To rally their voter base in the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir elections, the National Conference and Congress have been announcing that if their alliance comes to power in the Union Territory, they will restore Article 370 in its original form. BJP leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been launching a scathing attack on the Congress party for putting their weight behind the divisive article that fanned separatism and radicalism in the valley.
Slamming the Congress party and its allies NC, netizens and several experts have argued that restoration of Article 370 which gave the impression of alienation of Kashmir from the rest of India, will reverse the gains achieved after its abrogation. It is pertinent to note that before its abrogation, there were two flags and their own constitution which prevented many progressive laws to be implemented in the Kashmir valley. As a result, the restoration of Article 370 would also hinder the implementation of many progressive legislations like the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, Right to Information Act, and rights ensured for the Dalit minorities.
In the wake of these Islamist and leftist cacophonies, renowned Historian and IGNOU Professor Kapil Kumar spoke with TFI Media about the democratic credentials of Rahul Gandhi-led Congress and NC, especially at a time when the duo claimed to champion the cause of democracy. While sharing a canvassing image of elections (or the absence of it till 1967) in J&K, Professor Kumar raised several questions to the Gandhi scion, Rahul, and the supportive ecosystem, about the scenario if their alliance did manage to win assembly elections.
Highlighting the election rhetoric of Congress and its hardline ally National Conference, Professor Kumar asked if they somehow manage to bring back Article 370 in its original form, will the Kashmiris stop taking advantage of public welfare schemes, deliverables which only became possible after the Article 370 was abrogated.
If 370 is restored to its original form, will you stop taking benefits of the Public Welfare schemes? asks Professor Kumar
For example, the IGNOU Professor asked whether the Kashmiris would stop availing the benefits of schemes like MNREGA and Ujjwala gas which were not available in the Article 370 era.
Regarding the opposition’s demand to hold talks with Pakistan, Professor Kumar emphatically noted, “Can there be any grandeur peace talk then Shimla Peace agreement?” where Mr. Bhutto flattered our prime Minister saying, “Madam, I am in your hand”. As a result, we released 91,000 Prisoners of War, can there be any grandeur peace gesture? And what we got back was terrorism, Kargil, anti-Bharat propaganda.
He echoed the sentiments of the nationalist voices that talks with Pakistan had only proved to be counter-productive for India with its culmination in the form of Pak’s betrayal like in the case of Kargil, its state policy of terror against India and supply of narcotics drugs and arms to spread to cause radicalism and bloodshed in India.
He added that the Congress, National Conference, and PDP, keep shouting that India should hold talks with Pakistan but can they spell out, whom do we talk to in the Pakistani establishment? to ISI, to the separatists, including the NC, PDP? With the Pak Army who trains terrorists and exports them into Indian territory? To Shehbaz Sharif? who is a puppet of ISI? Or with the terrorist Hafeez Saeed, etc..or with the fanatic Mualanas who spit venom against Bharat and Hindus everyday..Can Rahul Gandhi, Farrukh Abudallah, and Mehbooba Mufti answer these questions?
All these 3 parties are shouting at the top of their voice that they will roll back Article 370. Do you know what it means? It means welfare schemes of the centre like MNREGA, Ayushman, will also be rolled back. Stringent laws like legislation for prohibition of Child marriage will also be rolled back which is exactly what the separatists and the terrorists want. Have these 3 leaders ever peaked towards PoK, observed, and compared what is PoK and what is Bharatiya Kashmir? They wouldn’t, as once the comparison is done, their propaganda against the centre falls to the ground.
These so-called champions of Dalits, could not utter a word about the conditions of Dalits in Kashmir can they answer, what happened to the Dalits sent by Nehru from Gurdwaspur to Kashmir., They were assured of Citizenship, but the pattas that they got in Urdu stated that their future generations would also be doing the same jobs,
Today, the valley is under the sovereignty of the Indian constitution, but there was a time when Kashmir had a flag and constitution of its own, and the unfurling Indian tricolour attracted threats.
Incidentally, when Maharaja Hari Singh’s son Karan Singh was the Sardar-e-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, students in a college in Jammu refused to salute the Kashmiri flag, after which the administration started taking action against them. During this time, the Hindu leader Premchand Dogra sought help from Jan Sangh founder Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, which he also accepted. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was arrested in Kashmir, where he died in mysterious circumstances.
To date, his death is a mystery. Now that the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir have seen the light of day, the martyrdom of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee should be highlighted along with the then Congress and their ally Sheikh Abdullah’s betrayal of democracy which didn’t allow democracy and pro-India sentiments to flourish in the valley for several decades.