Political Diary

New Delhi, 14 August 2010

Tactlessness In Kashmir

WHERE IS THE POLITICAL WILL?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Knots and crosses. Everybody seems to be busy playing this game when it comes to Kashmir. The Centre and State have been tied up in disentangling the knots. Partly succeeding and most of the time failing. For problems are not easy to cross. Despite the solutions being wrapped in syrupy peace overtures. Which, often lead to indigestion!

Over two months and 55 deaths, the protest-killing-protest cycle continues. With both the Centre and State using the coercion-package paradigm to quell the uprising by the Kashmiris. Forgetting that the problem was not created in a day and nor will it end by applying the balm of populism and gimmicks to extract an extra mile. Never mind if in the process it creates more problems than it solves!

Alas, the all-Party meet called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week to end the calamatic situation in the Valley ended in a fiasco. At best, a New Delhi-centric exercise generating a lot of hot air given that the big State players PDP and Hurriyat leaders chose to boycott the meet. And the Opposition Parties were unmoved by Singh’s prescription of an economic-political palliative for the Kashmiris’ “dard and mayusi.”

More. Wittingly or unwittingly, the Prime Minister muddied the Kashmir picture further. In his eagerness to offer a political solution he unleashed the dormant genie of autonomy to the State. Raising a moot point: Is autonomy the answer to all of Kashmir’s problems? Can the Government muster the political will? Can the olive branch of restoring peace address the sense of alienation? Can it tackle the emotional outburst? Put a rest to the pro-Azadi slogans? No, not in today’s scenario.

Besides, what autonomy is the Prime Minister referring to? Will it be the one which deals with merely regional autonomy, giving some State Government powers to the three regions of Ladakh, Jammu and the Valley? Or, will it be greater autonomy, which entails reverting the State to the pre-1953 position?

Whereby the State would have a prime Minister and a Sadre-e-Riyasat, once again. Two, the Centre’s role would be restricted to Defence, Foreign Affairs, Communications and Currency. Three, the Supreme Court and the Election Commission would cease to have any jurisdiction on the State. Four, the State would be out of the jurisdiction for all India civil services.

Implicit in these recommendations are vital legal, Constitutional and political ramifications for the vexed Kashmiri problem. Constitutionally and legally speaking, it is clear that either the Centre has not done its homework properly or it is deliberately trying to mislead and confuse the issue in order to detract from the dismal situation in the State.

Has the Prime Minister forgotten the J&K Constitution? Remember, the Kashmir Constitution first surfaced as the New Manifesto in 1944 at Sopore. It took the shape of the Constitution in November 1956 and was promulgated on 26 January 1957. Acceptance of the pre-1953 position would tantamount to scrapping the 1957 State Constitution.

Not only would a new Constitution have to be enacted, it would also reopen the accession issue. Which, in other words, would mean reopening a Pandora’s Box --- just what bête noire Pakistan, its’ all-weather friend’ China and buddy USA would like to see happen. Recall, Islamabad has consistently asserted that Kashmir’s accession is not yet final and both Washington and Beijing regard it as a ‘disputed’ territory.

Undoubtedly, the Government stands committed to giving Kashmir maximum autonomy. But it should not be in a hurry to spell it out for two good reasons. First,  J&K came to its tragic pass because the State has all along enjoyed total functional and financial autonomy --- without any accountability, which left the poor masses poorer and some 200 rich families incredibly richer.

Politically, speaking, the autonomy proposal would have to be viewed in the national context. Any additional autonomy would have sweeping domestic repercussions. Nagaland, Mizoram and other States in the sensitive and strategic North-East are eagerly awaiting a Kashmir model to stake their own claims. The rebel Nagas still talk of their own 16-point agreement with Nehru and complain that it has not been implemented in its letter and spirit.

Internationally speaking, the autonomy issue would be another handle for Pakistan to embarrass New Delhi and proclaim to the world that the people of the State have no roots or love lost with India. Thereby scoring petty debating points and aggressively pushing its Kashmir agenda. It is no secret that the recent spate of violence is calibrated by Islamabad’s ISI. 

In regard to the changing of the nomenclature of the Governor and the Chief Minister, it is Constitutionally not feasible for the Centre to superimpose itself. Constitutionally, only the State Legislature is competent to change the nomenclature. This would require a Constitutional amendment for which a two-thirds majority in the Assembly is necessary. Incidentally, both the titles were scrapped post the Indo-Pak war in 1965, when the then Legislature amended the J&K Constitution. The President can only extend certain provisions o the Indian Constitution on the State.

Undoubtedly, New Delhi has looked at the short end of the stick, ignoring vital and more significant long-term ramifications. One, it will have far-reaching consequences both pro-India as well as separatist politics within and outside Kashmir. Today, autonomy has become the political agenda all most all over India. A la Assam. The student unrest in the 1970s led to the creation of the Asom Gana Parishad and two insurgent organizations, namely ULFA demanding Assam for Assamese only and the Bodos their own Bodoland.

What next? Needless to say the Centre and State have to walk a tight-rope. Any wrong step taken on the autonomy genie will have national repercussions. The State Government and all political leaders have to stop passing the buck to the Centre and take responsibility for their actions. By continuously blaming New Delhi for all that is wrong in the State the polity is only harming the people, a fruitless exercise.

The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the PDP and militant Hurriyat must sincerely engage the Centre if they genuinely want progress on reduction in security forces or amendments to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Simultaneously, New Delhi too, should reciprocate by forming an all-Party Parliamentary Kashmir committee to oversee issues ranging from inquiry into alleged atrocities by security personnel to release of political detainees. Sincerity on all sides is the key to a better future for Kashmir.

The need of the hour is for the Centre needs to think out-of-the-box and embark on a new track. The time is ripe to heal wounds. The Prime Minister must take the leap of faith and try to connect with Kashmiris. The question Manmohan Singh needs to answer: Does he have the political will to cut through the welter of vested interests that arrest purposeful action?  -------- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)