Er. J R Aryan
Nothing short of a stab in the back to the unity and integrity of the Nation and inparticular to the fundamental rights of Indian citizens and the minorities of the J&K, has been 35-A, the offshoot of the pernicious Article 370, giving birth to another controversy as a result of the faulty, wrong policy and mathematics of the then Central Govt of India and J&K Govt.
By its having been thrust in the constitution as another peg in 1954 under the then President’s executive order merely on the recommendation of the then Central Cabinet wthout any discussion and approval of Parliament, this Article 35-A has added a new dimension that J&K is not an integral part of India but an alien land for the other citizens of he country which glaringly reflects deformity to uniformity and is straightway unparliamentary and a broad day robbery of the fundamental rights of Indian citizens thereby rupturing all human norms.
Under this 35-A, no citizen of the country from any other State or part of India can have the right or privilege to settle permanently in J&K or buy a piece of land or seek any job here where as any of or from J&K enjoys full privilege full privilege to seek settlement, habitation or Govt service, or own property anywhere in the country which amply shows that an Indian citizen of any other State of India has to be at the threshold of J&K while a citizen of J&K can settle anywhere in the country. How strange, unbecoming in human and unlawful is all this to keep the so-called Kashmir issue alive to embolden the separatist, antinationals and militants to be active under the garb and cushion of the Articles 370 and 35-A to create havoc that Kashmir is a disputed territory and not integral part of India as a result of which younger generation of the major community of J&K are also plunging into militancy.
It is because of 35-A that the refugees of 1947, 1965 and 1971 wars who basically having been the inhabitants of J&K with their home and hearth having been grabbed and occupied by Pak during Pak aggression of J&K in 1947 during Maharaja’s regime and on having been tortured ruthlessly in Pak to leave that country were kicked to Indian side who settled in Jammu and the neighbouring regions as refugees and have been living here since over six decades like rolling stone and vagabonds without any right to acquire a piece of land to settle here permanently or to secure any Govt job on being treated as non state subjects without any right to vot despite being original inhabitants of J&K State and this is height of injustice and massacre of humanitarian values and norms, and equally awful robbery of constitutional principle and requires to be redressed at the earliest.
Kashmiri separatists and militant organisation in particular and the so called main stream political parties of Valley also in general are under the apprehension that if these refugees are allowed to become state subjects with the right to vote then they shall have to be allotted at least more than a dozen of Legislative Assembly seats in the J&K Assembly as per their population now about a million and all these constituencies shall be the share of Jammu province, as these refugees are all staying in province Jammu and its neighbourhood. Moreover, Jammu province which has an equal rather more No. of voters than that of Kashmir
Valley is already having 9 Assembly seats (constituencies) lesser than that of Kashmir because of previous faulty delimitation of constituencies, Jammu province has 37 assembly seats while Valley has 46 and Ladakh region 4.
It is for this reason that the Kashmiri leaders and their Govt have debarred delimitation of constituencies till 2026 under their unlawful high-handedness by having remained in power with CM almost from the Valley from the major community only.
The refugees’, right to vote shall further go to strengthen the political balance of Assembly seats for Jammu region to pave a way for the Driver seat i.e (CM’s berth) from Jammu region and that too from minor community which shall be a bitter pill to swallow for the Valley based parties who have been ruling the State from early 1950’s. It is for this reason that the refugees have been denied state subjects for right to vote for the franchise with the undue birth of 35-A.
Art 35-A is sub judice in the Hon’ble apex court and every eye of the entire nation is set to find the outcome of the court’s amicable decision and is eagerly awaiting the flow of justice from the channels and corridors of the court to come out all smiles with respect to protection of fundamental rights of the entire citizens of the nation to make the country embrace uniformity, equity, integrity and solidarity for sovereignty and dignity.
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