Articles Bytes of the Month Kashmir

Abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35(A) – The Stigma Of A Black Spot, Erased…

There was a time when the Kashmir problem was unsolvable. Although Kashmir is a part of India, it is not like all states. While all the states of the country had a uniform constitutional system, only Kashmir had a separate system.

Elections were held every five years in all states of India, while elections were held every six years in Kashmir. The constitution allows for the imposition of emergency wherever necessary in the country. But only in Kashmir, it was not possible to impose an emergency without consulting the governor there. Most importantly, a citizen of Kashmir can buy property in any state of India. However, the citizen of any other state was not allowed to buy property in Kashmir.

According to Article 370 and Article 35 (A) of the Constitution, though Kashmir was associated with India, it was still a separate country in a way. The citizens there had dual citizenship of India and Kashmir. But no citizen of any other Indian state could get citizenship of Kashmir. If a Kashmiri woman accidentally married a man from another state, she would not only lose her Kashmiri citizenship but also lose her right to inherit property. But there would be no difference in the rights of men if they married women from other states.

Even if people from other states go and settle permanently in Jammu and Kashmir, they do not get the right to vote in the assembly elections there or in any local elections. Also, India’s Right to Information Act and Right to Education Act were not applicable to Kashmir. Thus, Kashmir got a special status which no other state got in many respects. Apart from the defence, finance, foreign affairs and communication sectors, Kashmir had its autonomy. Not only that, Kashmir also had a separate flag. Also, our national anthem did not get importance there. It was really tragic that such discrimination existed in a strong democratic country like India. Even till 2019, Kashmir had a special status compared to all other states in India. Why is this inequality in the same country? Despite the clamour, it was not possible to bring change there due to many political and appeasement reasons. In Kashmir, the central government’s power was just a toy and not calculated.

For this reason, no citizen of India should forget that Pakistan and terrorist organizations have done all the wrong things in Kashmir and ruined the peace of the entire country. For so many decades, the whole country was suffering from the problem of Kashmir. This kind of situation would not have come to Kashmir or the country if it had come under the equality of the constitution. So, the struggle to cancel Article 370 and Article 35 (A) of the Constitution became stronger. Finally, in 2019, the central government issued an ordinance revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and abrogating Article 35(A). The then Union Home Minister Amit Shah will announce this in the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha passes the bill for the creation of two Union Territories, Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. However, it did not end like this.

Many petitions come before the Supreme Court challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. A lot of debates and arguments take place in the Supreme Court. Finally, the three-judge bench that was hearing it transferred the case to a five-judge bench. While Attorney General R. Venkataraman, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Senior Advocates Harish Salve, Rakesh Dwivedi, V, Giri etc. argued for the repeal of Article 370, Kapil Sibal, Gopal Subrahmanyam, Rajiv Dhawan Zafar Shah, Dushyant from the Congress party argued for the repeal of Article 370. Advocates like Dhave had argued.

After 16 days of hearing, the Supreme Court upholds the government’s move to abrogate Articles 370 and 35(A).

Kashmir will finally be free from the curse of inequality in 2019. Now there are no two constitutions, no two flags, no two citizenships. The people of Kashmir have the same rights as the people of all other states. Now in Kashmir, people from any state of the country can buy property. Even if a woman marries a man from another state, she will not be deprived of her ancestral property. One Constitution for one nation has finally come into force.

Kashmir is now freed from the conspiracies of political leaders like Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who ruled Kashmir as if it were their own Jahgir by misusing Article 370. Due to this reason, the grip of Pakistan and terrorists is almost reduced there, people are walking around with impunity. Again, tourism is gaining ground in Kashmir. There, education and industries are also developing rapidly.

After all, what is the reason for such a tragedy in the country? After India’s independence in 1947, about five hundred princely states did not join the Union. Jammu and Kashmir was one of them. But when Pakistan invaded Kashmir, King Hari Singh not only sought India’s help but also signed an agreement to merge Kashmir with India. But due to a technical mistake made by Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, Kashmir lost its chance to join the union like other states. Leaving the decision of joining India in the Union of India to the Legislative Assembly led to such a big mistake.

So, if there was one rule for the entire country, there was a separate rule for Kashmir. Someone’s mistake to appease someone, for someone’s selfishness, made the whole country suffer for nearly seventy years. Finally, with the official abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35(A), the stigma of a black spot attached to the country has been erased.

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *