of India .
The question is much larger than this . The question is : What is the fate of national aspirations and rights of Kashmir people for which the Kashmir people had been waging a life and death struggle for decades .. A look into the changes brought in the status of Jammu and Kashmir in the last seven decades will give an idea on how the situation had reached to the present state .
Jammu and Kashmir was an independent sovereign Princely State ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh . A few days before the transfer of power to the Indian ruling classes , the Maharaja had signed a “ Standstill Agreement ” with India and Pakistan . It was an attempt to retain the independent status of Jammu and Kashmir . But , in the third week of October 1947 , the Pakistani rulers had begun to encroach upon some territories of Jammu and Kashmir using tribal skirmishes on the borders as a cover . It was also the time when a powerful peasant movement led by Sheikh Abdulla was sweeping Jammu and Kashmir . The radical land reforms also came on the 20 agenda . Maharaja needed India ’ s help to repulse the external threat and retain his power . This situation had compelled him to sign an “ Instrument of Accession ” with the Indian Govt . on Oct 26 th , 1947 . The schedule annexed to it specified the defense , foreign affairs , communications of Jammu and Kashmir as the domain of Indian Govt . and other matters remained as the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir alone .
As provided in the “ Instrument of Accession ”, Jammu and Kashmir had a Constituent Assembly ; prime minister . There were custom checks between India and Kashmir ; Supreme Court of India had no jurisdiction on all key issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir ; a militia was constituted as a separate force ; Jammu and Kashmir was sending Trade Commissioners to other Countries . In one word , the Jammu and Kashmir came to enjoy a limited sovereignty under the protection of India .
India ’ s war with Pakistan and UN ’ s intervention had resulted in the cease-fire and a temporary division of Jammu and Kashmir . This situation has brought two questions to the fore : One : What will be the political future of Jammu and Kashmir as a whole ; Two : How to ascertain the aspirations of Kashmir people and involve them in the resolution of problem . In this context , Jawaharlal Nehru , the then PM of India , made an international commitment to hold a plebiscite to finally determine the political future of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmir people .
But , in practice , the Indian Govt . has moved in the direction of integrating the Jammu and Kashmir with India . The Article 370 of the Indian Constitution came only in this wake on Oct 17 , 1949 .
The Article 370 ( 1 ) ( d ) reads like this : “ Such of the other provisions of this Constitution shall apply in relation to that state subject to such exceptions and modifications as the President may by order specify ; provided that no such order which relates to the matters specified in the “ Instrument of Accession ”…...... Provided further that no such order which relates to matters other than those referred to in the last proceeding proviso shall be issued except with the concurrence of that Government ”.
This Article came as part of attempts of Indian rulers to integrate Jammu and Kashmir with India . At the same time , it kept the appearance of respecting the commitments made in the “ Instrument of Accession ” and adhering to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir .
However , the national chauvinist and Hindu communalist forces were not happy with the situation . They intensified the campaign for an immediate and greater integration of Kashmir with India . Succumbing to this , the Nehru Govt . chose to set aside its commitment of plebiscite and initiated talks with Sheikh Abdulla , the then PM of Kashmir , on how to more closely integrate Kashmir with India . The result was signing of 1952 Delhi Agreement . But it fell short of what the Indian ruling classes wanted as the Agreement still retained the special status of Kashmir to a large extent . Sheikh Abdulla was not prepared to bend beyond this .
In 1953 , the Nehru Govt . had resorted to the extreme step of
Class Struggle