Kashmir turmoil escalates as Article 370 and 35 A Revoked

( Syed Ali Taher Abedi)

After a tense few days in the Valley where all sorts of rumors ran amok, Home Minister Amit Shah’s address in Rajaya Sabha finally put all speculations to rest.While addressing the Upper house of Parliament, Shah Aborgated Article 370 that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Along with this resolution Home minister also introduced Bills to bifurcate the state into Ladhak as a Union Terrtory without a legislature,and Jammu & Kashmir as a Union Territory with an Assembly.

The BJP had been opposing the Special sattus for Jammu and Kashmir for a ,long time.It had earlier claimed thatit could not repeal Article 370 during the Atal Behari Vajpayee government due to lack of majority.The BJP had been opposing it since Jan Sangh Days.

The BJP in its manifesto of 2014 had mentioned that the party is committed to the abrogation of this Article”. The return of Kashmiri Pundits to the land of their ancestors with their full dignity, security and assured livelihood will figure high on the BJP;s agenda.

Late on Sunday night , mainstream party leaders –NC leaders Omar and Farooq Abdullah, and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti among others were placed under house arrest and mobile, broadband internet and cable TV services were entirely shut down.

MDMK leader Vaiko said that “you have played with the sentiments of the people of Kashmir. When additional Army personnel we deployed there, I was worried. Kashmir should not become Kosovo, East Timor and South Sudan”, he said in the Upper House today.

K.C.Tyagi Senior JD(U) leader said in Rajya Sabha That “our Chief Nitish Kumar is Carrying forward the tradition of JP Narayan, Ram Manohar Lhia,and George Fernandes. So our party is not supporting the Bill moved in Rajaya Sabha today. We have different thinking. We want that Article 370 Should not be revoked.

BSP,BJD,Shiv Sena AAP, have extended support to the government’s move.While Congress, JD(U) and MDMK have opposed the Bill till now.

Arvind Kejriwal tweets “We support the government on its decision on J& K.  We hope this will bring peace and development in the state”.

J&K became an integral part of India ‘ in real sense’ today: BJD MP

Supporting the move by the govt, BJD MP Prasana Acharya in Parliament said that the state of Kashmir became part of India in real sense today.

Earlier, a series of government orders and no clear communication had cause panic in the Valley. On July 28, a Divisional Security Commissioner of Railways in the Valeeyt asked officials to store ration for four months, not keep their families in Kashmir and to restrict staff leave due to “emergency situations “On the same day another order by the police asked its officers in Srinagar to “Provide details of Mosques and its management…”On July 30 Governor Satya Pal Malik, however said: None of the orders being shown are valid, there is a lot rumor mongering here.

The government has been increasing the security built-up in the state. On July 25, the Centre deployed 100 companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces in Kashmir.on August 1, around 25,000 more paramilitary men were m moved to Valley. On Monday, there are reports of 8,000 paramilitary troops being airlifted to Kashmir from Utter Pradesh, Odhisa, Assam and other parts of the country.

Mehbooba Mufti Tweetwed “Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy. Decision of K&K leadership to reject 2 nation theory in 1947 & align with India has backfired.Unilaterla Decision of GOI to scrap is Article 370 is illegal and unconstituitional which will make India an occupational force in J&K.

Omar Abdullah said.”Government of India(GOI)’s unilateral and shocking decisions today are a total betrayal of the trust that the people of Jammu & Kashmir had reposed in India when the state accorded to it in 1947.The decision will have far reaching and dangerous consequences. This is an aggression against people of the state as had been warned by an all-parties meeting in Srinagar yesterday.

GOI has resorted to deceit and stealth in recent weeks to lay the ground for these disastrous decisions. Our darkest apprehensions have unfortunately come true after the GOI and its representatives in J&K lied to us that nothing major was planned.

Those of us, who gave democratic voice to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, are incarcerated as lakhs of armed security personnel have been put on the ground.

While disagreeing with the decisions of the Government Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nadi Azad expressed his anguish and said”The BJP is drunk on power and the government acted like thieves in the night. Article 370 scrapped to help BJP get more votes. We had never thought that the state of Jammu & Kashmir would be destroyed this way.BJP has wiped out Jammu & Kashmir’s identity and destroyed democracy. They have cut off the head of the country. The party is playing with the integrity of the state”.

Read The Bill

The scrapping of Article 370 and 35 A raise fundamental questions on the state’s accession because that was done on the very terms and enunciated in these articles. The decisions are unilateral, illegal and constitutional and will be challenged as such by the National Conference. A long and tough battle lies ahead. We are ready for that.