Since the partition of India and Pakistan – Jammu and Kashmir has been an apple of eye for both the countries for no reason other than power politics, and between this power political fight, Kashmiris are the one who go through all the sufferings, deaths, and eventually end up being a political tool for their own local leaders as well as national leaders. Both – India and Pakistan claim to be the representative or the caretaker of J&K but no one come forward and solve the crisis of the state. The situation in J&K has become such severe that even they feel alienated by both Indian and Pakistan.
Talking about the crisis in J&K with Afternoon Voice, National Conference State secretary Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari said, “To be precise, to solve this issue in actuality, first of all, both India and Pakistan should stop doing politics on the issue and discuss the actual points that how can things be made good and the people of the state be in peace. Whenever, attacks or fights take place between India and Pakistan – Kashmiris suffer the most and die on both the sides, however, these nation – who claim to be the caretaker don’t even give a damn to all this. Looking at the innocent death, damaging and depressing situation in J&K, India and Pakistan should come together and make peace forever on this issue.”
Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in a statement said that the Article 370 and 35A which gives special status and restricts non-permanent residents to buy properties in Jammu and Kashmir is constitutionally vulnerable and also hampers economic development of the state. Therefore, it should be revoked from the Constitution. However, hitting back at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement of abandoning the special status for J&K, Jammu and Kashmir former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said that the relationship between the Union and the State will end if Article is revoked.
J&K was given a special status by granting Article 370 by the Indian government. Article 370 was introduced in the Constitution as a temporary solution to the crisis of J&K after it joined India after independence. The Article 35A of the Constitution gives power to J&K to define state’s permanent residents and their special rights and privileges. The Article was added to the Constitution through a presidential order of 1954 with the then government’s occurrence of J&K. Sheikh Abdullah took over reins from Dogra ruler after J&K’s accession and in 1949, he negotiated J&K’s political relationship with New Delhi, which led to the inclusion of Article 370 in the Constitution. The Article 370 guarantees special status to J&K and restricts Union’s legislative powers over three areas which include Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Communications.
Moreover, National Conference vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah also slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the BJP’s proxies in Kashmir were working on an agenda to abolish the Article 370 and 35A, which define the relationship of the state with the union of India. If you look at the period before 1990, J&K was among the fastest states of the country. No industry was left behind in the state then. You either forgot or have not been informed well enough that before the advent of militancy in 1989, there was no such complaint here. If J&K has suffered then it’s all because of militancy not these Articles. He further alleged that J&K was under severe threat and this threat is not new but has increased in the last few years since the BJP joined the state government in 2015.
“J&K will be diminished the moment 370 is abolished. Indian will never agree to leave J&K as it plays a crucial role in bringing mandate to the political parties. One government speaks about abolishing the Article; however, another one disagrees for the same. Overall, it’s a very important issue of our country that is creating a line that breaks the thread – India is banded with, and we must discuss about it. However, the fact is that neither Indian government nor any political party is serious about solving the issue rather than using it for their political benefit. They will never abolish the Article 370; simply because once the article is abolished they will lose all the rights in J&K which they would never want.” Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari added.
Relationship between India and Pakistan has been going bitter over the last some years and the Pulwama terrorist attack and then Indian Air Force strike in Balakot made it even bitterer. Since the general elections schedule was announced, the political parties are on an active and are not leaving any stone unturned to grab the vote banks – be it on the name of religion, cast or region. Communal politics has become an internal part of the national politics without which the elections process can’t be completed. It is the history of Indian elections that even before the elections process starts, communal tension, Hind-Muslim, Upper cast-Lower cast, East-West, North-South starts and the voters – instead of questioning the candidates and their manifestos which they will apply for the betterment of the nation after they come into power – rather fights on all these silly issues and in-between all this drama, the politicians as always get benefitted and do their politics and the country as always keeps running and falling on its own like an orphan.
“As far as the youth of J&K is concerned, if you ask them to say India Zindabad – they say it, and if you ask Pakistan Zindabad then they also say it also. I believe and this has nothing to do with politics that by and large one thing is clear that they want to be independent; neither have they wanted to go to Pakistan nor to India. They want their own space; they want freedom from both the countries.” He concluded.
Eventually, it still remained an unsolved issue that has been the reason for many killings of soldiers, civilian, displacement of homes, parting away family members and destruction of the most beautiful region. After the separation of Pakistan, many governments promised to solve the issue, they came to power and then sat in the opposition, but no party or government did anything fruitful, rather created havoc, hatred, communal tension in the state and got their political mileage and as always J&K, its people and its sufferings remain the same there.
