Kashmiri Muslims | SabrangIndia

Muslims ‘reject’ religious polarisation of Jamaat-e-Islami: Marxist victory in Kulgam, Kashmir

sabrang — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 06:31:13 +0000

In the international sphere, an orgy of imperialist violence and wars on multiple fronts is unleashed on the world’s population to divide people on religious and nationalist lines, destabilise peace, deepen crises, and control resources in the name of nationalism and religion. Under the guise of fighting Islamic terrorism and exporting the so-called market-led Western democracy, imperialist powers are ghettoising Muslims to control natural resources in various parts of Asia, as well as in Arab and Middle Eastern countries.

Hindutva forces, as allies of Western imperialism, are unleashing everyday street violence against Muslims in India in the name of creating an exclusionary Hindu state (Hindu Rashtra) by dismantling the egalitarian citizenship rights granted by the Indian Constitution.

Amidst the backdrop of the othering and ghettoisation of Muslims, the victory of Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate and communist leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami in the Kulgam constituency of Kashmir in the recently concluded elections offers hope, as it shatters both imperialist propaganda on the international stage and Hindutva campaigns within the country.

Despite the dominant narrative of religious and majoritarian identity-based political campaigns, the communists managed to retain their electoral victory in Kulgam, largely due to people’s trust and political efforts led by the Communist Party under the leadership of Tarigami, who focused on addressing the everyday issues of the people.

Although the majority of people in the Kulgam constituency are Muslims, they did not vote along religious lines. Instead, the Muslims of Kulgam rejected religious polarisation by defeating the hardline, Jamaat-e-Islami-supported candidate. This marks Tarigami’s fifth victory in Kulgam, having also won the constituency in the 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014 elections. By voting for communist leader Mr. Tarigami, the people of Kashmir have rejected the religious politics of the Hindutva-PDP alliance, instead choosing secular politics.

The victory of the CPI(M) candidate reflects the fact that the Muslims of Kulgam opted for class politics over majoritarian religious identity politics of dominance. This election result offers hope for the future of class-based politics in Kulgam, Kashmir, and India as a whole.

The victory of class politics in this Kashmir constituency also reflects the democratic resilience of the communists, who are fighting against all odds in the contemporary political landscape of regional and national politics in India. However, mainstream media portrays this victory as the isolated success of a leftist leader, aiming to undermine the political consciousness of voters and their support for the Communist Party in the elections.

Such a ruling-class agenda serves to perpetuate stereotypes against Muslims. This victory of the communists in Kulgam dispels two dominant myths about Muslims: first, that Muslims vote along religious lines, and second, that Muslims are not secular.

Mr Tarigami has always believed and argued that “the tradition of Kashmir has always been the sacrifices of the working class, and we are hopeful that it will continue. The Zaldagar martyrs of 1865 laid the foundation of a struggle against the exploitation and atrocities on the artisans, a prominent section of the working class. The Shawlbaff protest launched at Zaldagar against the ruling class has given vent to numerous movements of the working class which are awaiting successful culmination.”

Such a political approach underscores the historical foundations of working-class politics represented by Mr. Tarigami, rooted in a legacy of solidarity and radical struggles for livelihoods, human rights, and better working conditions in Kashmir and beyond.

The victory of class politics in Kulgam demonstrates that the struggles of the working class are central to various communities and their efforts for effective political mobilisation for democratic, secular and scientific transformation aimed at achieving social, economic, and political justice and equality. Religious politics domesticates individuals and their creative labour, serving to uphold the interests of both ruling and non-ruling elites.

Voting for religious politics within an electoral democracy often facilitates capitalist interests, which are contrary to the needs of the working masses. In contrast, working-class politics can truly uphold and realise the aspirations of the people while promoting the sustainability of the planet.

The rise of class politics is essential for defeating imperialist geopolitics, religious fundamentalism, and terrorist violence in Kashmir, which undermine peace in the region. Grassroots activism focused on the everyday issues faced by people can ensure peace and prosperity while deepening democracy and empowering inalienable and universal citizenship rights as outlined in the Indian Constitution.

For now, it is time to celebrate this significant victory of class politics in the Kashmir elections.

Author is Scholar based in UK

Courtesy: CounterView

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A Kashmiri Pandit On Why He Feels Sad For Kashmiri Muslims

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 09:31:43 +0000

Who will return to where death stalks the streets and joblessness looms?

One of my earliest memories, when I try to unpeel my mind, assailed with a million thoughts right now, is that of a toddler enjoying the security and comfort of being cuddled and taken around on the shoulders of an old, wizened man. I had no idea then that this man was a Muslim and I a Kashmiri Pandit, born as I was, like all of us are, into a world which I could barely fathom. My consciousness was dormant and my impressionable mind was recording images as they appeared and not as what they were supposed to be. Almost six decades later, I remember nothing of what else was happening around me which I can connect with that image, just my own cries and the subsequent chuckle after being given that shoulder ride. My life has traversed a fair distance since that childhood memory. I have seen, observed and recorded many pleasant and unsavoury images; my mind has become a melting pot.

I am a Kashmiri migrant who left the Valley in the early sixties, because my father held a central government job. I spent most of my early life in Punjab, so I speak with a distinct Punjabi inflection. Yet, by habit and orientation I am still a Kashmiri. My cultural connection with the Valley never severed because my grandparents lived in Kashmir, my older brother finished his schooling there, and I visited my home regularly during the summers.

This went on until the late eighties, when all of a sudden, a mass uprising and militancy erupted, with a ferocity that stunned us all. A wave of migration took place then, propelled by fear and violence. According to an official figure, around 200 Kashmiri Pandits were left dead in this time, though some claim that the toll may have been much higher. This closed the doors of our homes to us.

I had seen the divide between “us” and “them” in the time that I had spent in the Valley while growing up, but that divide had only been a subtext of the life I witnessed there. This divide had now taken a more sinister turn. Since then, the violence that has wrecked Kashmir has left one religious minority uprooted from their homeland and the majority Muslims literally maimed in their own state. Thousands of them have either been killed by the militant’s gun, others by the security forces.

For almost a decade, Kashmir was a no-go zone for us. By the early 2000s my visits to Srinagar restarted. I was welcomed with open arms, though for all practical purposes I was now an outsider, wondering if there was a place for me in a state that was at war with India. This war and my outsider/refugee status became the identity that marked my citizenship.

