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Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, August 12, 2017
Kashmir: The root of the Problem
( August 10, 2017, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) A
soft approach of a sizeable section of Muslim intelligentsia in Kashmir
including the political players towards the seditionists confirms the
fact that despite accession of the biggest Princely State of Jammu and
Kashmir to India under Indian Independence Act 1947, they are still
carrying the mental baggage with the feeling of the Muslim-majority
Kashmir’s separateness from the Hindu-majority India.
This was first generated by Sheikh Abdullah himself when he was the
founding president of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in 1932.
Irrespective of their political affiliation many of the leaders from
Kashmir were found to be avoiding a direct reply when confronted in TV
debates of the exposure of the separatist leaders’ link with the
terrorists operating in Kashmir. Their vague and irrelevant reaction
over the arrest of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani who was exposed
as ‘chief of all terrorist groups operating in Kashmir’ and other
separatist leaders suggests their soft attitude towards the
separatists.In post-accession political history of Kashmir, no Muslim
political leader from Sheikh Abdullah to Mehbooba Mufti, the present
Chief Minister ever gave up their feeling of Kashmir’s separateness from
India. After exposure of seditionist leaders for their Hawala
connection and use of Haj money for financing the ongoing violence in
Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti went to the extent of saying that if special
status to Kashmir is withdrawn, there will be no one to hold the
tricolour flag in Kashmir. So much so in her party rally at Srinagar on
July 29 she said, “You cannot kill an idea. You cannot jail an idea”. It
gives rise to the suspicion that she too perhaps has a soft corner for
those who are behind the idea of Azadi’(Independence) though factually,
technically and legally the State of Jammu & Kashmir became free
from the suzerainty of British Empire as well as from the rule of Hindu
monarchy; the day its ruler Hari Singh signed the instrument of
accession to accede to India. Such an attitude of Muslim intelligentsia
in the valley appears to be a major blockade to resolve the Kashmir
problem.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir has a history of troubled times ever
since the Muslim conquest of this region and mass conversion of its
people to Islam particularly in the valley. Since then, the Kashmiri
peasantry have suffered from the repressive Mogul, Afghan and other
rulers. It is a historical irony that since 13th century when Kashmir
became a Muslim majority region, the syncretistic culture of Kashmir
like other parts of India which the natives called as ‘Kashmiriyat’
started losing its shine to ‘Muslimiyat’ or hate non-Muslim which
dominated the administrative policy of the Muslim rulers. However,
despite the peoples’ representative government in Kashmir following the
instrument of accession to India signed by the Maharaja of the princely
state of Jammu & Kashmir in October 1947 and Jammu & Kashmir
becoming part of the democratic and secular India, the descendents of
the Hindus now want to restore the administrative policies of the Muslim
rulers.
It is a fact, though it may be vigorously denied that of the Muslim
leaders- particularly Sheikh Abdullah due to his political ambitions to
become the ruler of this former princely state played the politics of
Muslim separatism and kept the Muslims of this region alienated from
India. The problem started there and could he be called as the
ideological father of the separatists?
About Sheikh Abdullah even the Central Intelligence Agency in its
‘special report on Sheikh Abdullah and Kashmir issue’ dated April 24,
1964 which was approved for release in December 1999 suggests that
Sheikh Abdullah though agreed to Kashmir’s accession to India never gave
up the idea of independent or quasi independent role for Kashmir. The
report says: “Abdullah was also moved strongly by Kashmir’s feeling of
separateness. Conversations with him in 1947 – and more particularly
with his wife and some close associates – bear out that he then favoured
some solution in which state will go its own way. He
seems to have agreed to accession to India out of his regard for Nehru
and his fear that otherwise the state would be overrun by Pakistan”
Although, Sheikh Abdullah realised the political reality of the day and
had entered into an accord later with Indira Gandhi the then Prime
Minister in mid seventies, a group of self-seeking and politically
ambitious group under the patronage of Pakistan continue to harp on
Azadi.
After the end of the Muslim rule, though ‘Muslimiyat’ took a back seat
following the rule of Sikh and Hindu rulers, it again raised its head
during India’s freedom movement against British Empire particularly
after the formation of All India Muslim League. Drawing inspiration from
the communal ideology of AIML, the Kashmiri Muslim youths under the
leadership of Sheikh Abdullah formed the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim
Conference to launch a movement against the then Hindu ruler Maharaja
Hari Singh of this State with an objective to restore the lost Muslim
rule, revive ‘Muslimiyat’ as administrative policy and to represent the
hopes and interests of the Muslims. Abdullah’s speeches always started
with verses from Quran indicating. One need not guess that he carried
the day with Islamism in his consciousness. This was the beginning of
Kashmiri Muslims of being encouraged to feel of having a separate
identity.
