By Invitation India should rise to the occasion in Kashmir
It is over two months since the largely unexpected and, indeed, politically momentous decision was taken by the Modi government abrogating the special status accorded to India’s strategic state of Jammu and Kashmir and reconfiguring it into two union territories. On security considerations, many clampdowns (some since withdrawn), including prevention of use of mobile phones/landlines and the internet, were put into place and some prominent political leaders, including three former chief ministers, placed under house arrest. Currently, a few restrictions remain to prevent breakdowns in law and order or the overall security situation worsening. That Pakistan got a newer handle to intensify and aggravate the situation inside Kashmir Valley is stating the obvious.
The UN General Assembly, at its annual congregation in New York, witnessed the nearly forgotten J&K agenda come back after years into international reckoning. We Indians may not wish to admit it but, regrettably, the J&K situation has been commented upon by nations, including the US, with President Donald Trump offering, at least thrice, to mediate between India and Pakistan. Though India need not react to all largely unfair criticism, it must satisfy itself on the sensitive handling of its own people. The world does not know how fairly and with empathy the Indian security forces conduct themselves in counter-insurgency situations. Our restraint is unparalleled, as it should be. India has always prided itself for adherence to moral values.
To all Indians, whatever their political moorings, J&K, since its stormy yet perfectly legal accession to the Union of India since October 26, 1947, is an integral and eternal part of India. Maharaja Hari Singh, then ruler of J&K, literally forced by the Pakistani raiders’ invasion of J&K in October 1947, signed the Instrument of Accession for his entire state to join India. The erstwhile princely state comprised India’s J&K, what is now Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and the Shaksgam Valley (illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in November 1963). A unanimous resolution passed by India’s Parliament in 1994 ordains that India get all these territories back.
It is also a matter of record that the 1972 Simla Accord and 1999 Lahore Agreement bind both India and Pakistan to resolve all problems between them, including J&K, bilaterally and by negotiations. Pakistan now feels that the Indian government’s decision of August 5, 2019, abrogating Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, negates whatever locus standi Pakistan had in the J&K imbroglio.
Pakistan and a few nations who harp on the UN resolution for a plebiscite in J&K conveniently forget that Pakistan did not withdraw its forces from areas it had occupied after its tribal invasion in 1947- 48. Its withdrawal from these areas was literally the first condition of the much-quoted UN resolution. Thus, it has no grounds whatsoever to complain in the J&K conundrum. Pakistan’s atrocities in PoK and GB, apart from changing the demography there, are well known, with cries of independence occurring off and on. Pakistan has virtually leased this region to China to construct the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is illegal by any international norms.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi back from his US and UN tours, it is time to open up the entire state and restore normalcy as existed earlier, before August 5. Senior political leaders should be released and the political process re-started with vigour and sincerity. In my view, the Abdullahs, Mehbooba Mufti and most reputed political leaders will assist the civil administration in restoring peace and normalcy in the troubled Valley. However, separatists and Pakistani agents must remain under detention. Some protests, stone-pelting and even some kinetic incidents perpetrated by Pakistan-sponsored militants are likely. We can manage these with firmness and compassion, as required. Any further delay in restoring normalcy in J&K will compound problems internally and give us, unnecessarily, adverse international coverage.
Let India rise to the occasion and show the world that J&K also represents handsomely the ‘Idea of India’ - secular and peaceful, befitting Mahatma Gandhi’s message of universal harmony and brotherhood. It will be just the right tribute to the ‘Father of the Nation’ as we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary.
We Indians may not wish to admit it but, regrettably, the J&K situation has been commented upon by nations, including the US, with President Donald Trump offering, at least thrice, to mediate between India and Pakistan. Though India need not react to all largely unfair criticism, it must satisfy itself on the sensitive handling of its own people