ARTICLE 370 OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

In this article, I analyze social media responses by Hindu men to the Indian government's August 2019 revocation of Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution that codified Jammu & Kashmir's special status. Kashmir has been under Indian military occupation since 1947 and it is now the most militarized place in the world. Hindu men reacted to the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A with glee, declaring on social media that this latest abrogation of Kashmiri sovereignty entitled them to "fair Kashmiri wives." My article contextualizes these responses in Partition era violence against girls and women. In addition, I argue that this representation of Kashmiri women resonates with colonial era martial race theory. My larger point is that the construction of race in India is part of a complex discursive formation that includes colonial attitudes, Partition violence, regional rivalries between India and Pakistan, and the rise of Hindu nationalism.

Pakistan’s declared steps are a smokescreen. It has no real or tangible leverage over India to force it to reverse its decision on Kashmir. What it can do, and will desperately try to do is to foment trouble inside Jammu and Kashmir, activate all sleeper cells and go ahead full throttle to open the jihadi terror tap to create a security nightmare in Kashmir.

The paper examines and analyses the history of Jammu and Kashmir (after this J&K) and the Article 370 of the Constitution of India in light of recent changes brought about in Article 370 by the Government of India. The paper discusses the story of present J&K, which began in 1846 with the signing of the 'Treaty of Amritsar' between the British Government and Maharajah Gulab Singh. The paper reflects upon the effect of Treaty and despotic rule of Dogra rulers in J&K. The paper also elaborates the political situation of J&K in the 1930s and briefly discusses the role of Sheikh Abdullah in the conception of the idea of 'Naya Kashmir' (1944) and 'Quit Kashmir' movement (1946). Next, the paper focuses on the Independence of Pakistan and India (August 1947). By this time almost all major Princely States except Hyderabad, J&K, Junagarh and Khanate of Kalat acceded either to Pakistan or India. Subsequently, the paper deals with the invasion of J&K by the Pashtun Tribes, which occasioned the accession of J&K to India (October 1947).

Since 1947, Kashmiris are demanding freedom from Indian occupation. They have adopted numerous approaches to gain independence from Indian subjugation, including nonviolent resistance, election boycotts and international arbitration. Various new trends in the Kashmiri freedom struggle have been observed since 2008 including a signature campaign ‘Safr-e-Azadi’ (journey for freedom) in 2008, ‘Muzaffarabad Chalo’ (Got to Muzaffarabad) march of 2008 and sit-ins of 2010 which have significantly changed the nature of Kashmir struggle. This paper explores emerging trends of strategic nonviolent Kashmiri struggle and practical future options to strategize the former through the prism of Gene Sharp's Theory of Nonviolence. This study assumes that strategic nonviolent movement in IOJ&K has highlighted the Kashmir cause across the world. It has challenged the Indian occupation through staging mass protests and employing new forms of strategic methods, which will likely put India under pres...

Recently, Indian Supreme Court is seized of a matter relating to special status of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Certain petitions have been filed to challenge the constitutionality of Article 370 of India Constitution as well as Article 35-A introduced in Jammu & Kashmir through the Presidential Order, 1954. This has created a confusion among Kashmir people as well as Indians, further creating violent situation in the region. In this article, I tried to explain the legal position with respect to above issue.

The Indian government says that the removal of Kashmir's autonomy is for development, but it should be seen as embedded in a structure of neocolonialism based on fundamentalist Hindu ethnonationalism or Hindutva and fueled by neoliberalism in which even Muslims living in India are cast as invaders and foreigners. Kashmiri, doubly marked as the Other: first as Muslims and second as seekers of self-determination, fear their loss of territorial sovereignty will pave way for settler colo-nialism, dispossession of indigenous people and rampant exploitation of resources resulting in neocolonial maldevelopment.

In August 2019, the populist Modi government, after getting re-elected in a massive landslide, rescinded the semi-autonomous status (constitutionally guaranteed under Article 370) of the disputed Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by putting its 12 million residents under an unprecedented lockdown. This article will examine the ramifications of this decision, which earned praise in mainland India but generated anger and fear among the people of J&K, especially in the Kashmir Valley, the epicenter of the Kashmiri self-determination movement? It situates the prior measures Indian government took to impose its decision on the population which strongly opposed it and assesses the human cost of this imposition. It looks at the international community's response to the political and human rights crisis obtained due to the siege imposed on the people of the contested Himalayan region. And, finally, the article indicates that the political future of Kashmir, which has been the main source of intense geopolitical rivalry between two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors (India and Pakistan), and a site of protracted armed conflict and unarmed anti-India resistance, is likely to remain caught in a cycle of relative calm and unrest that has marked its modern history.

