The erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir was formed when Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947. Unfortunately, the accession was allowed by the Nehru government only after the Maharaja agreed to give the reins of power to (PM Nehru’s favourite) Sheikh Abdullah without any democratic process whatsoever. Pakistani forces had conquered and pillaged large parts of the erstwhile princely state. Thousands were murdered and raped. Lakhs were forced to migrate. After the accession, Indian armed forces intervened and the Jihadi Pakistani forces had to retreat. Still, a large part of the state came under the illegal occupation of Pakistani forces. Indian armed forces were at the forefront, and were ready to act as per the wishes of the executive. The civilizational myopia of the then political leadership ensured that no concrete solution was devised. Instead, to polish his international image as a statesman, PM took the matter of Pakistani aggression to UN. Although the UN did order the Pakistani forces to leave the occupied territory, but the terrorist state of Pakistan never concurred.
Interestingly, article 306A was tabled in the constituent assembly by Gopalaswami Aiyangar on the direction of PM Nehru. This article later came to be known as the infamous article 370. The reasons to introduce this ‘temporary’ legislation were related to the state of conflict in the province due to Pakistani occupation. But the article clearly defined itself as a ‘temporary provision’ regarding the state of J&K. This article was not intrinsically divisive, nor provided any “special power” to the state. But the separatist political oligarchies of J&K milked this cow with the false narrative that it gives ‘special status’ to the state. While this poisonous politics enriched the coffers of Abdullah-Mufti oligarchs, the lives of common Dogras, Ladakhis, Paharis, Mirpuris, Poonchis, Gujjars etc remained a constant struggle. Moreover, this separatist politics fueled by the Jihadi propaganda and left-liberal intellectual backing made the Kashmir region a breeding ground for military conflict and drug trafficking. It is noteworthy that more than 20,000 Indian soldiers have sacrificed their life to keep peace and stability in the region.
The curse of corrupt oligarchic politics and terrorist violence in J&K ended when on August 5, 2019, the Government of India made the historic decision of amending the Article 370. This was not only the victory of the people of J&K, but also of the truth over false narratives. As an ABVP karyakarta I am proud to proclaim that we have been struggling and agitating against this ‘temporary provision’ since the past many decades. The struggle that went in to end this vicious cycle of lies (Left-wing intellectuals), corruption (Abdullah-Mufti Nexus) and terrorism (Jihadi Forces, inside and beyond the LoC) was not a one day work. ABVP initiated a nationwide movement in 1990 to raise awareness on this issue. Our national flag was burned in Lal Chowk, Srinagar by some terrorists. ABVP organized a nationwide movement with the slogan, “jahan hua tirange ka apmaan, wahi karenge iska sammaan.” This mass movement concluded with a Tiranga march of 10000 students from all-over Bharat to Srinagar, J&K on September 11, 1990. ABVP has organized countless seminars, discussion, lecture series and movements to create pressure and raise awareness on this issue.
The separatist politics, empowered by the false narrative surrounding Article 370, of Kashmir based political oligarchs ensured the step motherly treatment of Jammu and Ladakh for seven decades. The nationalist majority of J&K silently tolerated this atrocious political indifference towards Jammu and Ladakh without ever turning anti-national. They needlessly suffered, but never turned against their motherland. The amendment to the Article 370 ensured justice to the toiling nationalist majority of J&K, including lakhs of Kashmiri Hindus who faced genocide, rapes, and became a refugee in their own homeland. The neutralization of Article 370 was a tribute to tens of thousands of brave soldiers and innocent civilians who made the greatest sacrifice against terrorism in the state since 1947. It is a tribute to the great Syama Prasad Mukherji who died in a jail in Srinagar under the watch of the extremist Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah in 1953. His slogan, “ek desh me do nishan, do vidhan aur do pradhan, nahi challenge,” along with his supreme sacrifice has inspired generations of Bharatiya nationalists to fight for justice and Dharma in relation to the state of J&K. Today, when the honorable Supreme Court upheld the legislation which neutralized the ‘temporary provision’ i.e. Article 370 and the reorganization of the erstwhile state of J&K, all the Bharatiya-s are relieved that all these sacrifices did not go in vain.
Supreme Court of India held that “Jammu and Kashmir held no internal sovereignty after accession to India. There was no prima facie case that the President’s 2019 orders were mala file (in bad faith) or extraneous exercise of power.” As the largest students’ organization of the world, ABVP has been at the forefront of every movement for national and cultural integrity of India. Article 370 was an unnecessary and destructive āvaraṇa to the historical, cultural and spiritual unity of India. It is meaningless to imagine Jammu-Kashmir, the siddha-pīṭha of Shaiva tradition, Sanskrit Grammer and Kāvya as separate from India. The bifurcation of J&K into two Union Territories is a welcome change for the people of Jammu and Ladakh, who had been marginalized by the erstwhile state government’s Kashmir-centric politics and discriminated against in the distribution of financial resources and political representation. It is noteworthy that the women and SCs of the state also faced discrimination due to Article 35A which was added to the appendix of the Indian constitution to further the divisive politics of the state political parties.
Whether it was the Indo-China war (1962) or the fight against tukde-tukde gang in JNU (2016), ABVP has always fought for the integrity of the nation on every platform against anti-India forces. ABVP works in student politics with the aim of serving the last person of the society. Along with this, ABVP also makes the society aware against the groups doing destructive and anti-India politics under the guise of student politics. With this determination, ABVP is working strongly to bring about a fundamental change in its politics by uprooting the separatist-anti India unity which is harming the society. The peace established in Jammu and Kashmir after the neutralization of Article 370 is definitely a sign of a positive change in the society. That is why, the nation stands united in welcoming the decision of honorable Supreme Court upholding the amendment in Article 370 and the reorganization of J&K. This historic judgment marks the end of politics of separatism in the home of vibhūti-s like Abhinavagupta, Kalhana and Samrat Lalitaditya. Now, the discourse shifts to reclamation of the land of Maa Sharda (the prime Dharmic centre of learning) Pakistan occupied Jammu-Kashmir.
