Unrest and crisis created by the agitational programme called by the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee is impacting the normal lives of the civilian population in the region. Image is representational. Photo AI
Latief U Zaman Deva
Much before Mahraja Hari Singh, the last despotic ruler of the undivided State of J&K , appended his signatures on the Instrument of Accession in favour of India on October 26,1947 , he was no longer in de-facto control of greater swaths of Mirpur, Poonch & Muzaferabad Districts otherwise separated by river Jhelum only from Potwar/ Pahari plateau of Rawalpindi region in West Punjab, Pakistan. This is in contradistinction to Gilgit Baltistan where writ of Maharaja was In tact at least on accession day .The Liberation and bloody revolutionary campaigns ending in achievement of the objectives by the victors need post conflict legal and constitutional sanctification on the analogy the 1789-1799 French & 1917 Russian revolutions attempted at through their respective legislative processes based on the plank of popular sovereignty which is also true about the strip of above indicated three Districts ( now Divisions) of the erstwhile State of J&K. Over sixty thousand local veterans of World War II decimated the sparsely & thinly placed local forces with no scope for reinforcements reaching them from the rest of the State . After Accession it took over fourteen months for the regular Indian Army to push back from the strip of Poonch & Rajouri the invaders who by now had been joined by regular Pakistani Army. The utilization of Kautilya’s ‘s doctrine by Pandit Nehru, outsmarted unsuspecting Liyaktat Ali Khan the PM of Pakistan, ended the siege of Poonch & enabled forward movements after reinforcements arrived under the camouflage of medical aid for besieged Army and others. Brigadier Usman (Lion of Nousher ) led counter attacks succeeded in retrieval of territories in Nousher & Rajouri which alongside the Poonch gains resulted in prevention of Peer Panjal mountain range from becoming the border between Kashmir and Chenab Valleys on the one side and areas wrested from Mahraja forming Pakistan administered Kashmir (PAK) on the other side. Usman had received offer for joining Pakistan Army with incentive for becoming Army Chief after office demitted by General Sir Frank Messervy ( 8/1947 – 2/1948) & General Sir Douglas Gracy (2/1948-1/1951) the two British officers and General Ayuab Khan (1/1951 –1958) the only native senior to him but he choose his mother land and embraced martyrdom. Indian Army didn’t chase invaders further fearing indigenous gruella war on territory hostile to them . It is this hotbed, where warfare history was rewritten by repelling marauding British & Dogra forces in the wake of partition, again up in arms under civilian façade of peaceful demonstrations which a responsible Govtt can ignore only at its peril especially the present generation ordinarily may not envy to reverse the course nurtured with blood by their ancestors.
Independent Kashmir
After partition of the sub- continent under Indian Independence Act & choices made by almost all rulers of the Indian States by joining India Or Pakistan depending upon geographic contiguity & demographic profiles in conformity with the Partition Plan; Choudhary Hamid ullah of Muslim Conference publicly espoused independent Kashmir under Hereditary kingship of ruling dynasty with a responsible and empowered Popular elected Govtt, Ab Salam itoo President Kisan Mazdoor Conference convened a Convention of Delegates in Achabal Anantnag lasting for three days which also concluded in support of independent status and both developments matched by unwavering support extended by Rajput Sabah for decision to be made by the Maharaja who unfortunately didn’t take it to logical conclusion by involving JK National Conference & JK Muslim Conference, the two leading political formations representing 80% of his subjects, though he continued to toy with the idea as suggested in Heir Apparent by Dr Karan Singh, the lone successor to the Mahraja. Under Partition Plan the choices were restricted between India and Pakistan which had in principle foreclosed for good the third option & therefore the possible cause for inaction on the proposition by the Mahraja. Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah also remained tight-lipped on it till Accession day. The top & middle rung leadership of Muslim Conference during this epoch making period was incarcerated. The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent Country after secession from Pakistan in 1971 is hailed as explosion of the myth of two Nation theory and by default the Partition plan & restricted choices for accession to either of the two new emerging countries only. Hence revival of third option.