धारा 370 का गला घोंट कर आरएसएस/भाजपा शासकों ने सरदार पटेल को किया शर्मसार: समकालीन सरकारी दस्तावेज़ों में निहित सच
आरएसएस के बौद्घिक शिविरों (वैचारिक प्रशिक्षण शिविरों) में गढ़े जाने वाले "सत्य" में से एक यह भी है कि भारत पर अनुच्छेद 370 को जवाहरलाल नेहरू ने थोपा था, जबकि भारत के पहले गृह मंत्री सरदार पटेल इसके विरोध में थे। मोदी सरकार के भीतर और उसके बाहर, आरएसएस के नेता  जवाहरलाल नेहरू पर लगातार यही आरोप लगाते हैं कि कश्मीर को विशेष राज्य का दर्जा देने वाला अनुच्छेद 370 नेहरू
के ही बदौलत है। अगस्त 5, 2019 को इस अनुच्छेद का क़तल किए जाने के बाद, पीएम मोदी को ऐसे महान नेता के रूप में महिमामंडित किया जा रहा है, जिसने सरदार पटेल के "एक भारत" के सपने को पूरा किया। राम माधव जिन्हें आज कल आरएसएस और बीजेपी दोनों के प्रमुख विचारक के रूप में जाना जाता है, उन्होंने यह घोषित कर दिया है कि "जवाहर लाल नेहरू द्वारा की गर्इ ऐतिहासिक भूल को अंततः दुरुस्त कर लिया गया है।"1 दावा यही भी है कि अनुच्छेद 370 को हटाने का अर्थ 'शहीद' श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी के सपने को साकार करना है, जिन्होंने कश्मीर के भारत में पूर्ण विलय के खातिर ही अपने प्राण न्यौछावर किए थे।
इस प्रकार, आरएसएस/भाजपा के शासकों का दावा है कि सरदार पटेल के विरोध के बावजूद अनुच्छेद 370 भारतीय संविधान में सम्मिलित करने के लिए जवाहरलाल नेहरू ही पूरी तरह से जिम्मेदार थे। उनका यह दावा एकदम दुर्भावनापूर्ण और  कुत्सित है और  इसमें लेश मात्र भी सत्य नहीं है। उस समय के आधिकारिक दस्तावेज, खासतौर सरदार पटेल के कार्यालय से संबंधित दस्तावेज इस प्रकार के किसी दावे को पुष्ट नहीं करते। इसके विपरीत, ढेर सारे दस्तावेज हैं जिनसे यह प्रमाणित होता है कि अनुच्छेद 370 को भारतीय संविधान में सम्मिलित किए जाने की प्रक्रिया में सरदार पटेल भी पूरी तरह शरीक थे। धारा 370 के लिए नेहरू को खलनायक के रूप में पेश किए जाने के पक्ष में दी जाने वाली दलीलों से संबंधित कुछ खास तथ्यों पर आइए थोड़ा विचार कर लिया जाए।....

Kaul, Nitasha. 2021. "Coloniality and/as Development in Kashmir: Econonationalism". Feminist Review 128 (1): 114-131. doi:10.1177/01417789211016490

This article identifies the colonial imperative of 'we must develop them, with or without their consent', which is used by the Indian state in order to dominate Kashmiri Muslims, and argues that this notion of development combines patriarchal silencing of the subjugated as well as a gendered fantasy of liberating oppressed Kashmiri women and minorities. While the colonial nature of Indian rule over Kashmir has been a long-term phenomenon, the focus in this article will primarily be on a specific political transformation imposed by the Indian state since August 2019, when even the pretence of autonomy and recognition was given up, and all phenomena constituting coloniality became conspicuous and acute. Adopting a feminist lens, I highlight nine features of contemporary Indian coloniality in Kashmir: denial of consent, paternalism, violence, enforced silencing, lack of accountability, arbitrariness, divide and rule, humiliation and a specious idea of development. I further argue that such a notion of coloniality as development is better understood as 'econonationalism' (akin to homonationalism and femonationalism), where the supposed liberatory ideas are rhetorically deployed to mask a dehumanising subjugation.

On 5th August 2019, India imposed a complete communication blockade in Kashmir including telephones, mobiles, and Internet services. Kashmiris living across the world were unable to communicate with families back in Kashmir. We conducted an online study using the HADS (Hospital anxiety and Depression) rating scale to measure the psychological distress in Kashmiri diaspora due to communication blackout and conflict in their country of origin. An online survey questionnaire using the HADS rating scale was circulated to consenting Kashmiri participants over 18 years of age using social networks. A total of 465 responses were anonymously received over 4 weeks. The results show very high scores for both anxiety and depressive symptoms across the whole sample. The results on the anxiety sub-scale showed 89% of the sample scoring above the cut off for “caseness” or “abnormal”. The scores on the depression subscale showed that 88% of the sample fell within the abnormal range. The consequences of conflict are far reaching and can cause significant psychological distress to the diaspora. Our study shows very high rates of both Anxiety and Depressive symptoms in the respondents, who were unable to contact their families due to information blackout. To the best of our knowledge, there is hardly any such study conducted before. Further research is needed to understand the full extent of such conflict situations and communication blackout on diaspora population.

