In Kashmir, it is called ‘Sabaz Rumal’ politics, showing green handkerchief while being an Indian in the same breath
Reepan Tikoo
The Permanent Resident law of 1927 in Jammu & Kashmir was introduced by Maharaja Hari Singh to check the permanent settlement of Europeans in Kashmir, who had become a new power-centre in the Valley. The Europeans in Kashmir had the support of the British appointed Resident Col. Parry Nisbet, who assumed all administrative powers in J&K during Maharaja Partap Singh’s regime in 1889. Incidentally, Omar Abdullah’s great grandfather, Ben ji Nedu, was one of the Europeans to settle in Kashmir before 1927. In fact, house boats became popular among European living in Kashmir, after 1927, since it didn’t need land ownership.
Prime Minister of J&K Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah granted
citizenship rights to Uyghur Muslims from China in 1952 and Prime Minister Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to Tibetan Muslims in 1959 and settled them in the area near Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. There can’t be two sets of rules—one for the Hindu refugees who came in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1989 and another for the Muslim refugees. One lakh refugees from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir didn’t get settled in Srinagar despite being the subjects of J&K nor did Pandits’
settlement in Kashmir ever take off. The West Pakistan refugees still can’t call J&K their home; ten years of staying in J&K, as per the said law, which has denied them the citizenship rights.
There are unsubstantiated allegations of demographic changes in J&K. This unnecessarily instigates people against the manufactured enemy; we have seen Kashmir burn due to such reporting. It is Muslims, Hindu/Sikh refugees that have resettled in Jammu, no Jammu Hindu/Sikh or Ladakahi Buddhist, despite being State-subject is ready to settle or even have a summer home in Kashmir.
Since 1988, Pakistan has settled Punjabi-speaking people in the Gilgit area of PoK and has reduced the indigenous Shia population there to a minority. There are no non-Muslims in PoK today. This one lakh population in 1947 would have been close to 25 lakhs today, but they have got scattered across the world. Pakistan handed over Karakoram region of our state to China and in recent times has given away part of our state to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and converted Gilgit-Baltistan part of our state into Pakistan’s fifth province.
The UN resolution of August 13, 1948, clearly states that Pakistan was to vacate its troops from Jammu and Kashmir. It was India that wanted a plebiscite to allow Jammu and Kashmir to decide its future i.e. to be with India or Pakistan; like India did in February 1948 for Junagadh in Gujarat. Pakistan didn’t want the plebiscite, for it knew the people of Jammu and Kashmir, whom it had attacked in October 1947 would not support them. At that time Kashmiris had been saved by the Indian Army, on the invitation of Kashmiris and had driven out the enemy with the active support of Kashmiri’s Salamati Fauj; and for this indebted Kashmir wanted to vote for India. Thus Pakistan never withdrew its army from occupied Jammu and Kashmir for a plebiscite.
With these demographic changes in PoK and in Kashmir; and the break-up of the PoK, a plebiscite isn’t possible. Article 35A of J&K Constitution of 1954 was a temporary provision till plebiscite was held in a year or so, in the whole of J&K. Our children’s’ future can’t be mortgaged to the past.
The USA and recently Singapore, the most developed and growing economies have attracted talent, investors, innovators, bright students, entrepreneurs, workers and granted them citizenship. Same for Bengaluru, which transformed into knowledge economy hub. Our State wants to set-up IIT, IIM, AIIMS, knowledge park, Industry etc but will not allow talented people who can drive these to settle among us.
Some self-styled leaders of our State have talked about the State’s fragile environment to stop outsiders to settle in our State should Article 35 A be repealed and asked for a shutdown on second Saturday i.e. of August 12, 2017. These “concerned environmentalist leaders” should also offer a roadmap to move the holy and our revered Hazratbal Shrine away from the bank of Dal lake along with the colonies, Convocation Centre, hotels etc to save the lake from ecological disaster.
Some of the J&K politicians are running with the hare and hunting with the hound. They are building a constituency against the manufactured enemy by opposing the repealing of the Article 35A. This position has hurt our State. In Kashmir, we call it Sabaz Rumal politics aka showing green handkerchief while being Indian at the same time.
Indians from Kashmir to Kanyakumari should debate why we have deprived our fellow citizens in J&K the rights we enjoy in rest of the country; and we the citizens of Jammu Kashmir need to debate within ourselves if we want to be part of the modern global economy that will improve our lives or stick to around hundred-year-old law that has
isolated us and made Kashmir a ghetto.
If we continue with the Pied Piper tune of hatred against the manufactured enemy; our
children, even the ones yet to be born, will only be led to the abyss of destruction, while the world (read: the world is flat) would marching ahead.
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