Sir,
I congratulate B.L. Saraf for putting the J&K minority issue (DE April 3) in legal and historical perspective. The write-up helps remove haze from the crux of the problem. In the first place, we appreciate the Apex Court realizing the seriousness of the issue not in terms of its political but human rights implications. Secondly, while succinctly stating the history of the issue, which, however, has so far remained confined to very small official circle only and never percolated down to public domain, it is for the first time that the country’s highest court has diverted attention towards it and asked the Central and State Governments to come up with their perception of minority status of the Muslims of Kashmir.
To my mind, three questions need to be debated. One is that there is need of bringing in relevant amendment to the State Constitution to the effect of identifying minorities on whatever count it feels feasible. In the course of such an amendment, the proposition of “Reverse Minority” as enshrined in the UN Human Rights Working Group’s book of definition of a minority should become a guiding principle. This becomes unavoidable in the light of existence of Article 370.
Secondly, it follows that extension of fundamental human rights provided in the Constitution of India must be made constitutionally and legally applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir entirely outside the pale of Article 370. The third and very important question is of bringing in amendment to the NCMA so that the jurisdiction of minority status remains restricted to regions and sub-regions only but not either the federating State or the Federation as such. Shri Saraf has opened a very important debate, and minorities of all shades, religious, linguistic, ethnic and cultural on regional and sub-regions basis in the State should stake their claim to minority status. As long as that does not happen, people of the State cannot escape the proverbial “tyranny of majority.”
Your etc….
Dr. K.N. Pandita
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