Monday, August 05, 2019

Big BJP Move On Kashmir

The abrogation of Article 370 which had been giving special status to Kashmir in India and the bifurcation of the state into two to be governed by the central government in Delhi has been a big step. That Kashmir has been put under martial law is telling. There are fears this is an attempt to turn Kashmir into a Gaza Strip. One hopes the martial law aspect is, at best, temporary. If India takes away democracy from Kashmir, it will be a deep wound to India's very soul.

India keeps saying all of Kashmir belongs to India. Pakistan keeps saying all of Kashmir belongs to Kashmir. They are untenable positions. The two powers should come together to recognize the Line Of Control as the final border between the two countries and help bring down the tension levels in the state. Ordinary Kashmiris suffer daily inconveniences and regular cruelties. That is a blight on the Indian conscience. No democracy, no India.



















Article 370: Will revoking special status be good for Kashmir, India? We have grown so used to the status quo that a change of this magnitude challenges our intellectual faculties......... GoI’s decision to revoke Article 370, scrap Article 35A and reorganise J&K (into two Union territories) will go down as one the most audacious decisions taken by New Delhi since Independence.
New J&K to be like Puducherry: Here is how India's new Union territory J&K will function
Modi government's new roadmap in Kashmir Change is in the air, with a sharper focus on recasting the political and administrative structure that allowed separatism to fester in the Valley and squeezed the space for governance.
This Amit Shah photo reveals Modi govt's top secret plan on Article 370
Government's decision on Article 370 as a "betrayal of trust": Omar Abdullah
Article 370: Why is Kashmir tense about it & what can India do According to this article, except for defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications, Parliament needs the state government's concurrence for applying all other laws. Thus the state's residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians. As a result of this provision, Indian citizens from other states cannot purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir. Under Article 370, the Centre has no power to declare financial emergency under Article 360 in the state. It can declare an emergency in the state only in case of war or external aggression. The Union government can therefore not declare emergency on grounds of internal disturbance or imminent danger unless it is made at the request or with the concurrence of the state government. ....... "Article 370 under the Constitution has been ascribed as a temporary provision and not a special provision. There are provisions in the Constitution - temporary, transitional and special. Temporary is the weakest. The question is - how can be it ended and when shall be ended"
What is article 35A and why is everyone in India talking about it now When the J&K Constitution was adopted in 1956, it defined a permanent resident as someone who was a state subject on May 14, 1954, or who has been a resident of the state for 10 years, and has lawfully acquired immovable property. ......So under this clause no outsider can own property in J&K or get a state job.
J&K and Ladakh: Union Territory with legislature and without legislature Jammu and Kashmir being an UT with legislature, will have the option of forming their own governments and having a legislature with elected members and a chief minister (like New Delhi and Puducherry), yet the powers of such governments will be lesser than the state governments. ....... UTs with their own Legislatures -- Delhi, Puducherry and now Jammu and Kashmir -- will send representatives to the Rajya Sabha, besides the Lok Sabha. Other UTs send representatives only to the Lok Sabha.