Democracy is perceived to be Government of the people; by the people; for the people and a Chief Minister is supposed to be the representative of people in order to run affairs of the state in their interest and according to their aspirations. Kashmiris have an altogether different experience of democracy. For them democracy has been off the people; far the people and buy the people for legitimizing a relation to which they were not a party. Same is the situation of the Chief Minister in Kashmir. Chief Ministership of Kashmir is an extension of Indian Foreign Ministry. Chief Minister of Kashmir has to be a spokesman of Indian Foreign Policy vis-à-vis its neighbours. Abdullahs have been defending Indian Foreign Policy in United Nations General Assembly for three generations. Mir Qasim former Congress Chief Minister did it in 1965 in UN. Chief Minister of Kashmir has to abdicate its powers in favour of various agencies associated with the Home Ministry of India and confer unbridled powers upon them through Legislations. Armed Forces Special Powers Act and other such laws are simply aimed to facilitate this objective. Apart from this Chief Minister of Kashmir has to work in association with the Unified Command to communicate the world as if he still enjoys powers inspite of such an abdication. Chief Minister of Kashmir has also to camouflage large scale Human Rights Abuses which are an indispensable consequence of excessive militarization of an area. This way he is also an extension of Defense Ministry as well. No wonder Defense Minister of India Mr. Pranab Murkherjee was consulted by Sonia Gandhi prior to nomination of Ghulam Nabi Azad. Whatever powers are left with the Chief Minister, they have to executed through a brigade of imported IAS Officers. These officers have only one interest that is to perpetuate the status quo and rule Kashmir as the officials of East India Company used to rule British India.
Apart from these roles present Chief Minister has also to share the burden of previous Congress Legacy within the state which has been a bitter experience for people of the J&K. Congress assumed defacto power in J&K with the advent of G.M. Sadiq as Prime Minister on 29th February, 1964. Soon he resorted to extension of Article 356 & 357 to the state. This was the in pursuance of continuation of erosion of State Autonomy in a big way. The State was further brought within the clutches of Centre through extension of Article 226 of the Indian Constitution in August 24, 1971. Formally the then ruling NC was converted into Congress on 26th January, 1965 and Mir Qasim appointed its first president. The Congress came with a slogan of fighting corruption and appointed Ayyanger Commission to look into the corruption cases committed during the Bakshi Regime. Like present Accountability Commission, the Ayyanger Commission also fizzled out soon after its formation. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed was rehabilitated as Member of Parliament. On 30th March, 1965 Congress abolished the post of Saddr-e-Reyasat, Prime Minister and converted these into the position of Governor and Chief Minister. Congress declared that it is ready to have a dialogue with everyone including Sheikh Abdullah, released him; allowed him to proceed to Pakistan and perform Hajj but again arrested him on 9th May, 1965 soon after his arrival from overseas. Congress rule also experienced eruption of insurgency in Kashmir in August, 1965 which soon engulfed whole of the Sub-Continent into a full scale war. Exclusively local insurgency in the form of Alfatah emerged in 1971 during their rule.
Prior to Congress rule, the number of uncontested seats within State Legislature used to be 73 ( upto 1953 during Sheikh Abdullahs Prime Ministership ) and 65 ( during Bakshis Prime Ministership ). In the first election under Congress rule, it was 22 out of 75; most of them in the valley. Sheikh Abdullah also decided to contest elections from the platform of Plebiscite Front but was denied this opportunity by declaring state out of bounds for him in 1971. He was made to renounce slogans of Plebiscite and brought to power with the support of Congress in 1975 after the notorious Indira- Abdullah Accord. Congress had planned to pull rag beneath his feet but they resorted to this tactics when they had lost elections in Delhi. Coming of Janata Party to power at the Centre backfired this move of theirs and they lost power for two and half decades.
It was the Congress rule that brought the politics of reservation to the State. Congress patronized an agitation of Kashmiri Pandits over conversion and marriage of one Parveen Akthar, used this agitation as a pretext to appoint Gajandhar Ghadkar Commission to look into the complaints of regional imbalance in 1967. It introduced reservations for Schedule Castes and Resident of Ladakh in 1968. It must be noted that Muslims are not perceived to be in the list of Schedule Castes inspite of being engaged in the same type of professions which are provided as a justification for the beneficial treatment of the Hindu Scheduled Castes.
Congress rule has also been responsible for dismantling the local educational setup within the state and assimilating it into the Indian National Mainstream Education System. Appointment of Baghwan Sahi Commiittee in 1973 was a step towards this direction. Their was nothing wrong in opting NCERT prepared curriculum in Sciences and Mathematics but exclusion of local History & Geography from it alienated the students from their own history and culture. Moreover study of classical languages from 5th to 8th standard was another step towards cultural proselytization of the local population. The locally designed curriculum previously provided for study of Deneyat at primary level and Arabic , Persian and other classical languages at post primary level. All these subjects were proposed to be banished from the syllabus inspite of the fact that these languages remained the only connection between a student and his relegio-cultural ethos. These languages also provided a window to them to the job markets of Middle East. This was suggested despite the fact that the education continues to be an exclusively state subject for J&K. Unfortunately succeeding National Conference Governments perpetuated same policy while paying by putting into practice report of the Baghwan sahi Committee.
