Time to say One Country, One Law
Amidst the flurry of Op-Ed pieces in mainstream (English language) media, suggesting granting Kashmir “complete autonomy (Khushwant Singh) ” or holding a plebiscite (Swaminathan S Aiyar) or a referendum (Vir Sanghvi),  I failed to spot even one Op-Ed suggesting that the answer may lie in scraping Article 370 forthwith.
I believe it is time to say, “One Country, One Law”…and turn Jammu and Kashmir into a normal “State” in the “Union of India”.
This is my 3-point prescription to get out of this mess for good (I do need to think through the consequences in some more detail though):
1. Stop ALL talks with Hurriyat, PDP and other assorted outfits who demand “azaadi”.
2. Stop ALL aid and grants…forthwith (to get an idea of how much money is poured down the drain in Kashmir, read below)
3. Scrap Article 370 and begin an active programme to re-settle and rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits back in the Valley.
Will this work? I don’t know.
Will Madam Gandhi and co. even consider it? Dream on.
By the way, the conclusion of the Op-Eds by Swaminathan Aiyar and Vir Sanghvi are eerily similar.
This is Swaminathan Aiyar:
We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Almost certainly the Valley will opt for independence. Jammu will opt to stay with India, and probably Ladakh too. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.
and this is Vir Sanghvi
I reckon we should hold a referendum in the Valley. Let the Kashmiris determine their own destiny. If they want to stay in India, they are welcome. But if they don’t, then we have no moral right to force them to remain. If they vote for integration with Pakistan, all this will mean is that Azad Kashmir will gain a little more territory. If they opt for independence, they will last for about 15 minutes without the billions that India has showered on them. But it will be their decision. Â
Now to the “juicy” bit…Guess how much money does this “Special State” get? (Courtesy Vir Sanghvi, emphasis mine)
Bihar gets per capita central assistance of Rs 876 per year. Kashmir gets over ten times more: Rs 9,754 per year. While in Bihar and other states, this assistance is mainly in the forms of loans to the state, in Kashmir 90 per cent is an outright grant.
Kashmir’s entire Five Year Plan expenditure is met by the Indian taxpayer.
In addition, New Delhi keeps throwing more and more money at the state: in 2004, the Prime Minister gave Kashmir another $ 5 billion for development.
P.S. Please be alert to MSM efforts to derail the discussion and deflect public attention from
…the ugly game being played with Hindus in Jammu. Instead of calling it by its real name, the media is attempting to metamorphose this into a loss of communal amity in J&K, and its all-India implications fantasy tale. The sooner we recognize this, the better for all of us lest this transform into another version of the Ayodhya agitation, where Hindus were continuously put on the defensive.
Thanks Sandeep.
P.P.S. By the way, I would apply the same argument to have a Uniform Civil Code.
Related Post: If only we were Chinese…Â
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Good points! Fully agree.
On the other hand, letting Kashmir go, may implicitly mean we do not have to subsidize their livelihood! Especially, in these times when prices are spiraling out of control for the “aam admi” in India. The ferocity with which Nehrus family has taken the GDP growth rates back to his times is incredible. They are bringing the economy to a screeching halt.
Dear Sir,
That is the spirit. Let us make it a cause for all Indians.
Just as Gandhi used the phrase QUIT INDIA, let us make this a cause by stating QUIT BREAKING UP INDIA and DELETE ARTICLE 370 from the constitution of INDIA.
Regards,
vck
My thoughts exactly, Shantanu. Well said.
This kid glove treatment needs to stop. Clearly we are not allocating our cash resources in any logical manner.
Now I am genuinely curious to understand how this “asset allocation” across the regions works and what returns are being achieved on these investments from the various states.
Cheers
Ashutosh
The plain old vanilla Marxists masquerading as “liberals” also are trying to sidestep or wish away the “law of precedence” prevalent in the commons law which we follow and also in international relations. If u set a precedent of letting Kashmiri valley muslims go because they just don’t feel like being part of the country what would you say or do if others start demanding the same? There are other secessionist/naxalite movements in the rest of the country some are merely lying dormant for now and others may well be dying out and it is best to let dying dogs die rather than infuse new life into them by getting emotional and indulging in such loose talk like these establishment worthies are doing.
Very good points. Lets find a way how can we do this?