During my visits, I saw that the Karan Nagar area in Srinagar, where my grandparents had lived, still had life left in it. It had become the headquarters of one of the many Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) battalions stationed in the city. Our house was intact, though its occupants were now the security forces, like most Pandit houses there. In other places where the Pandits had lived until they fled in panic, a deathly silence akin to a graveyard greeted me. Their houses were locked, worn out from neglect and crying for care and upkeep.

I am a regular visitor to Kashmir now, like many other Pandits, but the idea of permanent return has never taken root. The fear of the gun still haunts “us”, though there are enough voices in the Valley who say “come back”. After all, who would want to return to a place where death stalks the streets, where the locals are unsafe and there are no jobs to make survival economically possible.

Like most Pandits, especially of the older generation, I still have Kashmiri Muslim friends. In my case, many of these relationships were established after the year 2000. They understood my pain and I theirs, yet ironically and tragically, we could do nothing about it. When the pages of history are dipped in blood, and politics is the only driving force behind all decisions that thrive on hatred and division, bridging a chasm is impossible. When you want to reduce a complex human tragedy to a blame game and shape your responses according to which community you belong to, be sure that a greater catastrophe may be around the corner.

Ever since I was born, Kashmir has been a political problem whose contours were shaped first by the Partition and before that, by the Dogra rule of Maharaja Hari Singh. The latter era has been encapsulated by many historians, but none do so better than the historian Mridu Rai in her book, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects.

My own responses to the Kashmir issue, and the ensuing migration of Kashmiri Pandits, were shaped by my father’s broad secular outlook. Unlike many of my young relatives of these times, my father had only love and no hatred for the “other”. For him, Sheikh Abdullah, Kashmir’s first Prime Minister after 1947 and founder of the National Conference, was a saviour of the Hindus.

Kashmir’s Instrument of Accession, signed by Hari Singh, had come with many conditions, Article 370 of the Constitution being one of them. A promise was made that there would be a plebiscite once peace prevails in the region. Kashmiris were given the right to decide their own future through the ballot. It is this article of faith, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, that the Indian government abolished in one brutal stroke on 5 August, 2019.

My childhood memories and my visits to Kashmir gave me no reason to reinterpret what my father had told me. I knew—and could see for myself—that the Kashmiri Muslims had many grievances and that in their hearts lay the desire for Azaadi. Despite being in a tiny minority, we Kashmiri Pandits had lived in palatial houses in the Valley, we controlled the bureaucracy, the colleges and the hospitals… This changed after 1989, when the “privileged” minority became the “refugees”. With the coming to power of a hard-right government, Kashmir’s significance has been reduced to a mere dot on the Indian map.

What has left many like me saddened and shocked is the manner in which this aim has been achieved; that too with wide support from the populace of a country that never tires of saying that it believes in Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam or the world is one family, and which professes to be the land of the Buddha, who believed that only by practicing compassion, even towards your enemies, can one achieve Nirvana.

To lock up an entire population of a state in their homes, to arrest their political leaders, send troops by the thousands to quell any signs of protest, and then decide their fate without even taking them into confidence, after snapping all their communication links, is an act of unimaginable cowardice, worthy of the strongest condemnation.
When I think of the anxiety of the lakhs who must be living in fear, wondering in their homes what fate awaits them, the memory of the old man who gave me succour in my traumatic childhood moments has surfaced again. I can’t look into his eyes.

Pradeep Magazine is a senior journalist. He now lives in Delhi.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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How Children are being divided along communal lines after Pulwama incident

Sat, 09 Mar 2019 06:19:53 +0000

Right after the Pulwama attacks, Kashmiri Muslims were targeted all over India and a feeling of hatred towards Pakistan was in the air. Anyone who spoke of negotiations and peace and took an anti-war stance was called anti-national by the self-proclaimed nationalists.

With such an atmosphere prevailing in every household, how can children not be affected? Incidents of Muslim children in schools being bullied, singled out and taunted began surfacing creating apprehension among the Muslim parents.

The first incident was highlighted when the employer of a domestic help whose children were humiliated for being Muslims posted it on her social media account; whereupon several parents shared the experiences of their children.

In one of the schools, the Muslim children were asked to go to Pakistan while in another they were told that they are responsible for the Pulwama attack. And in another school, the Muslim children are made to shout anti-Pakistan slogans.

Noida-based writer, author of “Mothering a Muslim” Nazia Erum shared on the social media the concerns of other parents and also in an interview said that she is preparing her daughter to face such situations where Muslims are singled out and forced to display their Indian-ness.
These growing incidents of religious slurring have become a cause of worry amongst many Muslim mothers and they are not sure how to deal with it.

Some parents blame the television channels for this who indirectly promote hate through their nationalistic attitudes and the way they read out the news showing Muslims in a bad light.

Experts are of the opinion that such incidents of humiliation can have a lasting impact on the victimised children.

“One way of trying to solve these occurrences and help children change their perceptions is to have regular conversations with them about the current affairs that involve India and Pakistan. And show them the difference that although Muslims live in both Pakistan and India, they are different. Muslims of India are not pro- Pakistan simply because they follow the same religion” explained a college professor Aziz Khan to TwoCircles.net.

Shaikh Mohsin Ali, a journalist for a TV channel in Hyderabad shared that this happened to his son who is studying in class II. His friends told him “tum Musalman log bahut kharab ho, Hinduon ko maar daalte” (You Muslims are very bad, you all will kill Hindus). Mohsin says he was shocked when his son told this to him.

“If it is happening in my son’s school, I think it could be happening with other children too,” he added.

Sharifa Siddiqui, a counsellor running her own counselling centre told TwoCircles.net, “Bullying based on race, colour, religion etc. is a terrible symptom of a hate-filled society schooled and inculcated by media and significant adults. It can leave long-lasting scars and if the bullied child is not counselled with empathy, they can have lasting psychological effects. I would say that both bullied children, as well as the bullying, are victims of prejudice.”

Speaking to Twocircles.net, Tejaswini Madhubashi, a feminist and social activist said, “It’s terrible that children are facing such discrimination and hatred. I think the whole situation today is thanks to jingoistic Indian media. They should take responsibility and behave in a civilised way. For long, Indian media has demonized even the children of Kashmir calling them stone pelters and terrorists. It’s high time they look at Kashmiri issues and aspirations with respect.”