A study of how the apex court of India, the Supreme Court functioned in the three most important cases of 2019, which interestingly figure prominently in the manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political party leading the coalition government at the centre, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA): Article 370, the Ayodhya dispute and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/jammu-kashmir-article-370-scrapped-special-status-amit-shah-narendra-modi-bjp-5880797/
"The story of Indian democracy written in blood and betrayal
BJP thinks it is going to Indianise Kashmir. Instead, we will see, potentially, the Kashmirisation of India."
Pratap Bhanu Mehta explains the serious consequences of abrogation of Article 370 and the reduction of J & K State as a Union Territory for Indian democracy.
Reproduced with thanks to The Indian Express, Delhi

On 5 August, India abrogated Article 370 from its constitution through presidential order. The erasure of the Article ceased the autonomous status of Indian held Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and bifurcated the Muslim-majority state into two union territories with Buddhist-majority Ladakh getting detached from J&K. The Indian decision of revoking Article 370 came after days of uncertainty and massive military build-up in the disputed territory. Coupled with massive military build-up, a crackdown was imposed in the state by virtually cutting it off from the rest of the world both physically and virtually. This piece of writing will analyze the violations of fundamental human rights in J&K by the imposition of crackdown through international human rights law.

आरएसअस/भाजपा के नए 'देश-भक्त'  डॉ श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी की जंग-ए-आज़ादी  से ग़द्दारी की दास्तान
देश की आरएसएस/भाजपा शासक टोली ने अगस्त 5, 2019 को भारत की संविधान सभा दुवारा सर्वसम्मति से भारतीय संविधान में शामिल की गयी धारा 370 का गलाघोंट दिया। इस को जायज़ ठहराते हुवे तर्क दिया गया की धारा 370 के हटने से सरदार पटेल का 'एक भारत' और 'शहीद' श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी का सपना पूरा हो जाएगा जिन्हों ने कश्मीर के भारत में पूर्ण विलय के लिया प्राण त्यागे थे। हिन्दुत्वादी यह टोली यह सच छुपा देती है की इन दोनों नेताओं ने संविदहन सभा का सदस्य रहते हुवे इस धारा का न सिर्फ अनमोदन किया था बल्कि उस संविधान पर हस्ताक्षर किये थे जिस में यह प्रावधान था। 
हिंदुत्व टोली के नए 'देश-भक्त'  डॉ श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी (1901-1953) के बारे में भारत की जनता के महान उपनिवेश-विरोधी संघर्ष से जुड़ी  कुछ शर्मनाक सच्चाईयों के जानना ज़रूरी होगा।   
वे स्वतंत्रता-पूर्व हिन्दू-महासभा में सावरकर के बाद सब से अहम नेता थे और यह मानते थे की हिन्दुस्तान केवल हिन्दुओं के लिए है। वे 1944 में हिन्दू-महासभा के मुखिया भी रहे। आज़ादी के बादवे देश के पहले अंतरिम  मंत्री मंडल, जिस के मुखिया जवाहरलाल नेहरू थे, में उद्योग और रसद मंत्री थे। उन्हों ने अप्रैल 1950 में नेहरू से पाकिस्तान से किस तरह के सम्बन्ध हूँ पर विरोध होने की वजह से इस्तीफ़ा दे दिया था। इस्तीफ़े के बाद उनहूँ ने आरएसअस का हाथ थाम लिया और उस के आदेश पर आरएसअस के  एक राजनैतिक अंग, भारतीय जन संघ की स्थापना की और इस के पहले अधियक्ष भी बने। उनकी  मृत्यु 23 जून 1953 को श्रीनगर, जम्मू व कश्मीर के एक जेल में हुई जहां उन्हें उस क्षेत्र में प्रवेश निषेध आदेश के बावजूद दाख़िल होने के लिए गिरफ़्तार करके रख्खा गया था।

LL.M dissertation thesis was written on this topic. Empirical Research was done to analyse the Special Resident Laws of the State of J&K vide article 370 of the Indian Constitution and the issues faced by the population of West Pakistani Refugees in J&K after they were denied the residents rights in the state. The researcher did a qualitative study with doctrinal research to get an insight about the legal framework and different policies implemented since independence and empirical research to understand the insight of key stakeholders.

