Report By Yashwant Sinha Led Group Says Kashmiris Feel Judicial And Constitutional Aggression Used Against Them

A group led by former foreign minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha today released a third report revealing that dismay and disquiet has grown in the Valley.

The report says Kashmiris feel that the central government is using a “military approach” along with “judicial and constitutional aggression” against the people of Kashmir.

The members, who visited the valley between August 17 and August 19 under Sinha were Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak, Sushobha Barve, who is the Executive Director, Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation and the Editor of news website Catch News, Bharat Bhushan.

Calling themselves the Concerned Citizens Group (CCG), during their third visit they met prominent political parties, office bearers of the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association, civil society representatives from Srinagar, Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama and College students and civil society representatives in Kupwara, North Kashmir.

“Most disquieting conclusion of the interactions that the Concerned Civil Society Group had with Kashmiri students, civil society and political leaders this time around was that as compared to the previous visits, the sense of dismay and despondency in the people had grown”, the CCG report says.

 “The proximate reasons for this not only seemed to be the lack of dialogue with the Kashmiris but also because tourism had plummeted, the hotel business was in dire straits, there was flight of capital and an overall economic downturn leading to greater unemployment and economic distress. The situation was much worse than the previous two years”, the report reads.

“At the same time, the distance between rest of India and the Kashmiri youth but also others seems to have increased. This was evident in the fact that even the people who used to talk reasonably earlier were using the language of the militants and separatists this time”, the report says.

“People complained of not only of the military approach to the problem of Kashmir but also of a judicial/Constitutional aggression against the people of Kashmir in attempts to undo Article 35A of the Indian Constitution which ensured special rights for the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir”, the report says.

However, the report says, the only saving grace was that in personal discussions prominent members of civil society continued to use cautious and measured language which suggested that there was still a constituency for peace and that societal leaders were willing to make an effort to end violence and ensure a peaceful atmosphere so that a dialogue could begin to address their issues in a considered and in a less emotionally charged manner.

The report says Prime Minister’s message on August 15 that Kashmiris need a hug and not abuse or bullets has had a positive impact. “People said that they were waiting for the operationalization of the PM’s message and hoped that this would happen soon”, the report says.

The report says there was all round opposition to attempts to revoke Article 35A of the Constitution of India. “The judicial raking of the Article 35A issue seems to have pushed the demand for ‘Azadi’ to the background (it has, however, neither disappeared nor become secondary, only less urgent) as people see the attempts to change rules for special rights of people of J&K as an existential threat of changing the Valley’s demographic profile”, the report reads.

“People believe that revoking Article 35A can potentially lead to a demographic change in the state as outsiders are facilitated to buy land and property in the state. This was completely unacceptable to them”, the report says.

It says simmering anger also stemmed from the belief that the Central government was a “passive collaborator” in the petitions filed before the Supreme Court of India.

“This belief was strengthened not because of the statements from the ruling party at the Centre and its frontal organisations but the Central government’s attitude itself. So Kashmiris openly alleged that the judicial attack on J&K’s special status was being “stage managed” by the Central government”, the report says.