Another activist who works extensively on human rights, Sajaya Kakarla shared, “ The biased media is mainly responsible. It is a terrible situation. The Hindutva-isation of the media and the mindless notion of nationalism is creating irrational attitudes.

“Peace initiatives and dialogues between two countries will change the situation. And at the same time within the country also these should be initiated by civil society groups,” she added.

Apart from counselling and peace initiatives, it is equally important to sensitise both the adults and children on building the right perspectives about nationalism and learn to not get carried away by what the media presents.

Courtesy: Two Circle

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Saffron-clad men assault Kashmiri dry fruit sellers in Lucknow

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 09:01:24 +0000

All are members of the Vishwa Hindu Dal, a right-wing fringe group. Himanshu Awasthi, the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal bragged about the attack on Facebook, claiming he and his men had carried it out. The video of the attack that he shared on Facebook has been taken down.

Lucknow: The market in the busy street of central Lucknow’s Daliganj area was bustling with activities as sellers were calling out to customers to sell their wares. At 11 am on Thursday, Prashant Kumar, a political journalist posted a video from the street. A Kashmiri dry fruit seller was beaten up mercilessly by saffron clad men on Wednesday evening and the video soon went viral on social media.

“A man was seen in a viral video thrashing a Kashmiri street vendor in Lucknow, the vendor was later saved by locals. The culprit Bajrang Sonkar has been arrested by police. Sonkar has criminal background and has 12 cases including a murder case against him,” said Kalanidhi Naithani, Senior Superintendent of Police.

All are members of the Vishwa Hindu Dal, a right-wing fringe group. Himanshu Awasthi, the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal bragged about the attack on Facebook, claiming he and his men had carried it out. The video of the attack that he shared on Facebook has been taken down.

Sonkar was picked up late Wednesday night and three more were arrested on Thursday. The accused Himanshu Garg, Anirudh Kumar, Amar Mishra and Sonkar belong to Vishwa Hindu Dal Trust run by one Ambuj Nigam.

An FIR has been registered in Hassanganj police station under Sections 147, 323, 504, 153A and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, said SSP Lucknow Kalanidhi Naithani.

“These men just descended on us. They started beating us and calling us terrorists. We have been coming for 20 years. Something like this has never happened with us before,” one of the dry fruit sellers said.

“First, they argued and we thought they were bargaining for the price of dry fruits. Then people asked him for his Aadhar card. Suddenly, one of them started slapping the Kashmiri guy and then all of them assaulted him for few minutes,” the priest, who was one of the eye-witnesses of this incident, told Newsclick. The priest further said that people who were passing the bridge did try an intervene.

A passerby, who is said to have shot the viral video, said on the condition of anonymity that “the attackers were asking the dry fruit seller to prove his identity and were demanding his Aadhaar Card. Then they asked him where he was from and after hearing the word ‘Kashmir’ the attackers went crazy and started beating him and dubbing him a stone-pelter.”

“It seemed like they had come with the intention to beat up the guy because they stopped their car near him and were not buying anything,” the teenager who runs a fruit cart said in the report.

Kashmiris have faced discrimination and assaults in several parts of the country following the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. In Uttarakhand, students were forced to leave college campuses. Two Dehradun-based educational institutions have said they will not admit Kashmiri students in future.

Reacting to the Lucknow incident, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in J&K than videos like these. Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons & then try to sell the idea of “atoot ang”, it simply wont fly. (sic)”

Last month, the Supreme Court had asked 10 states, including Uttar Pradesh, to take “prompt action” to ensure Kashmiris living across the country do not face social boycott or attacks.

A protest against hate has been organised at 5 pm on Thursday in front of SSP residence, Sapru Marg, Lucknow. Activists and concerned citizens have urged every peace-loving citizen and organisation to come together to stop such hatred from spreading in their city and that no such incident is repeated again.

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Pulwama family stopped from boarding Indigo Airlines

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 09:57:55 +0000

A Kashmiri family reportedly from Shopian and Pulwama were stopped from boarding an IndiGo Airlines planes. They were boarding a flight to Srinagar at the Delhi Airport on February 24 and were stopped allegedly due to a mix up in the names on the tickets and their identification documents.

New Delhi: A Kashmiri family reportedly from Shopian and Pulwama were stopped from boarding an IndiGo Airlines planes. They were boarding a flight to Srinagar at the Delhi Airport on February 24 and were stopped allegedly due to a mix up in the names on the tickets and their identification documents.

According to the copies of the tickets and the documents accessed by The Quint, the daughter Mehwish’s middle name was missing in the ticket and the mother’s last name on her Aadhaar card says “Bano” but on the ticket, she has her husband’s last name, “Banday”.

An eyewitness, Mir Saqib, and former JNU student leader Shehla Rashid alleged that the family was harassed for a small discrepancy because they were Kashmiris.

The airline, in a statement, clarified, “As per Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (Avsec Circular 15/2017), the name on the ticket has to match with the name on the Govt. ID card. We do have provisions for name rectification but this was a case of a name change. As per process, the ticket had to be cancelled and a fresh ticket needed to be booked. The option was declined by the passenger. As a gesture, we had still waived the cancellation charges and refunded them in full.”

Saqib, in his Facebook post, claims that when he had tried to argue on behalf of the family, his mother and he were also offloaded from the flight and only after protests by 15 other Kashmiris, a CISF personnel SS Upadhyay intervened to calm down the situation and assured that the Kashmiri family too will be able to board the flight soon.

“We pleaded that we have travelled earlier also on the same documents but the airline staff was so aggressive and they misbehaved with us,” Mehwish, a member of the family said.

She said not only did the airline not refund the tickets but called in security personnel to evict them. “Like we were terrorists,” she said in a report by Greater Kashmir.

The family said they travelled by train and have reached Jammu.

“Are we terrorists? Is that they saw Shopian, Pulwama, on tickets and harassed us?” said Mohammad Shafi, another family member, in the report.

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Mehvish Zargar: A Kashmiri lawyer who found independence through opening her own café

Sat, 18 Aug 2018 05:10:49 +0000

Srinagar:- In a patriarchal society like Kashmir where all avenues of employment are dominated by men, a 25-year-old girl from Srinagar has started her own café as the idea of a male-dominated business sector doesn’t go well with this lawyer-turned businesswomen.

Mehvish at her cafe in srinagar

Mehvish Mehraj Zargar, a resident of Lal Bazar area of the old city, has set up her own café and given it a beautiful name – ME’n’U Café. Located in Bemina area of Srinagar City, the Café can cater to around 50 people at a time.

