With unprecedented speed - from Monday, August 5, to Friday, August 9, - RSS-led BJP government at the Centre amended the Constitution of India, dissolved and dismantled the State of Jammu & Kashmir and brought its entire geographical territory and 1.25 crore population (2011 census) under its direct control.
As a first step, on August 5, bypassing the Parliament and the people of Jammu & Kashmir; the Union Ministry of Law & Justice issued Government’s order - “The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019” - making “All the provisions of the Constitution, as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the State of Jammu & Kashmir etc”, thereby, ending the special provision under Art. 370.
Not stopping there, Modi government took the second step on the same day. A 55-pages Bill was placed and passed by both Houses of the Parliament in just 2 days, August 5-6; the President giving his assent on August 9 and, on the same day, gazette notification on “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019” was issued dissolving the State of Jammu & Kashmir; dismantling it into two separate entities; and bringing both under direct control of the Central government as Union Territories (UTs). This action of the government is not just ending so called discriminatory special status of Jammu & Kashmir; but the government’s action itself being discriminatory and punitive by dissolving, dismantling and downgrading a State, first time since India became a republic.
In the meantime, entire valley remains locked down; commerce, business, educational institutions closed; all movements on roads blocked; telecommunications snapped; civil liberties curbed; state leaders of opposition national and regional parties remain under house arrest; leaders of national political parties, the general secretaries of CPI(M) and CPI, were detained in Srinagar airport. A situation, worse than emergency, prevails.
The arrested political leaders of Jammu & Kashmir include CPI(M)’s central committee member, CITU state president and four times MLA from valley Md. Yusuf Tarigami who is politically a forefront fighter against the terrorists and separatists and became the target of attack by the terrorists killing 6 members of his family. His MLA flat at Srinagar was attacked twice. CPI(M)’s 12 Party members in Jammu & Kashmir have been killed by the terrorists. Yet, Modi government kept Tarigami and others under House arrest in the name of controlling terrorism in Kashmir!
This is how; the present power centre at the Centre brought the State of Jammu Kashmir in ‘One Nation with One Constitution’ as proclaimed by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech this year from the rampart of the Red Fort in line with the statement of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat, issued earlier on August 6, saying, “The intention of the makers of the Constitution was to apply it to all states equally which has been fulfilled by the Union government,” quoted by PTI. (Underline added for emphasis). Public discourse and media hype revolve round the removal of special status of J&K. Prime Minister’s claims of ‘One Nation’ and RSS Chief says of ‘all states’ equality including J&K. These are just the opposite of what actually happened in those 5 fateful days in early August. Dissolving and dismantling of the State of Jammu & Kashmir through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is the biggest assault on the federal Republic of India.
Part I of the Constitution begins with “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. (Underline added). There is defined division of power between the ‘Union’ and ‘States’. The UTs (some even with legislatures) are directly administered by the Union government and are devoid of power of the States.
Schedule I of the Constitution gives the ‘List of the States’ each with defined territories, 15th being the State of Jammu & Kashmir with some more autonomous power than other States, who themselves also having autonomous power as per List II and shared power with the Centre as per List III in the Constitution. Modi government, not only removed the special status of J&K state; but also, through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, ceased all powers of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, dismantled it and brought the entire territories and its people directly under Union government’s administration without any say of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. These are against the basic features of the democratic federal Republic of India and ominous for the people of other states. It is step forward towards unitary ‘one India’ as envisaged by RSS.
Since the formation of the Indian Republic, several states were created as per the will of the people mainly through re-organisation Acts of several existing states latest being the State of Telangana as the 29th State. However, for the first time since the formation of the Republic of India; a State has been dissolved, dismantled and removed from the ‘List of States’. Total number of States has been brought down to 28 in the Constitution of India.
Another aspect is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jammu & Kashmir, in which the present Union Home Minister Amit Shah play acting as the ‘second’ Ballabhbahi Patel, whose statute has been unveiled as the ‘Symbol of Unity’.
Looking through RSS prism, the present dispensation at the Centre has misreading of the history Jammu & Kashmir with that of the then State of Hyderabad. The then Home Minister Ballabhbhai Patel initiated ‘police action’ against the State of Hyderabad in 1948 forcing the Nizam to sign the ‘Instrument of Accession’ with the Indian Dominion in the background of Telangana peasant armed uprising, reflecting the will of the people, against the atrocities committed by the Nizam’ private armed force – the hated ‘Razakars’.
In contrast, it was Maharaja Hari Singh, the then ruler of Jammu & Kashmir, who initially wanted to remain independent, forced by circumstances, invited Indian army to save Srinagar from Pakistani invaders and, as against that, signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ at the behest of Sheikh Abdullah who was leading the heroic Kashmiri people’s resistance against Pak invaders. Certain special status associated with the ‘Instrument of Accession’ was inserted later in the Constitution as Art. 370.
Present ‘Action’ against the State of Jammu & Kashmir initiated by the present Home Minister Amit Shah is directed against the whole of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and their successive political leadership who resisted Pak invaders, backed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ with India, faced attacks of the local and Pak-sponsored terrorists, participated in the democratic electoral process in Parliament, State and local bodies elections giving a strong ground for India to reject UN’s resolution on plebiscite.
The ‘Instrument of Accession’ was for the entire the then State of Jammu & Kashmir including the Pak-occupied areas. Total rejection of the ‘Instrument of Accession’ of the then Jammu & Kashmir and dissolution and dismantling the State of Jammu & Kashmir reopens the old wounds and old disputes and denying any solution between two neighbours through bilateral discussion as per Shimla Agreement. Amit Shah’s action has alienated the people of J&K further and widely opened the ground for new internal and external disputes.
Another aspect is PM Modi’s Jammu & Kashmir ‘development programme’ as a neoliberal assault on the people of Jammu & Kashmir after removal of the protective cover inviting the domestic and foreign corporates to loot land and natural resources of Jammu & Kashmir. There is scramble among Modi’s crony corporates to ‘develop’ Jammu & Kashmir and several of them announced participation. Adani remains in forefront to grab the entire erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir in his own ‘developmental programme’ announcing appointment of a ‘Task Force’. There will be none to question them in absence of any democratic forum and people remaining periodically locked in and locked out under ‘security vigilance’ directly by Modi administration at the Centre.
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