Shah In Hurry To Recover Loss From His Statement On Ambedkar

The Home Minister’s assertion that Jammu and Kashmir is now becoming a terror-free State is not supported by the fact. Incidents of terror attacks are common, and the forces have lost several soldiers in combat.

Home Minister Amit Shah seems to be in a hurry to recover from the loss he has suffered from his statement on Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Parliament. A restlessness has gripped him. He wants to distract his opponents from the issue of disrespect to Baba Saheb and bring up issues that might divert the opposition's attention. His recent statement on Article 370 is one of these diversionary tactics. His statement might comfort people driven by the ideology of Hindutva and confuse many others about nationalism. His ideas only reflect a distorted view of nationalism propagated by his mentor, the RSS. It has weakened the country's unity in the past and will do the same in the future.

Shah says, “Articles 370 and 35A were obstacles, preventing Kashmir from being fully integrated with our country. Article 370 had sowed the seeds of separatism in the minds of the youth of the Kashmir Valley.”

He said that Article 370 created the misconception that the connection between India and Kashmir was temporary, which sowed the seeds of separatism that eventually turned into terrorism.

The Home Minister questions why terrorism has not arisen in many parts of the country that have significant Muslim populations. He says that States like Gujarat and Rajasthan also share borders with Pakistan, yet terrorism did not emerge there.

He stresses that Article 370 is the main source of trouble in Jammu and Kashmir, and it has resulted in the killings of thousands of people. He laments it has left the State behind in the race for development.

Shah also accuses the previous government of remaining a silent spectator while terrorism wreaked havoc in the region.

Is this a correct reading of history? Does it not show the inability of the government to generate any new ideas to get to the root of the discontent in Jammu and Kashmir? Shah’s understanding of the issue is too flawed to generate any hope of reconciliation in the strife-torn region. It is the best form of escapism. His assertion is not only a denial of the real issue but also a huge distortion of history. Kashmir is one of the two Muslim-majority provinces, the other being the North West Frontier Province, that refused to bow down to the leadership of Jinnah and the Muslim League. The League could not penetrate into both the provinces. The Kashmir came to India, and the NWFP had to join Pakistan after the division of Punjab because it was not aligned to Indian borders. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan’s departure from India is one of the most painful events in the story of the Partition. A stoic Gandhi remained restless in the night before their parting away. Gaffar Khan was all tearful when he saw him the last time. The BJP and the RSS have been trying to trivialize the Kashmir issue by making Article 370 the central issue.

He conveniently forgets the role of Sheikh Abdullah in rejecting Jinnah, the League, and Pakistan. His volunteers fought with the Indian Army to dispel the Pakistan-sponsored attack on Kashmir. He also forgets that when Mahatma Gandhi visited Kashmir in the first week of August 1947, he was over-whelmed by the communal harmony in the valley, which had Muslims as over 80 percent of its population. He saw a beacon of light in Kashmir in an otherwise communally divided India. It was Maha-raja Hari Singh who avoided Gandhi. Sheikh’s family and his supporters, along with the people of the valley, welcomed Gandhi with all vigor and enthusiasm.

Both Articles 370 and 35A were products of the Dogra rule in Kashmir. We must not forget that the Maharaja was trying to remain independent with the help of the British and other international powers. However, he could not manage it. The complicated situation and Hari Singh’s insistence on more and more autonomy resulted in India’s agreeing to Article 370. It was an arrangement to legalize the accession of Jammu and Kashmir and to secure public consent. Its abrogation has destroyed the process. Instead of easing the process, they have made it more complicated.

The Home Minister’s assertion that Jammu and Kashmir is now becoming a terror-free State is not supported by the fact. Incidents of terror attacks are common, and the forces have lost several soldiers in combat.

Shah’s statement did not come from an election rally. The media has failed to take notice of its origin. The Home Minister was speaking at a function to release a book on Kashmir edited by the chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research. The National Book Trust has published the book. Many other organizations that were earlier known for their contribution to the enhancement of knowledge and learning, have now been reduced to propaganda organs of the RSS and the BJP. Similarly, the ICHR, which has once been headed by noted historians, has now been involved in rewriting history in consonance with the ideology of Hindutva. Both organizations have their roots in the post-colonial environment of secular and democratic India. We can see the fate of the Archaeological Survey of India. The organization that has such exemplary excavations as Harappa and Mohenjodaro to its credit, and which has discovered relics of Buddha and empires of Chandragupta Maurya and Asoka the Great, is now surveying mosques in north India for supposed devastated temples.

The ASI has been struggling for funds to keep its work of conservation on. It is unable to excavate important places across the country. The ICHR is facing a similar situation. But both organizations are aggressively pursuing the RSS agenda of rewriting the history. They could have made this agenda more sophisticated had they concentrated on discovering many unattended corners of regional history. They are not only damaging the social and political fabric but are also destroying the spirit of inquiry.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)