The café opened in the month of February this year but had to stay shut most times due to the current turmoil.

She did her bachelor’s in Law from the Central University of Kashmir but her dream of being an independent woman and her interest in business pulled her to set up her own venture.

She lost her father due to cancer when she was just seven; she always wanted to do something for her mother and to support her family.

When Mehvish shared the idea of opening her own venture with her family, they appreciated her and supported her to set-up her dream café.

“My mom and brother supported my financially and emotionally, this was not possible without them, and especially in a place where the society is too conservative,” says Mehvish.

The café is equipped with all the modern facilities, good ambience and a retro look for the people of all age groups. The café offers a perfect atmosphere to hang out and get together.

The café has become an ideal place for teens and young adults to unwind and be themselves. Not that the adults and middle-aged don’t frequent its outlets, but that in no way diminishes its appeal among the youth. Not only is it the freewheeling atmosphere and a happy go lucky culture of the café that attracts the youth towards it but the wide variety of eatables and beverages it offers within the range of their pocket money is other major attraction.

She says the target audience includes the students since the café is close to Degree College Bemina and the prices are pretty much in their range.

“You can order just a cup of coffee,” says Mehvish, “and sit there for hours and read and write and talk. Nobody is going to disturb you,” she adds.

The layout of the café is quite trendy and appealing. The outlet is aesthetically designed and the colour combination and furniture is pleasing to the eye. The front side of the café is designed with wooden logs and it has become a focal point in this café.

View of the Me n U café that can cater to about 50 people

The café, according to its owners, serves Pizza, Rice, Pasta, Soups, Chicken, coffee, Hot and cold beverages, Kababs, Rolls and much more.

Mehvish believes that in today’s world, a lady should be financially and emotionally independent. “An independent woman is someone who knows her identity and has figured it out completely. Being an independent woman, and a happy one at that, is the most important person you can be,’ she says.

She says an independent woman takes care of herself and her family as well. “She is capable of so much. By being independent, you set an example for your children to follow just as my mother did. If you ask me about the society, you will face a number of critics which I don’t even think matter,” she adds.

Talking about her initial days into the venture, Mehvish says, “I faced a lot of opposition in the beginning but I paid no attention to them and kept myself oriented towards my goals.”

“People used to stare at me and I used to get strange looks from them. But now everything is fine as I have stopped taking these things seriously,” she adds.

Mehvish says she is trying to break-up the stereotype that a girl can’t do well in business. “I just want to be independent and business was my dream, I am ready I have to be strong, women will be criticised in any way when the idea of starting this venture came to my mind, I was aware that I will be criticized, So I prepared myself for that,” she explains.

Mehvish also understands how her business model is supposed to work out. “In the beginning, one cannot chase profits as you have to invest for your business so that it is on solid footing. Right now, I am satisfied as there is no loss no profit,” she asserts.

“My message for the girls of the valley would be: Take your decisions and follow it. People will judge you anyway but you have to follow your dreams and fight back” Mehvish suggested to the female folk of the Kashmir.

She also receives Faeezah award for her contribution to “being an asset of the society and the agent of the positive change”. She dedicated the award to her family.

Mehvish receiving Faeezah award for her contribution to “being an asset of the society and the agent of the positive change

She also understands the need to employ a local workforce and working with contingency plans. “In Kashmir, shutdowns and strikes are common it is a part of our daily life and I have kept myself ready for that,” she says. Keeping the current situation in mind, she didn’t hire chefs from outside the state and has recruited local chefs only.

“By hiring local chefs, you are providing employment to your own people and at the time of strikes they are still available here and can call them any time,” she says.

Courtesy: Two Circles

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Of Salafis, Deobandis and Barelwis in Kashmir

Sat, 04 Aug 2018 06:08:16 +0000

Kashmir is a melting pot of cultures, religions, ethnicities and regional identities. The Kashmiri identity is contested and variegated. It is still developing and has survived despite centuries of onslaught from different quarters. Religion has played an important role in shaping the indigenous Kashmiri identity. Kashmir embraced Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam equally with open arms. All these religions went on to create an identity and culture that we witness today. These religions left an indelible mark while shaping the identity of a common Kashmiri. Due to the egalitarian message and practices of Islam, most inhabitants of Kashmir who were reeling under the darkness of social prejudices and caste system embraced Islam without much resentment. Islam in Kashmir was spread through the egalitarian practices of Sufis. Sufism too accepted local influences of Hinduism and Buddhism and an indigenous strand of Sufism termed as “Rishism” evolved.

These Rishis evolved a culture of harmony, fellow feeling and community welfare in the Valley. Further they did not proselytize and rarely engaged with theology. Hence they were never at the centre of controversies. They practiced the values of Islam and for them most mystical practices of every religion lead to the same goal. The God of all religions is same for them and religions are different paths that lead to the same goal. It was their inspiring lives and moral characters that drove hordes of men to their hospices that still continue to be the centres of attraction even centuries after their death. Most of these hospices had a madrasa, boarding, lodging facilities and a free community kitchen associated with them. But now those are relics of past as most shrines and hospices have now been rendered as dens of nepotism, sectarian hatred and money minting institutions for those who control them.

Most of the Rishis spoke against this clergy and priestly class of Islam using derogatory term (Mullah) against them. The poetry of Sheikh ul Alam better known as Alam Dar e Kashmir (torch bearer) or Nund Rishi is full of criticism against this priestly class. Unfortunately, this message of Nund Rishi has been distorted by clergy class who has co-opted and annexed his hospice and now is indulging in the same acts against which Nund led a crusade during his whole life and was even incarcerated by the nefarious designs of the mullahs of his times.

Most Kashmiris have a deep faith in transcendence and the divine reality of God. The shrines and hospices were revered but with the advent of Islamic revivalist movements in the mainland India, the reverence of shrines and hospices came to be disputed. The puritanical, exclusivist Ahle Hadith or Salafi movement started a tirade against the shrines that they described as institutes of grave worship. So in order to behold and save Muslims they started a venomous campaign against shrines, describing them as bastions of shrik.

To supplement them Deobandis too jumped in the bandwagon and reinforced their efforts, though unlike Salafis they had a soft corner for Sufis and were not as vociferous in their criticism and campaigns against the Sufis, shrines and hospices. As a reaction to their efforts, the mullahs who have economic interests associated with shrines started supporting the Barelwis, who started owning the Sufis, describing themselves as their real inheritors and piling up wrong evidences for every economic activity conducted at shrines being in spirit with real Islam.