Dismemberment of the State
The Karachi Agreement of April 28,1949 began the ist phase of the dismemberment of J& K when entire Gilgit Baltistan stood transferred to Pakistan. This region had not even minimal connectivity and trade & cultural relationships with PAK before October 26,1947 & in fact poles apart from each other be it egalitarianism or non feudal character of people. The two regions of Ladakh & Gilgit Baltistan were connected with Srinagar through trade, cultural affinities & fair-weather road networks. After deoperationalisation of Article 370 on August 5.2019 the final straw to United J&K was complete on Indian side due to Separation of Ladakh Division from J&K reducing erstwhile State to a level of Union territory covering an area of 42241 Sq Kms only against 2,22,236 Sq Kms of undivided Sate. Dismemberment is accompanied by disempowerment under dyarchy put in place as fallout of abrogation of autonomous status.
Third option
The third option had been dormant completely till in State People’s Convention held in Srinagar at Mujahid Manzel during 1968 it was included apart from India and Pakistan options in the matter of Right of Self Determination exercisable by the permanent residents of the State on both sides of the cease fire line ( LOC after Shimla Agreement 1972). Ealier from mid sixties the younger generations came to challenge in political narratives the serendipitous belief of the celebrated leadership by pointing out the absence of final, definite & specific choice out of the two options & methods for its realization. These youngsters in Youth League nicknamed the legendary leadership as fossil, degenerated & outdated. Later disclosures suggested it to have been a handiwork of the establishment for wrecking the grip of leadership on people. The inclusion of third option in 1968 further compounded the already murky political horizons considering its addition as dilatory sans destination identification. The non realisation of objectives associated with 1965 war led people in PAK to assert themselves through a new political outfit namely JK National Liberation Front headed by Maqbool Bhat himself who attempted to demystify the confusion when the Group led by him spelt out the concept of independent secular Kashmir based on friendly relationship with both India and Pakistan as final solution to the baffling Kashmir problem. Call it naivety or lack of knowledge about imperatives of State to State relationships based on mutually Country specific interests, the founding members contemplated Pakistan a) to declare PAK as an independent Country b) persuade comity of Nations for recognition of the region as an independent country c) Convert PAK into a base camp for wresting J&K from India through modes including armed struggles & d) arrangement of weaponry & financial support. This Group of kashmiri nationalists didn’t bother to factor in the possible counter modes operandi offensives India may resort to with potential to wipe out the resistance in PAK within hours and not in days. Simply a sitting Duck for India & Pakistan loosing evey inch of strategically important territory for nothing in return except another Afghanistan type Country in the immediate neighborhood always a willing pan of big powers in return of financial bail outs. A perenial cycle of black mailing to unfold for entire region in such a kind of restructured sub-continent. Nobody in Pakistan also took this maiden alternative seriously treating it as an amusement development. The anticipated paradigm shift didn’t occur in J&K but gained traction in urban conglomerates of PAK. Meanwhile Maqbool Bhat facing death sentence in a murder case in Srinagar Central Jail fled back to Pakistan after sensational jail break along with Choudhary Mohammad Yaseen.He came back again in 1976 ignoring the fast political changes sweeping Kashmir due to transfer of power to Sheik Mohammed Abdullah, the legendary leader. Maqbool Bhat fell to police dragnet along with his two associates in Langat J&K Bank dacoity case in which his associates are said to have killed the Bank Manager for resisting them. Absence of Maqbool Bhat on political scene prompted fellow travellers to revive the movement by setting up J&K Liberation Front UK Chapter under leadership of Amanullah Khan in Birmingham on 29.05.1977 after its main central party named Mahazi Azadi J&K got established in Srinagar on May7, 1977 under stewardship of Sufi Mohammed Akbar who had earlier parted ways with his mentor leader in 1975 due to Indra-Abdullah Accord. In death sentence case of Maqbool Bhat the Govtt of India felt that third option is likely to impact adversely Pakistan rather than India and therefore didn’t envisage to implement the decision in near future but for illogical abduction of Ravindra Hareshwar Mhatre , Indian diplomat based in Birmingham, on February 3,1984 & recovery of his dead body on February 6,1984 precipitated his execution in Tihar Jail New Delhi on February 11,1984. JK LF owned abduction & demanded ransom amount and release of Maqbool Bhat . Persons who supported his return back to Kashmir in 1976 & those who planned kidnapping of Diplomat Mhatre owe explanations for the two stupendous aberrations.
During ist tenure of Benazir Bhutto as ist woman Prime Minister of Muslim World, the ISI is credited to have busted a CIA and JK LF ( a few individuals) module aiming at diffusion of third option in Gilgit Baltistan also. The underlying objective was denying China access to warm waters of the Arabian seas and inoperability of the Karakorum Highway connecting China and Pakistan through Gilgit Baltistan in the event strait of Malacca is planned to be blocked in an economic aggression against China.
