Vaishakh Shuddha Shashthi
By Joginder Singh
Politicians are flippant creatures. They speak what will catch public attention and keep them in the limelight. Once I was talking to a politician from Punjab, who later became its Chief Minister and was even elected to the highest office of the country, about the assets, needs and liabilities of a politician. He said that the biggest asset of a politician is to be in the limelight. Otherwise, he is forgotten. Then, I asked, what should a politician do when there is nothing to write about him in the media? "He should get some news published, howsoever good or bad that may be, even if he has to pay for it," he observed.
Former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has called for allowing dual currency in Jammu & Kashmir. He said, "Like Europe, which has one currency, we want the currencies of both the countries (India and Pakistan) in Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control… As in Europe, where people can travel to nearly 40 countries on a single passport and without any visa, we want people to travel on both sides of Kashmir without any restrictions. We want Jammu & Kashmir to become a model for SAARC nations which will have one economic zone."
In a paper presented about two months ago in Pakistan, Mr Sayeed’s daughter, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, in order to please the terrorists, suggested dual power-sharing arrangement between India and Pakistan for ‘undivided Kashmir’ as an amicable settlement of the contentious issue.
The Mufti’s statement shows either his ignorance of the ground realities both in Europe and Jammu & Kashmir, or it is a deliberate attempt to pander to the terrorists. None of the 40 European countries faces the problem of terrorism. As it is, Jammu & Kashmir has been given special privileges which none of the other 27 States and seven Union Territories enjoys. In the Kashmir Valley, which is a Muslim majority area, there has been almost total ethnic cleansing of the minorities.
The result of the terrorist activities, funded and supported from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, has been that nearly 3.7 lakh Hindus and Sikhs were forced to migrate from the Valley. The continuing terrorist attacks are a part of an orchestrated campaign designed to cleanse Jammu & Kashmir of its indigenous Hindu and Sikh population and bring the area under Muslim control – either through merger with Pakistan, or as an independent, Islamic state. The Talibanisation of the Valley is almost complete.
Indian law prohibits migration of Indians from other States into Jammu & Kashmir, though Kashmiris can go and settle anywhere in the country. IAS and IPS officers of the Jammu & Kashmir cadre, even after serving 40 years in that State, cannot buy property there. A proposal to allot them land in the Valley was termed in the State Assembly as the "return of the East India Company".
On one occasion in the past, land for a Government office was not registered in the name of the President of India as he was not a ‘Kashmiri’. Unwittingly, the harping on special status for Jammu & Kashmir has led to the preservation of pro-Pakistani and fundamentalist Muslim character of the Valley.
Liberalism has disappeared and women are forced to wear the Islamic veil and dress in accordance with the code prescribed by the ulema. Music, too, has been proscribed. Sometime back, a local Urdu-language newspaper in Srinagar published a Press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen demanding the Kashmiri Pandits leave the State so that it can join Pakistan.
Kashmiri Pandits, instead of being called the victims of terrorism, are euphemistically described as ‘migrants’. They languish in refugee camps in squalor and disease on dole from the Government. From time to time, the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir gives a call to them to return. But each time such announcements are made, there is a terrorist attack against the remaining Hindu populace in the State, sending a clear message to the Pandits.
When Mr Sayeed quotes "people of 40 countries" travelling without let or hindrance, can he quote one instance where people from one European country have been forced to quit their hearth and home on the ground of religion or race? Can he cite from any of the 40 countries the extent of terror manifested in Jammu & Kashmir, as shown by a police souvenir of Jammu & Kashmir Police?
It said that there were 56,041 incidents of violence, including 10,093 explosions, 29,931 firing incidents, 5,561 cases of arson, 763 rocket attacks, 4,597 abductions, 229 cases of hanging to death, 275 arms snatching cases and 4,592 other acts of violence between January 1990 and December 2002. It further added that more than 30,000 civilians were killed during the 14-year-long militancy, while 60,000 terrorists died during the same period. The security forces seized 24,785 AK-type rifles, 9,387 pistols and revolvers, 58 carbines, 1,003 RPGs, 91 light machine guns and self-loading rifles, 742 rocket launchers and 2,270 rocket boosters during the same period. Besides, 6,865 kg of RDX, 47,219 grenades, 5,228 anti-personnel mines and 4,176 rockets were captured. Worse, Jammu & Kashmir is related to, in one way or the other, most terrorist attacks taking place in the country.
What India has been doing for the people of Jammu & Kashmir is much more than it has done for those belonging to other States. Since 1990, the State has managed to get more than Rs 35,571.3 crore in grants and assistance. In 2001-02, for instance, it got, Rs 4, 577 crore from the Centre, or over 70 per cent of the total assistance to the 27 remaining States and eight Union Territories. It has got more money and financial assistance than any other State every year since 1995. Add to this, projects in the State worth Rs 25,000 crore being funded by the Centre.
A Kashmiri gets eight-times more money from the Centre than citizens belonging to other States. While per capita Central assistance to other States increased from Rs 576.24 in 1992-93 to Rs 1,137 in 2000-01, that for Jammu & Kashmir spiralled from Rs 3,197 to Rs 8,092. To get a perspective, translate the numbers: If this cash were to be dispatched by money order, each Kashmiri family (with five members on an average) will get Rs 40,460 every year.
For all that tall talk of autonomy or independence, the fact is that Jammu & Kashmir cannot sustain itself without the Centre’s support. In 2001-02, the State spent Rs 7,516.6 crore, of which Rs 4,577 crore – or 60 paise of every rupee spent – came from the Centre. The State’s non-development expenditure was Rs 2,829 crore, including a salary bill of Rs 1,193 crore, while its revenue was barely Rs 1,095 crore.
Mercifully, Mr Sayeed’s idea of using Pakistani currency in Jammu & Kashmir and allowing safe passage to terrorists has no takers in the country.
Source: www.dailypioneer.com
The view expressed in the article is of writer & need not be taken as HJS’s views. – Editor