All these discourses of Salafis, Deobandis and Barelwis are quite alien to Kashmir. All these schools of thought are extremist in their outlook and rabidly sectarian and if provided with hospitable environs violent too. These groups have carried out violent acts against each other and different other sects in the recent past. Earlier they engaged with each other through writing diatribes, pamphlets and books denouncing each other and describing them as deviated and charging them with heresy. The sectarian mosques were used to hold debates against each other. Also the co-option and annexation of shrines by Barelwis who wrongly masquerade as Sufis has done a severe damage to the syncretic and plural message of Kashmiri Rishis.

The distortion of Sufism by Barelwis is another challenge that needs to be met. Now the fault lines between these sects are evident even among the common masses that are caught up in non ending diatribes because social media and internet has made it possible for masses to have a peek into these debates. Literary rebuttals against each other were confined to a refined section but now the videos of the sectarian mullahs are available for mass public consumption, thus widening the divide. Add to it the crisis in Middle East particularly Syria that has opened the Pandora’s box of Shia-Sunni violence. It has its impact on the Muslims of subcontinent too. Although we do not hear about violence between Shias and Sunnis in India but with each passing day the fault lines are widening. To add insult to injury some deobandi mullahs in Kashmir like Noaman Nowsheri and Muzaffar Qasmi are openly attacking the other sects. The show-boy Noaman Nowsheri is being elevated as the Manazir e Islam (Debater of Islam) as he claims to have defeated many Salafis, whereas Salafi mullahs like Abdul Latif Al Kindi and Abid Salafi are refuting him and others.

Many mosques and madrasas have been retrograded into debating theatres and in some cases physical abuses have taken place too. These repugnant debates are streamed live to score points over the opponents. In Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)’s era Masjid e Zaraar was established by certain Muslim hypocrites to carryout nefarious designs against Islam and Muslims. Prophet (pbuh) ordered the mosque to be demolished. These sectarian mullahs are retrograding every mosque to Zaraar, their designs need to be fought against and a social boycott of these sectarian mullahs needs to be orchestrated. They are vilifying the real message and values of Islam for cheap publicity and earning few bucks.

M.H.A.Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir

Courtesy: New Age Islam

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Hashtag Nationalism: Does Kashmir really love India?

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 06:30:02 +0000

For any one growing up in the Valley, anti-India sentiment is popularly acknowledged.

Image: AFP/TAUSEEF MUSTAFA

Twitter, like most of India, has recently seen a flurry of proclamations and professions of nationalism. The most surprising of these come from Kashmir – subject to over 100 days of curfew since July – and are beautifully captured by the #kashmirlovesindia hashtag.

The innocuous Twitter accounts weaving this narrative, 140 characters at a time, have pictures of young women with generic Muslim first names and inventive last names, often Khan and Kashmiri. In many of these assertions, there is vehement condemnation for terrorism and Pakistan strewn into the same sentence while photos in jarring neon mention how “every Kashmiri loves India”. Heartwarming as it is to hear such loyalty for the nation and disaffection for Pakistan, how close are these assertions to the truth?

The map of India, with Kashmir as its crowning glory, has had the persuasive capacity to structure the national imagination as one in which Kashmir is seen as an integral part of the Indian mainland. As many have pointed out, this imagination often excludes Kashmiris themselves. Voices from within are often heard, yet seldom listened to. When slogans of azadiring across the Valley, the people are termed ungrateful.

But what many Indians fail to recognise or even accept is the reflexive disposition of Kashmiris to resist the nation. Kashmiris embody this disposition from early adolescence. Even those who do not actively participate in the Kashmiri resistance movement verbalise hostility towards the Indian nation in speech and acts. They do not take to arms or to the streets to protest, but collude ideologically and resist passively. They may not be the voices ringing out on the streets, but they shape the discourse through living room conversations.

Modes of passive resistance and disguised ideological insubordination operate differently and can be distinguished from the stone pelting and slogan chanting of the streets.

Many in Kashmir are – or seek to be – employed by the Indian state, yet can be found in private spaces acting in ways or holding beliefs that could potentially be termed seditious. They typically express their opinion openly, yet it is disguised. The active protesting of recent years was not always necessary to lift the veil of quiescence. When former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah publicly claimed that anti-India slogans were normal in Kashmir earlier this year, it came as a surprise to the rest of the country. However, for any one growing up in Kashmir, the anti-India sentiment is a popularly acknowledged one.

Everyday resistance

In a recent interview, soldiers employed by the state government described their condition as “aazad Hindustan ke gulaam sipaahi" – enslaved soldiers of an Independent India. This view is common and is also present among children. For instance, at flag-hoisting ceremonies in Kashmir’s schools, even in those run by the Indian Army, many Kashmiri students intentionally disrespect the tricolour. There are rules to hoist the flag, and students usually ignore these rules as the urge for insubordination runs deep in their minds.

Similar incidents are noted during the singing of the Indian national anthem. One is expected to stand still in reverence while it plays. But students in schools all across the Valley find glee in fidgeting during a rendition.

A few months ago, an incident at a school in Srinagar made news when a guest asked its students if India deserved a permanent seat in the United Nation. The students disagreed, leaving him surprised and school authorities embarrassed.

Similarly, Indian national holidays – Independence Day and Republic Day – are symbolically marked as black days.

Kashmiris use cricket as another avenue for everyday, symbolic resistance against the Indian state. Hostility against India is especially high during a cricket match. The pointed support of Kashmiris for whichever team plays against India provides a much needed, active space for resistance. It is common to hear that if India played Israel in any sport, Kashmiris would support Israel. This is a bold assertion in light of the solidarity the Valley feels for Palestine.

These acts reflect the widespread belief that historically, Kashmir's accession to India was not legitimate, and on reports of human rights violations, which together have made Kashmiris even more resentful towards the nation. This discourse needs to be heard, accepted and then dealt with.

Online activism

The growth of smartphones and social media has now created a vast online space for digital activism, and provided an outlet for resistance online. There are often government restrictions on telecommunications and gags on the local media, making the internet an important platform for engaging in political discourse. Mobile internet was restricted recently for the same reason. Nevertheless, tech-savvy activists have taken to the internet, using WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and blogs to have discussions and spread their messages. Attempting to mask this dissent by threatening such activists or creating fake accounts to cover up the shame of so-called anti-nationalism on these platforms is far from the solution.