Distinct identity of the state didn’t become the only victim of the previous Congress Rule in constitutional and educational aspects but its environment had also to pay a heavy cost. Marajahas could create a road between Tangmarg and Gulmarg but they preferred to retain it as a riding track for the fear of environmental degradation of the Gulmarg. Previously people used to reach Gulmarg through trekking or riding. They would forget all their ordeals as soon as they reached Gulmarg. Today they go to Gulmarg alongwith their vehicles only to find on entering it a replica of KMD Bus Stand. This transformation of Gulmarg owes a lot to Congress which constructed a road between Tangmarg and Gulmarg in 1968. Construction of the road had more to do with demands of security rather than facilitation of access of ordinary people to that place.
Ghulam Nabi Azad inspite of being a native is an alien to the dynamics of local socio-political realities. He has been accustomed to politics of openness where democracy, freedom and human rights have altogether a different meaning. He has been reluctant to take over reigns of “ power ” in the state. Will he be able to infuse the same values over here or behave as an instrument of occupation like his predecessors remains to be seen.
Apart from these roles present Chief Minister has also to share the burden of previous Congress Legacy within the state which has been a bitter experience for people of the J&K. Congress assumed defacto power in J&K with the advent of G.M. Sadiq as Prime Minister on 29th February, 1964. Soon he resorted to extension of Article 356 & 357 to the state. This was the in pursuance of continuation of erosion of State Autonomy in a big way. The State was further brought within the clutches of Centre through extension of Article 226 of the Indian Constitution in August 24, 1971. Formally the then ruling NC was converted into Congress on 26th January, 1965 and Mir Qasim appointed its first president. The Congress came with a slogan of fighting corruption and appointed Ayyanger Commission to look into the corruption cases committed during the Bakshi Regime. Like present Accountability Commission, the Ayyanger Commission also fizzled out soon after its formation. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed was rehabilitated as Member of Parliament. On 30th March, 1965 Congress abolished the post of Saddr-e-Reyasat, Prime Minister and converted these into the position of Governor and Chief Minister. Congress declared that it is ready to have a dialogue with everyone including Sheikh Abdullah, released him; allowed him to proceed to Pakistan and perform Hajj but again arrested him on 9th May, 1965 soon after his arrival from overseas. Congress rule also experienced eruption of insurgency in Kashmir in August, 1965 which soon engulfed whole of the Sub-Continent into a full scale war. Exclusively local insurgency in the form of Alfatah emerged in 1971 during their rule.
Prior to Congress rule, the number of uncontested seats within State Legislature used to be 73 ( upto 1953 during Sheikh Abdullahs Prime Ministership ) and 65 ( during Bakshis Prime Ministership ). In the first election under Congress rule, it was 22 out of 75; most of them in the valley. Sheikh Abdullah also decided to contest elections from the platform of Plebiscite Front but was denied this opportunity by declaring state out of bounds for him in 1971. He was made to renounce slogans of Plebiscite and brought to power with the support of Congress in 1975 after the notorious Indira- Abdullah Accord. Congress had planned to pull rag beneath his feet but they resorted to this tactics when they had lost elections in Delhi. Coming of Janata Party to power at the Centre backfired this move of theirs and they lost power for two and half decades.
It was the Congress rule that brought the politics of reservation to the State. Congress patronized an agitation of Kashmiri Pandits over conversion and marriage of one Parveen Akthar, used this agitation as a pretext to appoint Gajandhar Ghadkar Commission to look into the complaints of regional imbalance in 1967. It introduced reservations for Schedule Castes and Resident of Ladakh in 1968. It must be noted that Muslims are not perceived to be in the list of Schedule Castes inspite of being engaged in the same type of professions which are provided as a justification for the beneficial treatment of the Hindu Scheduled Castes.
Congress rule has also been responsible for dismantling the local educational setup within the state and assimilating it into the Indian National Mainstream Education System. Appointment of Baghwan Sahi Commiittee in 1973 was a step towards this direction. Their was nothing wrong in opting NCERT prepared curriculum in Sciences and Mathematics but exclusion of local History & Geography from it alienated the students from their own history and culture. Moreover study of classical languages from 5th to 8th standard was another step towards cultural proselytization of the local population. The locally designed curriculum previously provided for study of Deneyat at primary level and Arabic , Persian and other classical languages at post primary level. All these subjects were proposed to be banished from the syllabus inspite of the fact that these languages remained the only connection between a student and his relegio-cultural ethos. These languages also provided a window to them to the job markets of Middle East. This was suggested despite the fact that the education continues to be an exclusively state subject for J&K. Unfortunately succeeding National Conference Governments perpetuated same policy while paying by putting into practice report of the Baghwan sahi Committee.
Distinct identity of the state didn’t become the only victim of the previous Congress Rule in constitutional and educational aspects but its environment had also to pay a heavy cost. Marajahas could create a road between Tangmarg and Gulmarg but they preferred to retain it as a riding track for the fear of environmental degradation of the Gulmarg. Previously people used to reach Gulmarg through trekking or riding. They would forget all their ordeals as soon as they reached Gulmarg. Today they go to Gulmarg alongwith their vehicles only to find on entering it a replica of KMD Bus Stand. This transformation of Gulmarg owes a lot to Congress which constructed a road between Tangmarg and Gulmarg in 1968. Construction of the road had more to do with demands of security rather than facilitation of access of ordinary people to that place.
Ghulam Nabi Azad inspite of being a native is an alien to the dynamics of local socio-political realities. He has been accustomed to politics of openness where democracy, freedom and human rights have altogether a different meaning. He has been reluctant to take over reigns of “ power ” in the state. Will he be able to infuse the same values over here or behave as an instrument of occupation like his predecessors remains to be seen.
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