Why must Jammu be separated from Kashmir?

Abdullah’s re-emergence sparks disturbing developments

The undesirable Assembly elections in terrorist and separatist-infested Jammu and Kashmir have been held. The Kashmir-based Muslim party, National Conference, has captured power and radical Omar Abdullah became Chief Minister. It was expected that the re-rise of the Abdullahs would culminate in highly disturbing developments and it has happened.

The nation has been witnessing these disturbing developments ever since October 16, when Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, administered an oath of office and secrecy to Omar Abdullah. Some of the disturbing, alarming, and dangerous developments include the adoption-in-a-surreptitious-manner resolution seeking restoration of Article 370 and special status, the adoption of a resolution seeking full state status for the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, and the loud clamour in Kashmir for the revival of the bi-annual Darbar Move practice.

The November 6 Omar Abdullah’s Ganderbal (Kashmir) statement that “by adopting special status resolution in the assembly, we have told the world what we want” must have made the authorities in the South and North Blocks to sit up, review the fast-deteriorating situation in the Union Territory and bemoan their decision on Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The manner in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tore into the National Conference-Congress coalition/ I.N.D.I. Alliance while addressing election rallies in Maharashtra and Jharkhand does suggest that the disturbing developments, which have unfolded in Kashmir, have disturbed them and infuriated them.

The way out

What, then, is the way out? What the Narendra Modi government needs to do to meet the challenges in Jammu and Kashmir? The Centre must de-link Jammu from Kashmir like it de-linked Ladakh from the Valley. Such a separation of Jammu from Kashmir will not only limit the area of communal strife to the Kashmir Valley, cut the aggressor Pakistan to its size, and help the security forces deal with the developing situation there more effectively, but also empower and strengthen the nationalistic constituency in Jammu province, the nation’s backbone.

Even otherwise, there is no logic in maintaining Jammu and Kashmir as one Union Territory. All the Wazir-e-Azams and chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir between October 1947 and June 2018 were from Kashmir and all belonged to one religious sect (Sunni). The story of Omar Abdullah is no different.

Not just this, the people of Jammu province have been conspicuous by their absence in Kashmir for decades. The number of employees hailing from Jammu working in the government and semi-government establishments in Kashmir is not even 1,000 out of nearly 4.5 lakh employees working in such establishments in the Valley. The rate of unemployment in Kashmir is less than 30 percent. On the contrary, the number of employees hailing from Kashmir working in Jammu province is in the 1000s out of around one lakh employees working in the government and semi-government establishments based in Jammu province. The rate of unemployment in Jammu province is over 69 percent.

Not only this, hardly any Dogra from Jammu is allowed by the Kashmiri Muslim ruling elite to acquire immovable property in Kashmir or get a plot or a flat in the government-developed colonies or in the colonies developed by any development authority or any housing board in Kashmir Valley. The situation in Jammu province is totally different. The persons hailing from Kashmir have bought immovable properties in Jammu on an unprecedented scale; they have bought, and continue to buy, plots and flats in the colonies set up and being up by the government, the Jammu Development Authority, and the Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board.

The powers-that-be in New Delhi never took cognizance of all these facts. They also didn’t take note of the fact that the people of Jammu and Ladakh remained under Central rule for around 15 long years after 1977 for no fault of their own.

The erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State remained under the Governor/ President rule nine times between March 1977 and October 16, 2024, for the sins the Kashmiri ruling elite committed to endanger national security and further promote the seditionists’ agenda/ break-India agenda. The party politics between the Kashmir-based parties and the ruling parties in New Delhi too led to the imposition of Central rule a number of times.

The State for the first time was brought under the Governor’s rule on March 17, 1977, and the Central rule continued till July 9, 1977 (114 days). On March 17, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi brought down the Sheikh Abdullah government on the grounds that it had become a threat to national security. Interestingly, Indira Gandhi herself had brought down her own party’s government and installed the deflated Sheikh Abdullah as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister in what she called “national interest” in February 1975.

The State witnessed the Governor’s rule for the second time from March 6, 1986, to November 7, 1986 (246 days). The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi dethroned Chief Minister G M Shah, son-in-law of Sheikh Abdullah, for security reasons. Significantly, it was Shah, who in collaboration with 26 Congress and 12 National Conference MLAs brought off a coup against Farooq Abdullah’s government in July 1984. Actually, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had dismissed Farooq Abdullah as a “threat to national security” and installed his brother-in-law Shah as Chief Minister in the “national interest”.