If history is anything to go by, the deadlock will continue. Many Kashmiris resent the separatists, especially given the economic shutdown of the past three months, but to suggest that Kashmiris love India is also false, to say the least.

To understand the full picture, it is essential for Indians to look beyond the five people they speak to in the tourist towns of Gulmarg and Pahalgam and the security personnel they see during visits to the Valley. Engage and converse with people who live the reality that is Kashmir. Pressing the heart button on tweets that align with one’s beliefs is not enough. Empathise. Living under the constant gaze of the much disliked other is not always pleasant. And if readers still do not get it, here is some dark humour (a shameless plug) in the hope that they do.

Onaiza Drabu is a graduate in anthropology and writes, illustrates and talks about Kashmir in her spare time.

(This article was first published on Scroll.in.)

The post Hashtag Nationalism: Does Kashmir really love India? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Kashmir Crisis: 7000 Arrests during Curfew, more than 450 booked under PSA

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 12:30:22 +0000

During the ongoing curfew in Jammu and Kashmir – the longest ever curfew in the valley which has lasted for more than 100 days, J-K police have arrested close to 7,000 people in the valley, according to news reports. In what is being called the biggest crackdown in the past two decades, more than 450 people have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) – the highest ever number in the valley.

Image: NDTV

Last week (third week of October) saw a record number of arrests, as 446 people were arrested by J-K police.

In addition to the arrest spree, some news reports have claimed that around 1,500 others are under detention in a number of police stations across the state, without any charges.

The valley has been facing lockdown since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

The PDP-BJP government in the state has incurred wrath of several human rights organisation and activists for reckless slapping of PSA on the civilians. A team of experts from United Nations earlier demanded release of Khurram Parvez who also has been booked under PSA.

According to the figures accessed by The Indian Express, police have submitted PSA dossiers against 560 people and have received approval for 483 cases. The Act empowers government to detain a person without trial for a period up to six months.

While in opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2010 had criticised Omar Abdullah government over “unwarranted use” of PSA both in and outside the assembly. The party – now ruling the state along with the BJP – ended up booking more than 450 people under the same act in less than three months.

As reported by Express, J-K government spokesman and Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar justified the arrests saying it has been done “because we found ourselves in an unprecedented situation”.

“There is a difference, lot of difference between 2010 and 2016. Like the local leadership apparently is not in control, the leadership has gone to 10 and 12 year old boys. Those who lead are driven by the street. In 2010, they could assert and bring it back,” he told Express. “What we did (in 2010) is the role of opposition. I wish National Conference does the same but they have disappeared”.

However, a Kashmir Age report claimed that 5,500 of the arrested persons were released after assurance of conduct from their relatives or parents. It claimed that in addition to the nocturnal raids, security forces have been arresting people during mob-control exercises as well, but such youths are mostly released after their innocence has been established.

“A good number of those arrested during the unrest are those who instigate youths in mobs to indulge in violence. These also include those responsible for issuing threats to people for not joining the protests or defying the diktats of the separatists,” the report quoted a police source.

Also read: In Dire Need of Rehab Package, Appeal Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley

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J&K: Dangerous Demographics: Linking Article 370 with the Pandits’ return

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 13:34:41 +0000

Well known Bollywood actor, Anupam Kher, now better known for his extreme right wing views, in a recent article in the Times of India, has advocated revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India and settlement of people from outside the state as a remedy to the sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits, to enable their safe return to the Valley. [1]The suggested panacea is worse than the disease. It is based on not just a poor understanding of an issue but is born out of a pernicious ideology that has made no secret of its desire to orchestrate a change in the demographics of Jammu and Kashmir. It is mischievous, at its root.

Kher was recently in Jammu. He was visiting camps, talking about Article 370. He was also in the city to inaugurate a two day literary festival. The lit fest was poorly organized and after the inaugural session, there was nobody left in the audience but the speakers. The avowed aim was to talk about literature delinked from politics. However the real motive behind Kher’s visit seems to have been to flag the abrogation of Article 370, and yet again inject a dose of hatred into public discourse, in the bargain.

‘Scrap Article 370’ has been one of the pet projects of the RSS and the BJP, raked up overtly and covertly, time and again, over the past six decades. Two years ago, in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections, prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi sought to induce some legitimacy to this chorus demanding the revoking of Article 370 by invoking Nehru’s “desire” to do the same.

Jawaharlal Nehru — responsible for the first setback to the Article 370 when the first draft manipulated without the consent of Sheikh Abdullah was passed, and also Prime Minister when the erosion of the essence of the Article took place since 1953 — was also the one (before this dilution) to first define this provision of the Indian Constitution. Article 370 acts as a bridge between India and Jammu and Kashmir: He announced that the association and allegiance of the State to India, was provisional, subject to a plebiscite.

In Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, Nehru made the historic promise of a plebiscite to the people with the guarantee that the political future of the state would be decided as per the wishes and aspirations of the people. Nehru was conscious that constitutionally and legally, Article 370 could not be dispensed with, without inviting the risk of a real severing of Kashmir from the rest of India. And so, he played the balancing act, marrying his ambition of integrating India through the hollowing out of Article 370, while not opposing it politically. The Sangh Parivar, in striking contrast, has made the Constitutional provision of Article 370 a potent tool for ‘othering’ of the state, linking it erroneously to the issue of ‘integration’ and ‘assimilation.’

It is erroneous to construe that any revocation of Article 370 would amount to the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. Constitutionally, Article 370 will continue to remain a provisional agreement binding Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of the country because the accession to India signed by the Maharaja of Kashmir in October 1947 was meant to be provisional until the views of the people on the political future of the state, were fairly ascertained. That exercise has never taken place; thus this link between the disputed state and rest of India remains mired in subsequent political developments, ambiguities and interpretations. Not to mention, politicking.

