Saturday 31 May 2014

Kashmir: Article 370

A Kashmiri political leader recently gave a veiled threat that if Article 370 of the Constitution is repealed Kashmir will secede from India. Another Kashmiri political leader said that amnesty should be granted to stone pelters in Kashmir. All this has been shown recently on T.V. screens.

My own view is that whether Article 370 is deleted or not, whether stone pelters are granted amnesty or not, Kashmir ( or any other state in India) must never be allowed to secede from India.
In this connection, it may be pointed out that Article 1(1) of the Indian Constitution states that India is a 'Union of States'. Thus, India is not a confederation but a union of states. Hence no state has a right to secede from it, and the union is indissoluble.

If Kashmir has the right to secede, then Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamilnadu, etc may also claim the same right. What then will happen to India ? It will be broken into pieces. This must never be allowed.
When the southern states of U.S.A. claimed the right to secede, and in 1861 formed their own government (the Confederate States of America) President Abraham Lincoln declared that they will not be allowed to secede, and he went to war on this issue. Similarly, we must never allow any state in India to secede, and must maintain our unity at any cost.

As regards the Kashmir problem, I have said several times that the only solution to the Kashmir problem is reunification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh under a strong, secular, modern minded government which does not tolerate religious extremism of any kind.and works hard to abolish poverty, unemployment, lack of healthcare, good education etc for the masses and raises their standard of living

11 comments:

  1. Justice Katju you have given the example of Kashmir, but you missed out states like USSR, Singapore and so many other countries. Now prime example is Singapore. Singapore merged into Malaysia for a brief period after regaining independence from British. After merging with Malaysia where primary population is Muslims, Chinese Singaporean faced racial discrimination, threats, isolation which led to riots, internal problem and instability. Malaysian Muslims were given priority in government policies like education, jobs and welfare that led to heated argument between Tunku, the rule of Malaysia and Lee Kuan Yew Ex PM of Singapore.

    In 1965 Singapore under leadership of Lee Kuan Yew decided to secede and create their own state Singapore. Today Singapore is one of the most modern and role model society in South East Asia, embarking upon their journey from one of the poorest country to third richest.

    The first principle Lee Kuan Yew declared was that Singapore is an equal society and they would be no riots there. Malaysia soon realized and started following Singapore model in many things. Today 40% of Malaysians work in Singapore.

    Sometimes it is better to break away.India is such a poor country where hunger, poverty, disease is at record level. The army presence at every 10 meter in Kashmir makes their life difficult with neighbors like Pakistan.

    Also Kashmir is disputed territory under UN resolution act which gives them right for plebiscite, can hold referendum as per wishes of Kashmiri and it can join Pakistan or live in India but no option of separate entity. India too is a failed state in terms of abolishing poverty, unemployment, controlling population.

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    1. Yes india is a much more secular country where religious tolerance is high, but its a banana republic where law is not followed and life comes cheap

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    2. Abrogation Of Article 370 Not Possible By Justice Rajindar Sachar countercurrents.org/sachar200514.h… | #Kashmir #India

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    3. Shaikh donot compare singapore issue with kashmir as singapore is a democratic and secular country but u muslims want to make kashmir an islamic country & we have already saw that pak, afg, and bangladesh all are failed states. So i don't think that ur theory will be apply here anymore. Secondly what u all r doing with ur minorities as we can see in pak, afg, bangla nd also in kashmir (with kashmiri pandits) . So do not try to blame on us as we are far better than ur islamic country. The most important point i want to mention here is that kashmir was always a part of India as kashmir is a sanskrit name thus it already shows resemblence with India. I would like to mention here that u all r not belonging to this country but as an immigrant u take lease here to save ur-self from ur cruel islamic people.
      So do not justify ur theories because u do not deserve it. As a refugee u came here and now want to become owner, this cannot be happen here.
      And thirdly but important point is why muslims do not live happily with other religious public? as u can see this in whole world, think over it!

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  2. Sir,the idea of unifying india,pak and bangladesh is a crazy fantasy.The divisions were made long ago and they have only exacerbated in the recent years, although the unification would be the ideal way to overcome the conflicts between the nations on boundary matters,the practicality of such an idea should be checked.

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  3. Well written article. Don't mind the trolls. Sir Katju, I was wondering what is your interpretation of article 368 which basically lends the parliament the legal wherewithal to amend / repeal any law / act (or article) in our constitution.

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  4. The idea of a reunified India, well I do not see a reason for this to fructify. It is a fantasy.
    Imagine the whole of Pakistan and Bangladesh with their fanatic brand of Wahabi Islam merging with India. As it is we have enough problems to confront.confront. Don't you think so?
    Those tow countries borne out of a false and erroneous ideology cannot in anyway blend with democratic or secular ideology.
    As for Art 370, I guess that was another mistake of the leaders during the independence. Perhaps Nehru's yet another blunder.

    But I wonder if the time is ideal now to repeal the Art. 67 years of callousness have alienated Kashmiri Muslims. In this situation the repeal of the Article 370 will be construed as another ploy of the New Delhi Govt.
    The talk of men like Omar Abdulaha f secession in the event of the abrogation of the Art is malarkey and nonsense. What has the Abdullaha Govts done in the past decade and more to integrate the Kashmiri psyche to the Union? At best they have been page boys of the Gandhi family.

    The comments of Mr Samir Shaikh is worth laughing rolling over. Whether he is Pakistani or a disgruntled Indian equating India with a failed nation like Pakistan tells his ignorance or myopia.

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  5. @ muneshwar sharma. It is true Kashmir is a Sanskrit word .My ancestors were pandits and by grace of Almighty Allah u I am now a Muslim .we have abandoned worshipping idols and we believe in unseen superpower God but does that mean we have no right to live in our birth place coz of our religi on. Changing ones religion does not cease ones birth right.

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  6. pakistan and afghanistan are poor, illiterate and crazy countries...we can afford to merge such poor country with our rich india....
    what ever pakistan does after all it eats bread and butter begged from america...

    the turnover of whole karachi stock exchange is much lower than alone reliance industries limited....

    so the idea to unite india-pakistan-afgan is the worst

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  7. pakistan is a begger country....it is almost over economically...its the worst idea to re-unite india and pakistan

    both countries became independent on same time....now look at pakistan...a situation of complete lawlessness...

    and look at india how it progressed....much more ahead than pakistan

    we should wait and watch how pakistan destroys itself...this will going to be true within a short span of time

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