Farooq Abdullah's autonomy resolution has, in retrospect, served a very useful purpose: It has dramatically revealed that some high profile intellectuals are as skin deep about J&K as showman Abdullah himself.

Let us begin with the author of the resolution. (He is the doctor who was recently awarded the Dr B C Roy memorial honour and must willy nilly be deemed an intellectual). A few days after his proposal was rejected by the Vajpayee Cabinet, he told The Times of India that more autonomy under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution must be given to J&K for return of peace to the Kashmir Valley. He demanded that Article 370 be restored to its original shape -- that, he told Star TV , would satisfy him.

That stand of our doctor sa'ab is laughable. He doesn't seem to have understood all these years that the essence of Article 370 is not to expand J&K's autonomy but to erode it. Though Gopalaswami Ayyangar moved the Bill for that Article in the Constituent Assembly, the brain behind it was, one suspects, that of supreme nationalist, Vallabbhai Patel.

First, the tribal invasion of Srinagar in October 1947 from Pakistan territory, and then Nehru's fetish for Sheikh Abdullah as well as for internationalism had denied Patel the chance to amalgamate J&K with India the way he had done in respect of over 500 princely states. Only the Sardar, one believes, could have devised Article 370 once the J&K maharaja decided to strictly abide by the terms of the Instrument of Accession (designed by the British) that made his state a mere protectorate of the Dominion of India while free to have its own Constitution.

rest of the article is at http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/aug/14arvind.htm

All materials on this website are © 2000-2010

Printer Friendly Format

Search this website

top