The Governor’s rule was imposed in the State for the third time on January 19, 1990, and it remained under the Central rule till October 9, 1996 (six years and 264 days). On January 19, 1990, the Farooq Abdullah government caused wholesale migration of the miniscule minority of Kashmiri Hindus and he fled to the UK to escape the Muslims’ wrath.

It was brought under the Governor’s rule for the fourth time on October 18, 2002, and it continued till November 2, 2002 (15 days). The Governor rule had to be imposed because UPA chief and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and People’s Democratic Party chief, Mufti Sayeed, took time to forge a post-poll alliance to form government and as the defeated National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah refused to continue as caretaker Chief Minister. Sonia Gandhi finally agreed to install the Mufti as Chief Minister in the “national interest” for a period of three years.

The Governor’s rule was again imposed in the State on July 11, 2008, and it continued till January 5, 2009 (178 days). The Governor’s rule had to be imposed because Ghulam Nabi Azad’s coalition government resigned on July 7, 2008, after it lost majority in the assembly. Earlier, on June 28, 2002, the People’s Democratic Party withdrew its support to the Azad government on the ground that it allotted a piece of land at Baltal (Kashmir) to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board on a temporary basis for the creation of additional facilities for the Amarnath pilgrims. Ghulam Nabi Azad — backed to the hilt by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government and Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra — did violate the Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s clear direction and snatched from the Shrine Board the Baltal land to save his government and please and appease the secessionists and fanatics in Kashmir but with no result.

The State was brought under the Governor’s rule for the sixth time on January 9, 2015, because the comprehensively defeated National Conference’s Omar Abdullah refused to continue as caretaker Chief Minister and it continued till February 28, 2015 (51 days). Omar Abdullah had been appointed Chief Minister by AICC Chief Sonia Gandhi for a full term of six years in what she had called “national interest”.

The Central rule had to be imposed on January 9 again because the BJP and the People’s Democratic Party took time to forge a post-poll alliance and formulate what was called the People’s Democratic Party-BJP Agenda of Alliance. The BJP handed over the office of Chief Minister to Mufti Sayeed for a full term of six years on March 1, 2015, despite the fact that both the BJP+ and the People’s Democratic Party had an equal number of seats in the assembly.

Governor’s rule was imposed for the eighth time on January 7, 2016, following the death of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed and it continued till April 3, 2016 (56 days). Jammu and Kashmir had to be kept under the Governor’s rule because both the BJP leadership and Mehbooba Mufti and her team took such a long time to prepare a power-sharing formula. It was Mehbooba Mufti who carried the day. She took over as Chief Minister on April 4, 2016, but was removed from office by the Narendra Modi Government on June 19, 2018, for security reasons. The region remained under the Governor/ President’s rule till October 16, 2024 (six years and four months).

To be more precise, Kashmir and everything in Kashmir became the sole preserve of Kashmiri Muslims decades ago and Jammu became Kashmir’s colony in 1947. Thanks to the policy planners in the South and North Blocks.

Indeed, the Narendra Modi government did a great service to the suffering and bleeding nation by doing what it did on August 5, 2019, including reading down Article 370, abrogation of Article 35-A, and the separation of Ladakh from Kashmir and grant of the Union Territory status to the Cold Desert Ladakh. The national need and the exigency of the time require the Narendra Modi government to take forward the reform process by separating Jammu province from Kashmir to avert the impending disaster.

Even late Union President R Venkataraman had urged Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to grant statehood to Jammu, Union Territory status to Ladakh, and deal with Kashmir separately (R Venkataraman, My Presidential Years). Not just he, CPI general secretary Inderjit Gupta as Union Home Minister had also said on the floor of the Lok Sabha that trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir could also be a solution. And, former BJP national general secretary, Ram Madhav, who was associated with the BJP during the 2024 assembly election campaign in the Union Territory, didn’t cross the line when he, on October 26, 2024, told The Indian Express that “J-K mandate is such that a Kashmir centric govt is in place…Jammu is missing.”

Even the separation of Jammu from Kashmir would not be enough. The Narendra Modi government has also to rein in the Kashmiri Muslim leaders of all hues. And, it is possible only if the Kashmir Valley is converted into a Chandigarh-type Union Territory. There is no other alternative available. The situation in Kashmir is extraordinary and the solution also has to be extraordinary.

It is hoped that the Narendra Modi government would look all these facts in the face and take forward the reform process to break the backbone of Kashmir Jihad.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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