Broadly the third option was presented as a compromise between two extremes i- e India and Pakistan but met with little acceptability for reasons including indifference exhibited by both Countries to part with their respective territory, unacceptable to largest minority who in existing set up possess leverage and competing position which they won’t relinquish for majoritarian rule in spite of promised constitutional guarantees, questionable projected viability on economic grounds, repercussions on unity in diversity in the two countries, and time tested outcome of the partition plan accepted by both parties without any murmur. The economic indicators, geographic limitations coupled with propensity of its inhabitants to intrigue by neighborhood countries, adverse impact on federal constituents of the two Countries and rejection by largest minority has proven third option as a nonstarter. To further peace and stability and keep at bay the characters interested in anarchy in the region the earlier the misconceived & impracticable notion of third option is done away with the better for the people of the sub-continent.
Joint Action Committee (JAC)
Out of the demands of the JAC the one about scrapping twelve seats earmarked for refugees from J&K merits consideration. This segment of people is for all intents & purposes settled permanently in Pakistan. The local Assembly is for formulation of legislation and its enactment and development of infrastructure in sectors falling within the ambit of provincial Govtt & therefore persons ordinarily domiciled in Pakistan for good can’t return legislators for territories situated out side PAK. The logic advanced in support of the reservation is banal & betrays ignorance of law on settlement of disputes through plebiscite. The persons who were the permanent residents of J&K during 1947 & their descendants , regardless of their current domicile, are on identical footing with their counterparts permanently settled in PAK & J&K for purpose of enlistment in conduct of plebiscite unless they have abandoned citizenship of their respective countries by acquiring citizenship of other Countries except in cases permitting double Citizenship. At best to address the concerns of these refugees about their identity and to safeguard their prospective interests a de’tente between India and Pakistan may unfold in future, Identity Cards could be issued to them & their successors on the basis of legacy documents. Against twelve seats four slots only on the basis of ratio of Voters per Assembly segment in PAK could be provided to them in PAK but method for induction should be election & electoral college comprising of the elected members of the Assembly only.
The public debate and speeches delivered during current lockdown unmistakably suggest attempts being made to ingrain the concept of independent Kashmir otherwise loose talks about capacity to defend PAK, issuance of Passports , own currency & rhymes “ tus par bi langay, ies par bi langay “ would not have been made & much more contrary to past practices the National flag this time around conspicuously absent in public rallies. The State reprisals against & indictment of those involved in seditious activities and brandishing of weaponry including their harbourers can’t be ruled out. The evil consequences may also disentitle them to Govtt jobs, impounding of Passports, trails of financial transactions, seizure of immovable & moveable properties in tandem with constant surveillance making their lives a hell. Living too long in imaginary world ,spurred by incapacity to appreciate strategic leverage & economic status the State of India possesses & Pakistani resolve to promote unity of people & defend her territorial integrity regardless of the costs, calls for reconciliation & adoption of a democratic option for promotion of local interests without prejudice to national demands. The ill timing & alleged Israeli led incitement for worst form of terrorism in an era Pakistan playing a role for prevention of WW III in complete harmony with Saudi Arabia,Turkiya & other regional powers has raised credible doubts on genuineness & bonafides of JAC.
Pragmatism
A potential anti Pakistan Axis has successfully brought home to the highbrid regime in Pakistan about her greater fault lines & vulnerabilities as against theirs. Islamists fighting for transformation of Pak state into Islamic system of their perceptions and ethnicities proud of their self respect traits have no qualms in being recipients of all forms of support from Jewish & Hindutvavadi sources. Associability of others in recent discords is also visible. All these unexpected developments may soften hard-core in the establishment for a review of fruitless hostile policies in its national interests before the threshold is jumped over.
One fine morning people will glue to their communication systems for watching conclusion of peace treaty between China and India whereby the two Countries may recognize Chinese sovereignty on Aksai Chin and Indian on Arunachal Pradesh. Why should we lag behind & not accept the final solutions offered by Indra Ghandi to Z. A. Bhutto while concluding Shimla Agreement in 1972 & reiterated in Lahore by Atal Bihari Vajpayee on February 19,1999 after ride in inaugural Delhi- Lahore Bus service. The spin off from agreement based on the status quo in J&K shall facilitate settlement on maritime boundary in Sir Creek Channel and linear position beyond Map coordinate NJ9842 in Siachin.
(Courtesy Kashmir Times)
The author is IAS Retd & former Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission.