Article 35A violates rights of citizens, says RSS think tank
A think tank associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that has been campaigning to repeal Article 35A of the Constitution on the grounds that it “violates the rights of citizens and has been incorporated without following the due process” has stepped up efforts to garner support for its demand.
The Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre (JKSC), the think tank that had been pushing for abrogation of Article 370 and repeal of Article 35A is shaping public opinion through discussions and closed door meetings on how the provision is discriminatory against women and the marginalised sections.
Several petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A, that gives the J&K legislature the powers to decide who are permanent residents of the state, are expected to come up for hearing on Monday before a Supreme Court Bench.
Article 370 confers special autonomy to the state allowing the parliament to see the concurrence of the state government in implementation of laws in all matters except defence, foreign affairs, telecommunications and finance.
As per the provision of the law, if a woman from the state marries a non-state subject, her husband and children cannot inherit her assets and are denied permanent resident certificate (PRC).
This does not apply to men who marry non-state subjects.
“Women are the worst affected by this [35A] provision,” said Abha Khanna, media director of the JKSC.
She said over 200 Valmiki (lower caste) families that were moved to the state in 1957 on the promise that they would be granted PRC have not been rehabilitated.
The JKSC also refers to the case of over 5700 families who migrated to Jammu and Kashmir from West Pakistan during partition in 1947 and continue to remain without a PRC.
Both the RSS and the think tank have questioned the validity of the provisions.
According to an RSS functionary, the issue came up for discussion at the Akhil Bharatiya Prant Pracharak meeting held in Jammu in June, “The decision to mobilise support for repealing the Article, which the Sangh feels is a fraud was taken at the meeting,” the functionary said on condition of anonymity.
In his last year’s Dusshera address RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also referred to the Article and constitutional amendments should be made to ensure "complete assimilation of Jammu and Kashmir” with the rest India.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has cautioned that “fiddling with J&K’s special status will have catastrophic ramifications for the entire country.”
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