Karan Singh: Tread cautiously on Art 35A, 370

New Delhi : Dr Karan Singh or Tiger as his father Maharaja Hari Singh used to call him fondly, wants the government to tread cautiously on constitutional issues related to Jammu and Kashmir. Singh is the former ‘Regent’ of Jammu and Kashmir and also the Sadr-e-Riyasat of the state. In 1965, he became the first governor of the state and was the last residual link between feudal and monarchial Kashmir and its evolution to a democratic set-up.

Despite being a centrifuge in the early years of India’s independence and Kashmir’s contentious accession, no political party has chosen to use his sagacity and wisdom while dealing with the Kashmir problem. Even as four districts in south Kashmir and a few hawks sitting in Srinagar hijack the nationalistic agenda and argue for separatism, the new Home Minister Amit Shah is rolling out a plan to meet fire with fire and try and settle the controversial issue once and for all.

In an interview with IANS, the octogenarian said, “Let me start by saying that the accession is final and irrevocable, nowhere am I questioning its wajood (existence). This accession has been confirmed and validated by the J&K Constituent Assembly, which lies dissolved, so there can be no questions asked about its veracity. Legally, morally and constitutionally, the state is part of the Indian sovereign. However, on Article 370 and 35A, I would advise extreme caution: tread carefully for there are legal, political, constitutional and emotional factors involved that should be thoroughly assessed, I think that is fair warning.”

He argued that “there are four critical dimensions to this problem. For starters, there is an international dimension with 45 per cent of the original state’s area and 30 per cent of its population (as of October 26, 1947) having been sliced away over the years ... It is easy to say ‘Kashmir hamara hai’ [Kashmir is ours], but for 50 years I have stayed in Delhi and not once have I seen the ‘dard’ [paid] about this hapless and star-crossed state in Delhi and India. Only lip service has been offered instead.”

The second dimension, according to Karan Singh, is the nature of the relationship between the Centre and state, and this is where various sensitivities come into the equation.

As he recounted, “When the Instrument of Accession was signed by Bapuji (Maharaja Hari Singh) in Jammu, he signed off on merely three issues. Under this instrument of accession, Jammu and Kashmir surrendered only three subjects, which was defence, external affairs and communications to the Indian state and earned an assurance from India that the people of Jammu and Kashmir through their own constituent Assembly would draft their own constitution. Which happened.

“I summoned the Constituent Assembly based on the Delhi Agreement between Pandit Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah. The J&K Constitution made by the State Constituent Assembly became law on January 26, 1957 with my signature. Remember, Sheikh Saheb had already been arrested in 1953. Both Article 370 and Article 35A came into existence and they cannot be changed with approval of the J&K Constituent Assembly, which has since been dissolved. A catalogue of items from the Union List were subsequently brought in. While the accession remains undisputed, the relationship between the Centre and state has never been settled. The Centre has its own views, the state’s polity holds diverse views and now new hawkish elements profess a different set of views. The whole thing is up in the air.”

Singh reckoned that the dimension of regional aspirations cannot be ignored for the state now has three clear linguistic and geographical divisions - Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh and these remain un-integrated despite 72 years having passed. The last dimension he expressed concern about was the humanitarian aspect.

-IANS