Article 370 has today become a slogan across the political spectrum – whether for the formations who profess to protect it or those that advocate its abrogation. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, suffixed with the word ‘temporary’ in its annals, offers a kind of a political autonomy to the state. Constitutionally and legally it became imperative for the Indian government to retain the state as part of the greater Indian mainland only through this Article. Challenging it, scrapping it, revoking it, would run the serious risk of creating a path for the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the grand Indian Union. The only other alternative to Article 370 would be complete coercion and conquest of the state; indeed an ugly notion for a democratic country. (http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss%2827%29.pdf)

According to Kashmir’s Instrument of Accession, barring Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communications, the Central government had no jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir. However, New Delhi’s near pathological insecurity with respect to the only Muslim majority state may have inspired its leaders to begin hollowing out this Constitutional provision that was the sole link to the State, providing it with the historical, special status.

It (Article 370) has been eroded excessively through deals like Delhi Agreement in 1952 and through the clandestine control of the political sphere of Jammu and Kashmir by New Delhi through induced corruption, rigged elections and support to puppet regimes. Article 370 was completely hollowed out post-1953, that legally provided for the application of Central laws to Jammu and Kashmir; doing away with the permit system for visitors from outside the State; and by allowing the Centre greater control over matters like Excise, Customs and Posts and Telegraphs. The Indira-Sheikh accord of 1975 was the last nail in the coffin, which allowed New Delhi to change the narrative of the Special Status of the State with the words “Constituent” of India.

The call for scrapping the Article 370 makes a complete mockery of due processes of law and completely disregards the potential that such a slogan has in engendering a Constitutional crisis. The legitimacy to the Article 370, which grants special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, comes from the Draft and Resolution prepared by the first Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. There is no Constitutional procedure to review or revoke the Article (370) without re-creating the Constituent Assembly. Needless to re-iterate, that any revocation of the Article would only pave the way for severing the State from rest of the country.

Article 370 was brought in to serve a twin purpose. Of both acting as a Constitutional bridge between a State with its exceptional history (Jammu and Kashmir) with India, while safe-guarding its autonomy in all areas barring Defence, Foreign affairs and Communication. However, six decades down, a trajectory of shady accords backed by remote-controlled politics from Delhi and this ‘safeguard’ — Article 370, this unique provision and Constitutional provision–has been reduced to a hollowed-out shell within Constitution of India. The mere words ‘Article 370’ still evoke strong reactions, though.

The bitter reality today however for Jammu and Kashmir is that that far from enjoying any autonomy, the Centre enjoys powers of manipulation and manouevre over the state affairs in Jammu and Kashmir. A man once hailed as ‘the Lion of Kashmir’, Shaikh Abdullah, was brought to his knees, put behind bars and stripped of his powers. Only when he bowed to the might of New Delhi was he ‘allowed’ to remain in power.

Constitutionally, Article 370 will continue to remain a provisional agreement binding Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of the country because the accession to India signed by the Maharaja of Kashmir in October 1947 was meant to be provisional until the views of the people on the political future of the state, were fairly ascertained.

Little of the original autonomy envisaged in the original Article 370 today remains. Diluted and hollowed out, Article 370 is a shallow replica of the original. Nevertheless, the continuance of this Article, even in its present form is critical: not for purposes of protecting the autonomy of the state but to ensure the legal validity of the state’s integration with the rest of India. The only untouched and undisturbed portion of the original Article 370 relates to the protection of the state Subject Laws, created during the time of Maharaja in 1920s and now called the Permanent Residentship Law: this Law does not allow people who settled in Jammu and Kashmir after 1942 to attain proprietary rights over property nor the right to get government jobs.

Hindutva proponents, from time to time have linked the revocation of Article 370 to orchestration of a demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir. Anupam Kher’s outpouring may be the first time that its abrogation is linked, in any way to the Kashmiri Pandit question! The core of the sinister argument being that, once people from rest of India are allowed to settle in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pandits will be far more secure in returning to the Valley!

This proposition has more than a touch of irony. Almost a century ago, Kashmiri Pandits were the most educated and affluent class in Jammu and Kashmir and naturally felt threatened when affluent outsiders from Punjab began settling in and becoming a formidable challenge to the might of the Kashmiri Pandits. It was the latter, the Kashmiri Pandits, that were the main motivating force behind the creation of the State Subject laws and this is history.

There are serious flaws in the proposition that the revocation of Article 370, or the manipulation/change of the religious demography of the State can enable the return of Kashmiri Pandits.

Firstly, Kashmiris have a cultural and ethnic identity that is distinct from rest of South Asia. Kashmiris – both Muslims and Pandits – have traditionally shared bonds of syncretic and plural culture that finds no parallels elsewhere in the country (India) or South Asia. Cutting across religious affiliations, Kashmiris have always been conscious of their distinct identity and of protecting it. It serves the interests of neither community, neither the Pandits nor Kashmiri Muslims, to scrap Article 370 or the Permanent Residentship Law. They would not wish to preside over the destruction and dilution of their own unique identities and.

Secondly, any talk of abrogation of Article 370 in a sensitive place like Kashmir and Jammu is like waving the proverbial red flag before a bull. Any Hindutvawaadi design on the state’s demography invokes acute insecurities and imaginations of a future akin to that of Palestinians on the Gaza strip. This insecurity is also located in the reality of the fact that the Muslims– despite being in majority in the State — continue to be powerless in view of the way in which political control is exercised by Delhi.

Thirdly and most importantly, this red herring flung out by the politicians of the RSS-BJP-VHP combine (Sangh Parivar) is based on the misplaced presumption that the displacement and insecurity experienced by the Kashmiri Pandits’ is on account of the Muslims being a majority in the State. Pandits were not ever threatened by the majority community to flee the Valley. Though the threat perception to the community cannot be negated (this was a natural product of the years when the character of the resistance changed from Azaadi to Islaamiyat; when youth from the Valley crossed the borders and decided to pick up the gun to fight the Indian state), it cannot be simplified to a Muslim versus Hindu problem. Had that been the issue, no Pandits would have survived in the Valley in 1947, when the rest of the sub-continent was caught in the grip of communal violence. In fact, inspired by the communal bonhomie of Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits, in those distressing times, Gandhi had famously talked about seeing a “ray of hope” in Kashmir.

The majority of the Pandits fled the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s and ever since, the forced migration has been a bone of real and academic contention – right from their numbers to the reasons they fled. It is not uncommon to find a Kashmiri Muslim concluding that Pandits suddenly fled one day when militancy began, often holding former J&K Governor Jagmohan responsible for the enmasse exodus. The Pandits vehemently challenge this theory; quoting instead from the reality of an atmosphere filled with xenophobia – open threats, selective killings and fear – that triggered the flight in different batches, the first one being January 19, 1990. Both popular narratives are located within black and white extremes, often throwing up some contradictions. Both narratives, however, are historically placed in the exemplary harmonious relations between the two communities before the 1980s and to some extent through the 1980s as well.