The present separatist movement is in fact rooted to the same
‘Muslimiyat’ ideology of Muslim Conference and of the Muslim rule in the
region when Islamists’ cruelties were carried out on the non-Muslim
subjects for the purpose of their conversion to Islam. Driving out the
Kashmiri pundits from the valley in 1990 was also a planned campaign of
the Islamists which was rooted to the ethnic cleansing to free the
valley from the Hindu minority and carry forward the legacy of
‘Muslimiyat.’
Sensing the trouble from his Muslim subjects, Maharaja Hari Singh armed
himself with J & K constitution effective from September 1939 with
all the powers including legislative, executive and judiciary vested in
him and thereby became an absolute monarch of the State. Sheikh Abdullah
reportedly on the advice of Nehru with a view to hide the communal
image of his political organisation is said to have changed its name
from Muslim Conference to National Conference in 1939. It was a tactical
move of Sheikh Abdullah to project a secular character of the party by
dropping the word “Muslims” from the title and opening its membership
for Hindus and Sikhs also. He however, didn’t give up his feeling of
separateness of the Muslim-majority Kashmir and always remained obsessed
with ‘Muslimiyat’.
Thus, from All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference to National
Conference there was hardly any change in the ideology of restoring
‘Muslimiyat’ in Kashmir. He favoured an ultimate solution in which this
Muslim-majority state will go its own way.
Ironically, even after Kashmir’s accession to India, Sheikh Abdullah
remained obsessed to the ideology of independent Kashmir and influenced
Nehru for a special status to his Muslim-majority state after
incorporation of Article 370 in Indian Constitution.
Although, there were many political players besides Sheikh Abdullah who
were responsible for the Kashmir problem but the closeness between Nehru
and Sheikh Abdullah is said to be the one of the major reasons behind
the initial indecision and hesitation of Maharaja Hari Singh to accede
his State to India.
“Maharaja Hari Singh’s indecision to cast his lot with Indian dominion
before the dead line of 15th August 1947 did complicate the matter. His
initial indecision and hesitation to accede his state with India was due
to his presumed hostility of Nehru towards him. This in effect was the
beginning of the Kashmir problem, which we are facing even today…”
Nehru’s insistence that power in the state should be transferred to
Sheik Abdullah, before the Indian dominion accepts J&K accession and
Maharaja’s distrust of Sheik Abdullah and fear of his own abdication were responsible for the Maharaja’s initial hesitation”.
It is a fact that the State of J & K acceded to the Dominion of
India under unique circumstances when many political players
particularly Maharaja Hari Singh, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lord
Mountbatten, Sheikh Abdullah and Mohammad Ali Jinnah played their
respective politics and created such a problem for this State that even
after its seven decades old accession the successive governments have
failed to resolve it.
Incorporation of Article 370 in Indian Constitution and addition of
Article 35A by a Presidential Order provided a special status to this
State and power to its legislature to define ‘State’s permanent
residents’ and special rights and privileges created a political and
emotional gap between J & K and rest of the states in the country.
People of India including Kashmir are paying for this political blunder
committed by the then political leadership which encouraged a section of
Kashmiri Muslims including politicians, intelligentsia and a few
seditionists for talking about their separate identity. They are raising
slogans for Azadi but are not clear about its meaning. If they want an
independent sovereign state, it is not clear as to why their supporters
are raising the slogan of Pakistan Zindabad?
It is unfortunate that the Muslim political leaders of this state are
not even ready to debate the two controversial Articles which were
intended to be transitional and temporary in nature. Sooner the
continuance of these Articles are debated and reviewed, the better is
the prospect for the development and progress of this State at par with
other states in India. Simultaneously, the trouble makers including a
section of Kashmiri Muslim intelligentsia under the patronage of
Pakistan should be strongly dealt with as per law. Their complete
isolation from the Kashmiri masses to transform the prevailing mindset
of the Muslims in the State from ‘Muslimiyat’ to ‘Kashmiriyat’ is also
the need of the hour to integrate them emotionally with rest of the
country and bring peace in the region