Have been following this closely here in India and the feeling here at large is of indifference…Shantanu you are were right about people in India not worrying about things that dont make difference to their normal life
Saw a chat show yesterday on this topic and the tendency was to put this whole problem to the agitation started by the sangharsh samiti…some one even said that BJP has done what the separatists havent been able to achieve for decades..for once i’m seeing a level of agitation not started by a politcal party but by mass public..BJP seems to have taken a genuine backseat with stray blockades..the separatists have only used this opportunity to drive up the senitments ably supported by Islamabad whose constant commentary on the events is tolerated by India…
…giving away kashmir would be the begining of the end for Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, etc would all be in queue to put up their demands…
…cant help but inclined to put the blame on the non-functional congress govt which has just been an observant….PM and the home minister are personification of how this govt lacks any spine and authority and the sooner it bites dust the better…
Prakash, vck, Ashutosh, Apollo, Indian and Manoj: Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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@ Prakash: Although it is tempting to let Kashmir go to save a few billions of dollars, I am sure you will agree that there is no price one can put on territorial integrity and soveriegnty…I think that the solution lies along the lines suggested by Ashutosh – which is more rational/ balanced allocation of resources.
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@ Manoj: Good point re. the media bias…If this was not such a serious matter, it would be really funny to see how the BJP is dragged into everything!
One of the articles yesterday tried to link the agitation with the riots in Gujarat!
I hate to rely on “conspiracy theories” but the eagerness of mainstream media to pin the blame on Hindus and SASS is too serious to be dismissed (which was picked up by Sandeep and mentioned in the P.S.).
Lest anyone forget the “Sangharsh” (struggle) by “Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti” started ONLY when the land order was revoked by the Congress government led by Sh Azad.
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For all those who are thinking, we will save money etc., kashmir is a part of my motherland; would you kill your family member just because he/she was costing you too much. It does not work this way.
Kashmir is invaluable. It is the land of Shiva and Shakti usurped by jihadis. We have to be thinking of how we will get our lands back instead of giving away land
Reminds me of the story of the two women and baby – fake mother and real mother
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Arundhati has joined the bandwagon too
Big time propaganda war going on in India with massive communist and jihadi infilteration
How much land are Indians going to lose
We lost pakistan, part of kashmir, aksai chin
Just to put it in perspective, kashmir is source of river water in punjab for those who don’t feel a spiritual affinity to it
We have to stop this nonsense. Can we file a lawsuit against these seditionists?
Dear Friends,
I have been thinking of this asset allocation and secessionist viewpoint all day. My thoughts are not very lucid yet but as a start, how about asking anyone who speaks or airs the view that Kashmir should be given up- their response to the following:
” We the people of India have spent X billion dollars to date in Kashmir, we expect a return on investment of Y% and so the net price of Independence/ joining Pakistan (excluding the sweat, blood and tears of millions of people of India) is $Z billion.
This works out to a per head contribution of $abcde for every resident of the Kashmir Valley. So if you want to utter one word about “azaadi” or breaking away to join Pakistan “deposit the money now or forever hold your peace”.
I think erudite commentators like Mr Aiyar and Mr Kushwant Singh should put go for their cheque book first before picking up their pen. Since they feel so passionately about Kashmiris sitting in New Delhi, they should pay a passion premium of 10% extra to the per capita contribution.
On a more sober note- I am thinking whether it is worthwhile analysing the historic GDP growth rates achieved by the various Indian states in the last 5 years and understanding whether Central allocations have been in any way co-related?
It is not the only way to allocate growth capital to the various states and there are many smart economists out there who could come out with a better solution but this type of co-relation chart should not be difficult for the Government to release under the RTI- if a question to this effect could be asked in Parliament.Or is it?
How about getting someone to ask this question and throw the answer for anyone to see. Especially the secularists in the media and in the Lok Sabha- Mr Omar Abdullah included?
I shall then also be curious to know what the GDP growth rate in Gujarat has been and how much central allocations it received in comparison to the another high growth state such as say Tamilnadu.
best
Ashutosh
Oh ! Leave it to this jholawallah brigade and we wont have the Union of India at all.
It is simple, let them pro paki feelers leave India right now, who has stopped them. Just go, hell we been waiting since 1947 for the traitors amongst our ranks to get lost.
Gandhian principles dont work here, people have over played his non violent theories. They were good in 1920’s not now.
What we require is a national will ( which we have) and somebody (like Narendra Modi) to implement it.
All, will be hunky dory then.
I firmly believe that some day 10 to 15 million men will have to march with the Indian army into POK and get it back to us.
