Shreeya Bakshi
Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India that enjoys special status under Article 370 of the India Constitution and grants its citizens several rights under its jurisdiction as ‘state-subject’. Owing to the special status, Politicians in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) have a special power to frame laws for the state and its people. In the State of Jammu and Kashmir, a worse kind of exclusion is taking place. Unlike in the other parts of the country, efforts are being made since last few years by the political parties and their leaders to pass a Bill known as ‘Permanent Resident Disqualification Bill’ which if passed would exclude women married to non-state subjects from their legal and fundamental rights of their identity, property and livelihood among other things. The hurriedness and eagerness shown for passing the Bill suggests a politics of exclusion that encapsulates several dimensions including gender. Equality of individuals or of their identities irrespective of their difference in terms of language, religion, class and gender is the hallmark of modern society. But in the state of J&K, women owing to their gender have been excluded and marginalized.
The underlying assumption was that in case a girl of the state marries the state -subject, her certificate and citizenship would continue and if a woman marries a non state-subject she has to lose her status which also meant deprivation of all her rights. As the Bill introduced in 2004 and further introduced in 2010, intends to do the same, women will be deprived of their Fundamental Rights as well as of Human Rights. In 1927 many western educated men still held key positions within state administration. So Maharaja Hari Singh, the fourth Dogra ruler, attempted to soothe the ruffled feelings of his subjects by reasserting the rights of his subjects over outsiders. State legislation seems to be designed to keep non-residents out. But following a 1927 notification the legal notion of “state subject” has been modified in a way that has produced extremely discriminatory effect by enforcing the ‘resident’ status or ‘domicile’ of a husband upon a woman. But later on, the political parties for their own vested interests kept on changing the definition of state subject and hence used it against the women community of the state. The whole controversy started in 2002 when a remarkable Full Bench decision was given, on Oct 7, Justice Jhanji and Doabia made it clear that “The daughter of a permanent resident marrying a non-permanent resident will not lose the status of permanent resident in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
It was also decided that “Valid Till Marriage” will not be written on the female state subjects of the state and hence even if a girl of J&K state marries a non-state subject, her ‘Permanent Resident Certificate’ will hold its validity. Then in 2004, the Bill was passed in Lower House but did not get 2/3 majority in Upper House. The Bill was passed in just ten minutes by the State Legislature on March 5, 2004 and now awaits only the state Governor’s assent before becoming a Law. It certainly seems improbable that in such a short period of time (10 minutes) the State Legislatures would have had time to consider all the implications of withdrawing state-subject rights from women, as envisaged in the Bill. However, as it created a lot of controversy, it was stalled thereafter and could not be made in to a Law due to alot of hue and cry in the state. Again, in 2010, the PRC Bill is introduced in Legislative Council with certain more clauses. But on April 5, 2010, this Bill was dropped due to a “technical flaw” on the basis that it pertained to constitutional matter. So, it could not be initiated in the Upper House
According to census report 2011, the sex ratio in J&K has dropped alarmingly to 883 females per 1000 males from 892:1000 in 2001. This PRC could also be a reason of declining sex rate because in this decade, this issue was raised 3-4 times which might have made couples to prefer a male child as no one can deny the fact that every parent would like their children to inherit their hard earned property and if the state itself is taking away the rights of girls, parents will surely prefer boys over girls.
It demands by implication, an unquestioning surrender to a state institution to make marriage a carefully calculated act to be determined primarily by location rather than consideration of mutual likes or congeniality. The human angle is completely ruled out. Thus, evident in the Bill is not only the patriarchal bias characteristic of the state system but also violation of the very spirit of Human Rights. The Bill in question seeks to intervene in the most personal domain of a woman’s life, in violation rather than defense. So our politicians must know that by pushing through such a backward law, they would marginalise the already marginal section of the society. They would renege on the most basic thing which a modern state accords to its citizens; ‘Equal Rights’.
Rather if the state of Jammu and Kashmir is fortunate enough to have its own constitution and Special Status (Article 370), it should try to formulate such policies which are beneficial for the people of the state. And the policies framed should be inclusive in nature and not exclusive, which should really make people of the state to think that they are also ‘Special’ by the virtue of being born in the state which has a ‘special status’. And here it is emphasized that the concern for any political party is not really ‘the women’ but behind the gender exclusion, is the politics being played in the state. On the one hand, there are those who want to maintain the exclusive character of the state, its Constitution, special status, demography, and culture intact and on the other hand, there are those who oppose this as they fear the domination of one section of society, one ideology, one religion and one culture. Between the two, the interest of women is surrendered in the grab of either supporting or opposing their cause.
The author is Research Scholar, Deptt. of Sociology, University of Jammu, shreeyaiju@gmail.com
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