The Kashmir Files – Depicts the Pain of Kashmiri Pandits
The Bollywood movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ again invoked the pain of Kashmiri Pandits as this film is based on exodus of Hindu Kashmiris, who became refugees in their own country. They were forced to leave their hometowns in the 1990s due to violence by militant groups.
The movie is declared tax-free in some Indian states like Gujarat, Haryana, and Karnataka. PM Narendra Modi also praised the movie and said these kinds of movies should be made.
The director of the movie, Vivek Agnihotri asked a piece of land from Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, to build a Genocide Museum. The CM agreed to grant land for the Museum.
However, ‘The Kashmir Files’ is also criticized by some groups and said it would lead to Islamophobia. After all this controversy, let us see how the Kashmir issue actually started.
What was the status of Kashmir at the time of Independence of India?
At the time of independence of India there were 565 Princely states. The Indian Independence Act gave three options to these Princely States-Either choose India or Pakistan or remain Independent. With the efforts of Sardar Patel and VP Menon most of the Princely States joined India and some joined Pakistan. The problem arose with the three Princely States;
1) Junagarh- This Princely state joined India after the Referendum.
2) Hyderabad- It was included in India after Operation Polo by the newly Independent Indian Government in September 1948.
3) Kashmir- The ruler of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh, decided not to pick either country and remained Independent.
Pakistan wanted to capture Jammu and Kashmir because the majority population of this state was Muslim. So Pakistan sent more than 10,000 militants to Kashmir to capture it.
Pakistan’s attack forced Maharaja Hari Singh to sign the Instrument of Accession with India. So he signed it on 26th October, 1947. After signing it, Jammu and Kashmir became a part of India. India deployed its Army in J & K the next day. This war lasted for more than 1 year.
On 31st December 1947, the Indian government went to the United Nations to file a complaint against Pakistan. The UN adopted a resolution on 21st April 1948, which had three aspects;
1) Cease fire between India and Pakistan.
2) Pakistan asked to withdraw its militants from Jammu and Kashmir and India asked to reduce its army from the area.
3) After the completion of the first two steps, there should be a Plebiscite (Referendum) in J&K.
What is Article 370?
Initially Article 370 was added to the Indian Constitution in 1949 as a temporary provision. This article provides special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The provisions of this Article were;
1) Article 370 provides Parliament the power to make laws on three subjects- Defense, External Affairs, and Transport. To make laws on other subjects, the Indian Parliament had to take approval of the J & K.
2) It provides a separate Constitution for the state.
3) Separate flag for J & K.
4) Article 1 and 370 of the Indian Constitution would be applicable to this state.
In 1954s orders of the President, Article 35A was added to the Indian constitution. Article 35A has the following features for residents of J & K;
1) Employment opportunities, reservations, and scholarships in J & K will be given only to its residents.
2) Non-Residents can’t buy the land in J&K.
3) A woman married outside J & K can’t claim her patriarchal property in the state. However, this provision had been abolished by the High Court of J & K in 2002 as it promoted gender discrimination.
Abrogation of Article 370 and 35A by Modi Government
On 5th August 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 was passed by Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The Bill was signed by the President and it became an Act.
The Modi government passed this bill with ease as the state Legislature of J & K was abolished. By abrogating Article 370, the Bharatiya Janata Party fulfilled its promise in the Manifesto. Later on, Jammu and Kashmir state was bifurcated on 31st 2019 into two Union Territories:
i) Jammu and Kashmir with state legislature
ii) Ladakh
What are the benefits of the removal of Article 370?
After the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and some other Islamic Nations like Turkey and Malaysia have made a great hue and cry. But with the passage of time, the newly formed UT is seeing the development as;
– UAE-based EMAAR (Engineer Management Automation, Army Reserve) group will develop a 500000 square feet shopping mall in Srinagar.
– The Lt. Governor of UT hoped for an investment of 70,000 cores in the coming months.