It would be significant to take a re-look at those fading last days of a freezing winter, when the Pandits actually fled the Valley. The right wing groups among Kashmiri Pandits recall January 19 (1990) as ‘Holocaust day’. For Kashmiri Muslims too, January 19 is a turning point, not particularly owing to the flight of Pandits and other minorities that also eventually robbed the Valley of its secular fabric, but more for the intensified curfew on the streets and the slew of shocking massacres by security forces that followed. For both, the day forms an important part of collective memory, for entirely different sets of reasons.

The Pandits vehemently challenge this theory; quoting instead from the reality of an atmosphere filled with xenophobia – open threats, selective killings and fear – that triggered the flight in different batches, the first one being January 19, 1990. Both popular narratives are located within black and white extremes, often throwing up some contradictions.

The day also coincides with Jagmohan taking over the reins of Jammu and Kashmir as Governor of the state, suddenly placed under Governor’s rule. The move had probably been coming, given the heightened militancy-related incidents between September and December 1989. New Delhi had been sending in extra reinforcements of armed forces and the number of troops had doubled since the beginning of January. The last vestiges of State Government control had virtually collapsed by end of December itself; the situation was already under New Delhi’s direct control by the time Jagmohan took over and began his work. The Valley had already been placed under strict unprecedented curfew for days. A large chunk of Pandits left the Valley on the intervening night of January 19 and 20, amid a strict curfew, many in buses of government controlled J&K State Road Transport Corporation. On January 20, house to house searches, raids, cordons, random arrests with allegations of harassment and atrocities began in many areas of Srinagar city, particularly Muslim majority areas. Citizens of the Valley, caught between the devil and deep sea, started pouring out on streets in protest, violating prohibitory orders. Street protests with slogans of ‘Azadi’ with the added embellishment of Islamic religious symbols became a regular, everyday feature.

As did the massacres on streets. Starting from Gawkadal on the morning of January 21, leaving an estimated 50 to 80 people dead and hundreds injured, many of whom succumbed to their injuries later[i]. The Alamgari Bazaar massacre followed on January 22, and the Handwara killings on January 25. It is difficult to presume that these varied events taking place simultaneously were just a matter of coincidence.

Neither sets of facts, the fear and insecurity of the minorities, nor the persecution of the majority at the hands of a reckless administration can be denied. The massacres lie at the core of a deep-rooted sense of alienation of the Kashmiri Muslims as does the exodus, facilitated to serve the communal bias of a certain Governor. Whatever else Jagmohan did or did not do, as governor, instead of playing a role to ensure safety of the minorities in Valley, he certainly chose to play up their insecurities and sense of fear, paving the way for their flight. With the population that remained, strong arm tactics could be thereafter easily used.

The hazy fog of memory around the events have become important markers in how the historical narratives based on two sets of identities have shaped up. There are internal contradictions and a disregard of the ‘other’. These ‘gaps’ need to be bridged, the lacunae clarified more than ever, with a dispassionate and unbiased engagement with facts.

The events preceding these massacres of both Pandits and the Muslims, have been crucial to the snapping of Kashmir’s historic and much famed ‘secular and syncretic’ ties. Any possibility of return of the Kashmiri Pandits and the restoration of a genuinely secular polity has to be rooted in not just generating goodwill but in the exchange of a dialogue starting from the memory of those days that has generated an unfathomable bitterness; making it impossible to understand how two well knit communities living in exemplary harmony, became totally oblivious of the sufferings, pain, fears and trepidation of each other within a matter of days.

In such an inclusive approach, could be found the key to a renewal of communal harmony between the two major communities of the Valley, embittered and separated 25 years ago. It is this road that must be revisited, anew, so that the Pandits can return honourably and with a sense of security, not by further erecting walls of hatred and division between communities.

(The author is Executive Editor, Kashmir Times and also a human rights activist)

References from our Archives:
1. How Green Is My Valley   https://sabrangindia.in/sabrangthemes/how-green-is-my-valley
2. Talibanisation of Kashmir   https://sabrangindia.in/article/talibanisation-kashmir
3. Day of the ‘mujahid’    https://sabrangindia.in/article/day-%E2%80%98mujahid%E2%80%99

[2]Article 370 Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.—

(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,—

(a) the provisions of article 238 shall not apply in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir;

(b) the power of Parliament to make laws for the said State shall be limited to—

(i) those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List which, in consultation with the Government of the State, are declared by the President to correspond to matters specified in the Instrument of Accession governing the accession of the State to the Dominion of India as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for that State; and
(ii) such other matters in the said Lists as, with the concurrence of the Government of the State, the President may by order specify. Explanation.—For the purposes of this article, the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers for the time being in office under the Maharaja’s Proclamation dated the fifth day of March, 1948;

(c) the provisions of article 1 and of this article shall apply in relation to that State;
(d) such of the other provisions of this Constitution shall apply in relation to that State subject to such exceptions and modifications as the President may by order specify:

Provided that no such order which relates to the matters specified in the Instrument of Accession of the State referred to in paragraph (i) of sub-clause (b) shall be issued except in consultation with the Government of the State: Provided further that no such order which relates to matters other than those referred to in the last preceding proviso shall be issued except with the concurrence of that Government.

(2) If the concurrence of the Government of the State referred to in paragraph (ii) of sub-clause (b) of clause (1) or in the second proviso to sub clause (d) of that clause be given before the Constituent Assembly for the purpose of framing the Constitution of the State is convened, it shall be placed before such Assembly for such decision as it may take thereon.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may specify: Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in clause (2) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification.

[2] In exercise of the powers conferred by this article the President, on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, declared that, as from the 17th day of November, 1952, the said art. 370 shall be operative with the modification that for the Explanation in cl. (1) thereof, the following Explanation is substituted, namely:- “Explanation – For the purposes of this article, the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State as the *Sadar-I Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers of the State for the time being in office.”. (Ministry of Law Order No. C.O. 44, dated the 15th November, 1952). *Now “Governor”.

[1] Scrap Article 370 to reverse worst act of intolerance in recent Indian history: Exile of Kashmiri Pandits, http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31805&articlexml=Scrap-Article-370-to-reverse-worst-act-of-05012016012034

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