Kashmir problem a Nehruvian blunder

The present situation in Kashmir is the outcome of the misdeeds of Pandit Nehru who referred the issue of ‘Accession of Kashmir to India’ to UNO and proclaimed article 370 there which has enabled Pakistani Army to spread animosity between India and Pakistan. Democracy in Pakistan is totally dependent on the Army which has led to its five times coup from 1957-1977 and forced resignations of four Prime Ministers from 1955-1957 and forced another coup in 1997.

Pakistani Army, in the last 30 years, backed terrorist organisations like lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen and Al Qaeda to establish their camps in Azad Kashmir and to pampered their agents for waging war against Indian Armed Forces and Government. The latest threat of JKlF for not allowing the Kashmir Government to allocate land and colony for rehabilitation of the dislodged Kashmiri Hindu Pandits and the agitation and threat being created by Masarrat Alam and Hurriyat Conference are the latest examples of their game plan. The day is not far off when ISIS and Al Qaeda shall be directly involved in Kashmir in the name of Islam. 

Kashmir, the land of Rishi Kashyap, known as Kashyapamar in the earlier times, has become a land of separatist and secessionists. By the 9th century AD it had become a major hub of Hindu culture and was the birth place of the Hindu sect called Kashmiri ‘Shaivism’ and several Hindu Rajas ruled the State till the year 1346. Mughals established their rule in 1586 after destroying Hindu Shrines and forced the people to embrace Islam, however, Afghans replaced them in 1752. It became part of the Sikh kingdom in 1819. However, in its present form, it became part of the Hindu Dogra Kingdom at the end of first Sikh war in 1846 by the treaties of lahore and Amritsar. 

Sheikh Abdullah led ‘Quit Kashmir Movement’ against the Dogras and Poonch revolt against Maharaja Hari Singh which led to his arrest in 1946. later on, he was released at the intervention of Nehru and in 1947, Pakistan-supported raiders invaded the State. In October 1947, Maharaja Hari singh signed the treaty of Accession with the Indian Government and Kashmir became part of India. Thereafter, Nehru made some statements in media and sent telegrams to the Pakistani Prime Minister proposing that India and Pakistan should make a joint request to UNO to undertake plebiscite in Kashmir at the earliest. This approach of Nehru had created an obstacle in the smooth accession of Kashmir in India as was achieved in case of other 562 Indian Princely States by Sardar Patel.

Nehru’s statement in Parliament on June 26, 1952, was, “...It is for the people of Kashmir to decide their own future. We will not compel them. In that sense, the people of Kashmir are sovereign.”There was also a white paper on Kashmir published by Indian Government regarding plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir in 1948later on our authorities said that Nehru’s telegrams and speeches have no legal importance, nor it is compulsory to apply them as they were never passed by Parliament.

The white paper on Kashmir also does not have any legal importance as it was published in 1948 while the Constitution of India came into force in 1950. Besides, a Prime Minister can’t make decision of plebiscite unilaterally; Bill of plebiscite must be passed in both houses of Parliament with massive 2/3rd majority and then it requires the assent of the President. Preamble and article 3 of part 2 of Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir says, “Jammu and Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of the Union of Indi”.

This has been adopted by elected Jammu and Kashmir legislative Assembly in 1956 when Nehru was the PM. Indira and Rajiv Gandhi too never made any attempt to implement Nehru’s ‘promise’. Instead, Indira made the 1974 Indira–Sheikh accord with Sheikh Abdullah which shred all possibilities of plebiscite. This was a legal act and completely valid in terms of the Government of India Act 1935, Indian Independence Act 1947 and under international law. Hence the accession of the J&K was total and irrevocable.

The Constituent Assembly of J&K had unanimously ratified the Instrument of Accession to India, duly adopting a Constitution for the State endorsing perpetual merger of J&K with the Union of India. The Constituent Assembly lawfully represented the wish of Kashmiri people at that time. Moreover, Instrument of Accession is accepted by each elected legislative assembly of J&K.