BY GUILLOTINING ARTICLE 370 RSS-BJP RULERS HAVE SHAMED SARDAR PATEL
A PEEP INTO THE CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENTS

[Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were surely chosen by the RSS to rule India for formers’ inexhaustible commitment to the Hindutva bigotry, traits of falsifying history, brutalization of the dissent and bulldozing truths in the classical Goebbelian tradition. Those who are looking for proofs of these characteristics of these two IRON-MEN ruling India, the guillotining of the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution regarding Jammu & Kashmir State by the RSS-BJP government on August 5, 2019 should be a must know. The narrative which the Hindutva rulers built in support of this murder of the Article 370 was based on lies and sheer lies only. While executing this dirty work, forget about Jawaharlal Nehru and Congress this duo did not spare even their own Hindutva icons like Sardar Patel and Syama Prasad Mookerjee. In this piece the contemporary official documents and authenticated narratives of those leaders who got this Article into the Constitution and got Kashmir issue referred to the UNO are reproduced. It should help in grasping the severity of the fraud which was committed by the Modi-Amit duo against the Constitution of India. The documents reproduced here may be used for challenging the fabricated Hindutva narrative on Kashmir.]

LL.M dissertation thesis was written on this topic. Empirical Research was done to analyse the Special Resident Laws of the State of J&K vide article 370 of the Indian Constitution and the issues faced by the population of West Pakistani Refugees in J&K after they were denied the residents rights in the state. The researcher did a qualitative study with doctrinal research to get an insight about the legal framework and different policies implemented since independence and empirical research to understand the insight of key stakeholders.

the cadre policy has been changed so that more talented administrative officers can increase the efficiency of the above projects. This is not the first time that such a bifurcation has taken place. We have seen this earlier when States have been divided into smaller States. The AGMUT cadre, which is a combined cadre, basically, looks after the Union Territories of Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Goa.
The arrangement, which has been made for this cadre, is necessary in order to meet the temporary shortages of these officers at different places and in which case, the whole pool of people who would be available, can actually meet the contingencies arising in a different place from time to time. The move by this Bill to include the two Union Territories, newly created Union Territories, by virtue of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, seeks to establish this particular cadre in these two Union Territories and merge them into the AGMUT cadre so that the management of personnel to meet the exigencies arising from time to time in these territories can be met much quickly and in a better manner. The pool of people, who would be available to man positions in these two areas in an objective manner, would also increase because of these Amendments.

This is a newspaper article that I wrote on account of Mental Health Day for a regional daily. This article captures the tensions after the removal of Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status and the burgeoning impact on mental health and its infrastructure.

Since 1947, Kashmiris are demanding freedom from Indian occupation. They have adopted numerous approaches to gain independence from Indian subjugation, including nonviolent resistance, election boycotts and international arbitration. Various new trends in the Kashmiri freedom struggle have been observed since 2008 including a signature campaign ‘Safr-e-Azadi’ (journey for freedom) in 2008, ‘Muzaffarabad Chalo’ (Got to Muzaffarabad) march of 2008 and sit-ins of 2010 which have significantly changed the nature of Kashmir struggle. This paper explores emerging trends of strategic nonviolent Kashmiri struggle and practical future options to strategize the former through the prism of Gene Sharp's Theory of Nonviolence. This study assumes that strategic nonviolent movement in IOJ&K has highlighted the Kashmir cause across the world. It has challenged the Indian occupation through staging mass protests and employing new forms of strategic methods, which will likely put India under pressure in the future. If organized, well-coordinated and strategically planned, this struggle can be successful. In the wake of the Indian government's abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and illegal annexation of IOJ&K on August 5, 2019, the need for devising a well-calibrated, inclusive and comprehensive strategy and employing all viable options for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute further increases.

In this paper I want to propose a third way forward, that sidesteps identity-politics altogether. I want to suggest that if politics is all about governance and then it must be all about statecraft rather than identity-politics. Let us break free from the legacy of Wycliff, Parker and Lincoln’s definition of a democratic state. It’s complete BS! There can never be governance by all, however representative the system claims to achieve, because one human with their historical locatedness and unique life form can never truly represent the other. It is a logical impossibility. It is a myth that we easily buy into when we speak in abstractions and concepts. In mathematics all ‘1s’ are taken as identical, so the number 5 consists of five 1s. This may hold good for mathematics, however, in the real world, we will not be able to find 5 identical 1s to put together the number 5. Forget about 5, we won’t even be able to move on from one to the number two. Identity is a myth! Thus, my argument so far has been that both enlightenment politics as well as post-enlightenment identity politics both share a similar mathematical presupposition of ‘identity’, which is fundamentally flawed. Therefore, we need to sidestep politics based on identity and find other conceptual tools to articulate political will and governance. I suggest that following Bulpitt and James, we can look at statecraft as a form of politics that could potentially offer a way forward beyond identity politics.