Bringing peace and prosperity in Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is a state in India that has enjoyed a long history of coexistence among its diverse peoples
JAMMU and Kashmir is a place rightly famed for its great natural beauty. But even more than the splendours of nature’s bounty, visitors carry back unforgettable memories of the warmth, hospitality and courtesy of the people.
They are also sometimes surprised to experience the tremendous diversity not only of the landscape but also the people.
The demography of the province is a tapestry of people of different faiths, languages, customs and beliefs, whether they be Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Gujjars and Bakkerwals – nomadic tribes that roam the rivers and valleys of the region. As in other parts of India these multitudes have coexisted in harmony for centuries.
Hindu holy sites such as Amarnath and the Sankaracharya temple (located at a height of 335m above Srinagar, the temple traces its roots to 2nd century BCE), the Hazratbal dargah (houses an important relic – Moi-e-Muqaddas, ie sacred hair of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him) and the Thikse Gompa (a 15th century Buddhist monastery in Leh) bear testimony to the ethos of “Kashmiriyat”, which is secular in nature and embraces peaceful coexistence. Any dispensation has to take account of the rights, aspirations and motivations of all the diverse groups that form the composite of Jammu and Kashmir’s society.
India, like South Africa, is a multi-faith, pluralistic and tolerant society. The ethos of Indian culture and civilisation is secular and our constitution proclaims us as a secular republic. Our social fabric is sustained through a fine balance between different communities and faiths.
India is home to 200 million Muslims, who are an integral part of Indian society.
Muslims constituted almost 10% of the Indian population in 1951, the year of our first census. In the last census of 2011, this percentage had risen to more than 14%.
It is important to recognise and understand these facts and not communalise the issue or create a non-existent clash of religions.
Those raising questions about India’s secular credentials should consider that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis or Jews have held the highest offices of the country, including those of president, vice-president, prime minister, chief justice of the supreme court, cabinet ministers of foreign, defence, finance and home affairs, governors of states, chiefs of army, navy and air force and heads of our security services. Those making these accusations should put out in public their own record in this regard.
After the Indian government revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution in the first week of last month, some have erroneously described the step as “annexation” of Jammu and Kashmir. But the State of Jammu and Kashmir was always one of the states of the Republic of India, and one of the more than 500 princely states that joined the Union of India through a legal Instrument of Accession.
The provision of Article 370 was conceived by the founding fathers of the Indian constitution as a temporary provision. The experience of the last seven decades has been that it has led to discrimination on the basis of gender, regional disparities and socio-economic inequalities, which are anathema to the governing of any modern society.
Many progressive legislations that apply in other states of India and in an increasing number of countries in the world, earlier did not apply in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. For example, laws against domestic violence, provisions for right to education, minimum wages, affirmative action for weaker sections, including Muslims, and reservation of women in local bodies.
Presently, because of the provision of reservation, over 1 million elected women have their say in local bodies throughout India. Why should the women of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh not have these opportunities and protections under law? A woman from these areas who married someone from outside had to forfeit the right to bequeath her property to her children. What kind of human right is this?
There is an ill-founded attempt to portray India as not complying with UN Security Council (SC) Resolutions. Let us understand what UNSC Resolution 47 says. The first step mandated by the resolution was for Pakistan to withdraw all tribesmen and armed forces from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The other provisions were conditional on this first step which has never been taken by Pakistan. So, it is Pakistan and not India that has yet to fulfil what the UNSC resolution requires.
The UNSC Resolution 47 was passed under Chapter VI of the UN’s Charter which is devoted to peaceful settlement of disputes. Pakistan has promoted a policy of cross-border terrorism to pursue its objectives in Jammu and Kashmir.
A policy of terror that promotes extremist ideologies has no place in the civilised world and has no support in the international community. It is also a violation of the letter and spirit of the UN Charter, under which the resolution was passed.
There is no basis to claim that the recent actions will lead to demographic changes in Jammu and Kashmir. There are a number of provinces in India where minority populations are in a majority and exercise their fundamental political, economic, religious and social rights without hindrance.
In fact, with the artificial hindrances now removed, investment will flow into the region and the talented youth of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh will have access to new livelihood opportunities locally that will help the region and its people to achieve their full economic potential.
It is true that temporary restrictions have been placed in the state. But, where is the evidence for claims of widespread human rights abuses and killings?
A few days ago, terrorists fired and injured four persons, including a baby girl, Usma Jan, in Sopore. We have to remember that this is a place where state-sponsored terrorists threaten the rule of law, kill innocent men, women and children with impunity and use civilians as human shields to perpetrate their evil designs and extremist ideologies.
Their thoughts and actions have little to do with the rights of the Kashmiri people. Right to life is the most important human right and protecting it through reasonable restrictions is the bounden duty of government. Special circumstances require special measures. Gradually the restrictions are being lifted. All landline links have already been restored.
In all fairness, the international community should scrutinise carefully what is happening in the part of Jammu and Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan.
A quick survey of news reports and reports of credible NGOs paints a sorry picture of persecution, discrimination, and state-supported repression and forced disappearances, including of journalists critical of Pakistan’s security services.
There is documented evidence of the denial of the political and cultural, including linguistic rights, of the people living there.
Those who live in glasshouses should not throw stones at others.
India and Pakistan have signed the Shimla Agreement in which both sides committed to resolving their disputes bilaterally.
Peaceful dialogue is the way forward, not a policy of terror or trying to invoke the concerns of the international community through propaganda and fearmongering.
● Sarkar is the High Commissioner of India to South Africa