Ram Jethmalani, prominent lawyer, former Union Minister and Chairman of Kashmir Committee said in Nov 2014, “The Constitution of J&K was not formulated by the Constituent Assembly of India, but by its Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. That was a plebiscite. It is the Constituent Assembly of J&K which incorporated some provisions of the Indian Constitution. The plebiscite has therefore taken place. Kashmiris are not living under the Constitution of India but under the Constitution which was framed by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir which has willingly accepted a part of the Indian constitution.”

The aforesaid legal postulates have finally subsided the foolish step of Nehru’s proposal for plebiscite in Kashmir, however, by taking the issue to UNO, he had posed a problem which has now become very acute, leading to the draining out of our resources and capital in maintaining the law and order situation in the State.Article 370 came into effect in the State on January 26, 1950, and later on Sheikh Abdullah was elected as the Chief Minister of the State during the first poll and in 1957, all India services were extended to the State.

However, during June 1953, then President and founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Syama Prasad Mookerjee raised the banner of revolt against the Indian National Congress’s decision to grant Kashmir a special status with its own flag and Prime Minister. According to Congress’s decision, no one, including the President could enter Kashmir without the permission of Kashmir’s Prime Minister. Mookerjee went to visit Kashmir in 1953 illegally, and observed a hunger strike to protest the law that prohibited Indian citizens from settling in a State within their own country and mandated that they carry ID cards. He was arrested on May 11, while crossing the border into Kashmir. Although the ID card rule was revoked owing to his efforts, he died as a detenu on June 23, 1953 under mysterious circumstances.

In September 1965, war again broke out between Pakistan and India. The UN called for another ceasefire, and peace was restored following the Tashkent Declaration in 1966, by which, both nations returned to their original positions along the demarcated line. During the year 1966, the Jammu and Kashmir liberation front was formed. After the 1971 war and the creation of independent Bangladesh under the terms of the 1972 Shimla Agreement between Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi of India and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan, it was agreed that neither country would seek to alter the ceasefire line in Kashmir, which was renamed as the line of Control, “unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations”.

In 1989, a widespread armed insurgency started in Kashmir. This resulted in the formation of militant wings and marked the beginning of the Mujahideen insurgency. The insurgency was largely started by Afghan Mujahideen who entered the valley following the end of the Soviet-Afghan War. Yasin Malik, a leader of one faction of the Jammu Kashmir liberation Front, was one of the Kashmiris to organise militancy in Kashmir, along with Ashfaq Majid Wani and Farooq Ahmad Dar. This insurgency with the support of ISI and Pakistani Government led to the murder of about at least 500 Kashmiri Pandits there and had further led to their mass exodus from their own motherland.

In October 1993, militants laid seize on the Hazratbal shrine and could be ended after a month, however, later on they burnt down Charar-e-Sharief.

In mid-1999, insurgents and Pakistani soldiers from Pakistani Kashmir infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir. During the winter season, Indian forces regularly moved down to lower altitudes, as severe climatic conditions made it almost impossible for them to guard the high peaks near the line of Control. The insurgents and Pakistani Army, on the instruction of General Musharraf, took advantage of this and occupied vacant mountain peaks in the Kargil range overlooking the highway in Indian Kashmir that connects Srinagar and leh. Indeed, this war was fought very bravely by Indian Soldiers and they took back the control on Kargil peaks after defeating Pakistani Army and infiltrators.

Despite the disturbances in Srinagar and adjoining areas, carried out by separatists, in 2008 and 2010 and under call of boycott by organisations like Hurriyat Conference and JKlF, there had been a good representation of voters during the elections held in 2008 and 2014. Specifically, the recent 2014 Assembly Elections, authorities claim that more than 65 per cent voters voted in favour of “Instrument of Accession” and Indian Democracy in 2014 elections.

In a nutshell, it could be concluded that Nehru’s blunder had created problems for the country to deal with the situation in Kashmir.

Now, all the possible measures must be taken by the present Central Government in Kashmir to change the perception of Muslims towards India in stages. The first stage should be to mould the psyche by framing a long-term strategy with respect to the Buddhists, Shias and Muslim Gujjar communities for winning over their confidence and then the same strategy needs to be adopted for the Majority Sunni community without their appeasement.

The writer is ex-General Manager,