Non-Kashmiris are aliens
Former J&K CM and Leader of Opposition in RS and president of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) Ghulam Nabi Bhat alias Azad, for whom PM Narendra Modi wept in the RS and on whom his government conferred Padma Vibhushan, has done it again. He has left none in any doubt that he hates all the non-Kashmiris and vouches for a dispensation in J&K that is exclusive of Kashmiris, by Kashmiris, and for Kashmiris. (Bhat is not a Jammu Dogra; he is an ethnic Kashmiri.)
The case in point is what Bhat said and declared on Wednesday (Mar 15, 2023) while addressing a public rally in the Zaloora area of Sopore, Kashmir. He, among other things, said: “Article 35-A was taken away (by the Narendra Modi government on August 5-6, 2019). There were two main rights for the people of J&K under that…We have to restore land and job rights. But, that can be done only through an Assembly, by passing a law in the Assembly so that outsiders cannot get employment or land here…It is the basic fight. Otherwise, they will keep threatening us, taking away our lands, and bulldozing our houses. (Obviously, he referred to the anti-encroachment drive.) So, it is very important to have our own government, chief minister, ministers, and MLAs…The aim of my party is the restoration of statehood to J&K”. And, he declared without mincing words that “the DPAP will bring in laws to protect land and job rights of the people of J&K (read Kashmiris) if voted to power”.
A list of Bhat’s 10 sins
What Bhat said and declared was not altogether unexpected. And what he said and declared was what all the ardent believers in the concept of Kashmiri Muslim sub-nationalism in the Valley had been propagating and implementing for decades. As said, what Bhat said and declared was expected of him.
- After all, it was he who in March 2006 openly and publicly vouched for a regime under which there could be joint control of India and Pakistan over J&K’s waters, power projects, agriculture, sericulture, forestry, environment, and tourism”.
- After all, it was his government that in 2006 applied the 1983 Wazir Commission Report in the wrong way to further hurt Jammu province and benefit Kashmir to which he belonged. He created four new districts in Kashmir, as against one recommended by the Commission, and an equal number of new districts in Jammu province, as against three recommended by the Commission. When the people of Jammu lambasted him for what he did, Bhat said that “he believed in the principle of equality”.
- After all, it was his government that in February 2006 framed rules and regulations under the pernicious Farooq Abdullah’s Roshni Act of 2001 to enable his co-religionists and others to loot and plunder more than 24 lakh kanal state land, mostly in Jammu, and cause a loss to the J&K exchequer to the tune of Rs.25,000 crore. The Comptroller & Auditor-General (C&AG) described what Bhat did as the “biggest land scam in J&K” and J&K High Court declared the Act “illegal and unconstitutional”.
- After all, it was his government that in March 2007 rejected in no time Bills on “secularism”, “socialism” and “national Flag”.
- After all, it was his government that in March 2007 rejected a Bill seeking the protection and preservation of Hindu temples and shrines in Kashmir.
- After all, it was his government that in March 2007 adopted the “Shariat Bill” in no time. The National Conference of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah moved the Bill. No Kashmiri CM, not even Sheikh Abdullah, Mufti Sayeed, and Mehbooba Mufti, ever dared to pass a Bill that would apply Shari laws in J&K, but the Bhat-led Congress-PDP coalition government did it, and with utmost ease.
- After all, it was his government that in March 2007 rejected the Bill seeking citizenship rights for the Hindu-Sikh refugees from Pakistan languishing in Jammu since their migration in 1947.
- After all, it was his government that in March 2007 rejected the Bill that sought 50 percent representation for the under-represented Jammu province in the J&K Legislative Assembly. Instead, he came out with a formula that was aimed at creating more Assembly seats in the already over-represented Kashmir. He suggested a 25 percent increase in the Assembly seats in Jammu province and Kashmir province but failed.
- After all, it was Bhat and his government, who never ever uttered a word against the illegal settlement of illegal aliens, Rohingyas and Bangladeshis included, at strategic locations in Jammu province. On the contrary, like the previous regimes, his government provided them with all facilities and would term the problem a “human problem”.
- After all, it was his government that in February 2008 subverted the J&K HC’s order and snatched from the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Baltal land meant for the creation of some additional facilities for the Amarnath pilgrims on a temporary basis. He snatched the Baltal land to appease and please jihadists in Kashmir, including Mehbooba Mufti. It is a different story that his government collapsed in July 2008 under the pressure from Jammu-in-revolt.
Bhat and Kashmiris living outside Kashmir
Now that Bhat has condemned all the non-Kashmiris as aliens or outsiders and declared that his party if voted to power, will pass a law that bans aliens from acquiring jobs and land in J&K, it’s time to ask him and others of his ilk in Kashmir definite questions: Will he also pass a bill that bans Kashmiris from acquiring job, land, and education outside Kashmir? Will he pass a law that leaves the Kashmiris with no other option but to quit the jobs they are holding outside India, abandon the immovable properties they occupy outside J&K and return to Kashmir?
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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The article 370 & 35A ensured all that has been listed above, including the mass exodus and genocide could be done. The farewell to Azad in RS was to ensure his isolation and he fell for it in the hope of rehabilitation and a house in Delhi at the cost of chipping away congress support in Kashmir.