How often, hey Ram, must we be inflicted with the demand for autonomy from the bosses of Jammu & Kashmir? How long, hey Ram, must we hear that demand's echo from "experts" of print and TV? And how many times must this writer quote a constitutional authority's view that "the State [of J&K] has a much greater measure of autonomy and power than enjoyed by the other States"? [Pg 436 of Indian Constitutional Law , Wadhwa & Company, Nagpur, 4th edition, Reprint 1994, by M P Jain].

The latest shrill has come from Omar Abdullah, the new occupant of the National Conference throne abdicated by Papa Farooq who, like his father, Sheikh Abdullah, has been known to vacillate between India and independence depending on the circumstance and, probably, his score of the day at golf.

As minister of state for external affairs, Abdullah III had been articulate and sober. A commerce graduate who had a tilt at the MBA course in England, and one who confesses his inability to speak Kashmiri, it was thought that the youngster would wipe out the mirages and get down on the floor to clean up the non-governance plaguing J&K for long.

rest of the article is at http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/jul/02arvind.htm

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