By
Md. Zeyaul Haque, Special to IslamOnline
NEW
DELHI, August 12 (IslamOnline)- Hopes of solving the Kashmir problem,
acceptable to a wide cross-section of Kashmiris, crashed when the
Center finally rejected the National Conference proposal (NC) for
autonomy during the talks between the ruling National Conference and
Central Government emissary Arun Jaitley this week.
The
autonomy proposal accepts India’s federal sovereignty and its
constitution, weakening separatist groups of different stripes. The
ruling National Conference has asserted that autonomy is part of
India’s constitutional arrangements for the state. The BJP-led
central government is ready only on devolution, that is the transfer
of some more powers to the state government.
The
Center had appointed former central law minister Arun Jaitley to hold
“autonomy talks” with the National Conference and others. The
first round of talks came on July 25. It was after a lapse of two
years that such talks were held between the two parties.
The
second round of talks ended on August 9 in New Delhi on what the
state’s interlocutor Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah described as positive. By
autonomy, Shah explained, the National Conference meant the pre-1953
status of the state when it had a distinct identity, with a “head of
State” and “prime minister”. This concept was firmly rejected by
the central interlocutor in the third meeting of Sunday, August 11.
The
autonomy proposal falls far short of separation from India, as
demanded by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Autonomy has a
wide backing in the Muslim-populated Kashmir valley and in other areas
of the state as well as all over India. Its support base cuts across
religious, regional and political divisions.
Most
Kashmiris believe that the Center gradually took over the state’s
autonomous powers over the last five decades, committing a breach of
agreement of the state’s accession to India in 1948. Disappointment
with the Center and its corrupt minions in the state led to the rise
of insurgency, which over the years has killed more than 36,000 people
according to official Indian figures. Pakistani and separatists’
figures are in the region of 70,000-80,0000 deaths.
The
autonomy talks raised hope of some sort of settlement. But the
Center’s stance has dashed it. “Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India
on the principles of secularism and democracy,” said Shah earlier
this month in Srinagar. “People of the state tied their lot with
India, rejecting the two-nation theory on the basis of which Pakistan
was created.”
Shah
explained that “although the Center rejected the autonomy resolution
passed by the state legislature [last year], a realization is slowly
dawning on the people in Delhi that restoration of autonomy is the
only way to pull the state out of the present imbroglio.”
Now
that autonomy has been rejected, the support base for the
anti-separatist, pro-India groups has suddenly shrunk, threatening to
further erode their credibility among the masses.
The
latest move of the Center may nullify the gains made for general
elections in the state next September, which would wean a majority of
people from insurgency, and restore their confidence in federal
democracy.
 |
|
Indian Central
Government interlocutor Arun Jaitley rejects autonomy
|
The
next round of “autonomy talks” will be held the end of August in
Srinagar. The Center’s stance would make things difficult for
National Conference, which has to explain to its voters what progress
has been made on the autonomy front. Autonomy was NC’s main plank in
1996 elections.
The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition is hamstrung by BJP’s
anti-minority ideology which includes eliminating Kashmir’s special
status within the Indian Union.
The
Hindu nationalist BJP has to work within the constraints imposed by
its anti-minority constituency which would see the restoration of the
constitutional status prevailing before 1953 in J&K as a
concession to Muslims, a minority in India but a majority in Kashmir
valley.
Alarmed
by the resumption of autonomy talks, Hindu nationalist leaders of
BJP’s allied organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cornered
government officials in mid-July demanding explanation. BJP leaders,
including Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, took pains to explain to
the Hindu nationalist leaders that the talks were about “devolution
of powers, not autonomy.”
The
explanation satisfied the hardcore anti-Muslim groups that there would
be no autonomy talks, despite official professions to the contrary.
From
the beginning, Hindu nationalists, including BJP, have opposed the
special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir. Other similar states and
Union territories in India also enjoy such a special status under the
Constitution.
The
BJP and its affiliated organizations have been campaigning to nullify
constitutional provisions affording special status to J&K. The
latest move is a confirmation of that old policy even though the NC
ruling Kashmir is a partner of the BJP at the Center.
