Yawar Hussain
Srinagar: DD, With mudslinging between Kashmir’s two premier regional parties going on to deconstruct the meaning of “constitutional rights” term used by the Jammu and Kashmir government in its assembly resolution of last year, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) this week pitched for pre-August-5 status for the region at a party convention here in Srinagar.
CPIM national General Secretary M A Baby flanked by Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami and four parliamentarians from three corners of the country—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Rajasthan—announced that the party stands for restoration of Article 370 of the constitution of India along with granting more powers to the elected government in the region.
“I announce on behalf of the party that we stand for the restoration of Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir and complete statehood,” Baby told an enthusiastic Kashmiri audience at Tagore Hall, Srinagar, leading to chants of Comrade Baby ko lal salaam (red salute to Comrade Baby).
The event titled “Convention for the restoration of legitimate constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir” comes at a time when local parties including the ruling National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party have been accusing each other of diluting the erstwhile special status of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir along with not doing “enough” for its restoration as well.
However, both parties, along with three other regional players—Apni Party, Peoples Conference and Awami Ittehad Party—have failed to organise and engage the local populace or parliamentarians to debate and demand the restoration of Article 370, which they all term as their pivotal political objective.
A political analyst at the convention said the regional parties based out of Kashmir have mainly used Article 370 to whip up emotions, while in action, they have never done anything tangible.
“In power, they never use the term 370, but out of power, they will. It needed CPIM, a national party, with a lone lawmaker from Kashmir, Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami, to even use the term Article 370 in J&K. This in itself reflects the level of politicking of these regional players,” the analyst said.
“Even the Congress party, with bigger resources, leaders, and lawmakers at both national and local levels, hasn’t been able to get their member parliaments to debate on statehood.”
Earlier, while elaborating on Article 370, Baby said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, and Sheikh Abdullah discussed Article 370 in detail before it was incorporated in the Indian constitution. “One of the meetings was at the house of Sardar Patel, and only then did this Article come into being. But you removed it.”
He said it was deplorable that the elected chief minister had no say in the security review meetings. “To fight terrorism, the support of Kashmiri people is critical, and for that to happen, the legitimate constitutional rights, including Article 370, need to be given back.”
The delegation, which was on a two-day visit to the Valley in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, earlier visited Uri to assess the losses suffered by the people in shelling from across the border following the launch of Operation Sindoor.
They also demanded a special session of the parliament to debate the plight of border residents.
Earlier, speaking at the convention, CPIM Rajya Sabha member Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the people of the Kashmir valley depicted the historical spirit of “Kashmiriyat” by coming out to protest.
He said that historically, the people of Kashmir have stood for unity by choosing a secular India over a religious Pakistan.
Speaking at the Convention, lawmaker from Kulgam and CPIM central committee member Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami said that Kashmiris aren’t beggars and thus don’t want any favours from anyone.
“We want this delegation to be our bipartisan voice. We don’t want any favour from any government, but then Article 370 and allied things established a relationship between us and the Union of India. It needs to be enunciated because some people are telling the nation that it was a favour to the people of Kashmir,” Tarigami said.
He said history needs to be told to people in the right context, which in J&K’s case is that the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, of which Ladakh was a part, was established by the Dogra dynasty of Jammu.
“General Zorawar Singh, Dogra army commander, was killed while fighting to incorporate Ladakh. It is this state which was divided,” Tarigami said.
He said that while parts of India burnt along with parts of Jammu during partition in 1947, it was only Kashmir where communal harmony prevailed.
CPIM leaders also praised Kashmiri ponywallah Syed Adil Hussain Shah, who reportedly died trying to save tourists during the Pahalgam attack.
The other CPIM leaders in the delegation included Amra Ram (MP, Lok Sabha), K Radhakrishnan (MP, Lok Sabha), John Brittas (MP, Rajya Sabha), Su Venkatesan (MP, Lok Sabha), and A A Rahim (MP, Rajya Sabha).DD