The die was cast when Nehru went to the UNO, despite of severe opposition from SV Patel, Nehru planted the seeds of this conflict and we will have to do it.
WE have no choice.
May be of interest.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Uuff! Skeletons have started tumbling out of Cupboard.
http://theprudentindian.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/rajdeep-sardesai-uuff-skeletons-have-started-tumbling-out-of-cupboard/
Yes, there is a hope for new political party if it is headed by you and other members of your calibre. Thats what you are thinking right! Lets make it.
Forward message.
This message from patriotic Bharatiya. PLease forward to others, so that we expose and defeat these Jihadi-terrorist supporting brigades.
—–Inline Attachment Follows—–
Dear Friends:
Everyone has to take immediate action to the following letter written by Angana Chatterji. We have to diffuse this terrorist bomb before it blows and kills innocent people. Otherwise we have to blame ourselves not angana. Forward this to other friends.
Remember the quotation from Albert Einstein “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about itâ€
To know the truth behind Jammu, Kashmir and Amarnath please visit: http://www.supportamarnath.org
Write immediate letter to:
Justice Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner
Dr. Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner
Ms. Gay McDougall, Independent Expert on minority issues
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Regards,
Hindu Human Rights
=====
See, what Commie traitors and their Jihadi-missionary collaborators doing.
–
from
Dr. Angana Chatterji and others
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/August 12, 2008
Justice Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner
Dr. Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner
Ms. Gay McDougall, Independent Expert on minority issues
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Subject: Humanitarian Crisis in Jammu and Kashmir
August 12, 2008
Read here.
http://www.sacw.net/peace/kashmir12Aug08.html
Nishka, Ashutosh, Jiggs, Indian and Bharat: Thanks for the links and sharing your thoughts…
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@ Ashutosh: I will come back on your comment in a day or two.
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@ Indian: Thanks…You should join in some of the discussions re. new political formations that are happening on google groups/offline. I will send you some links.
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@ Bharat: Thanks for the links. I will have a look at them
Dear Sir,
The letter to the Judge by the group is very obvious. In the guise of human rights and abuse they are trying to balkanise India. The Evengilist US is trying to destroy HINDU INDIA, by supporting all Muslim causes in every guise.
The Evangilist Bush could not do anything to destroy Hindu India by encouraging all Evanglists propaganda by even getting the Indian Karnataka Congress Government to host that Rascal Jennings or Benin or some Christian Evangilist of a criminal!
Today these same Human Rights RASCALS will give a call for Kashmir, then they will come to PUNJAB, then MIZORAM, then NAGALAND, then ARUNACHAL PRADESH, then TAMILNADU through the LTTE.
Under the guise of building HUMAN RIGHTS for everybody except HINDUS they will destroy everything. These are the Professors and theoriticians who ran away from INDIA SHAMELESSELY to develop THEMSELVES and gave no thought to the growth of this Country.
They did not behave like the TATAS, AMBANIS, BAJAJ”S or the Indians who BUILT THIS INDIA.
They are all from the middle class still trying to outgrow their MIDDLE CLASSISM.
Give them the boot. Call for their Boycott if they ever come to India. Call for the Ostracism of their families in India.
Let us face it HEAD ON just like the determined Amarnath Shrine Board Samiti. Only now the world is awakening to the 9/11 of the HINDUS of India. It is high time we get rid of this complex and this soft pedalling and await the acceptance of the CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM world.
LET US BE LIKE Shri. MODI. He has stood up to the pressure tactics of the PSEUDOSECULARS.
LET ALL OF US BHARTIYAS NOW STAND UP AND SAY WE ARE ONE and damn the Human Rights which is one sided.
I apologise for writing many words in caps. I had to express my outrage.
Regards,
vck
Arundhati Roy needs a phsyciatrist … and people who think kashmir should be free’d from India .. All should be sent to pakistan..
madam gandhi will better commit suicide then scrap 370… this aint no congress of independence… this is the congress of sonia gandhi margaret alva nd their devotees.
May be of interest.
Undying spirit of Hinduism-I
http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=33&id=10119
Undying spirit of Hinduism-II
http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=33&id=10136
PS. Share opinions, ideas, information, but at the same time ACT.
dear santanu,
thanks for all this information. u r really doing gr8 job.but i want to ask some qustions with all the hindus of india or u can say with all true indian.
who is responsible for all this things? is this fight is really abt j&k only??? are the pro indian ppl only want kashmir? don’t we (the indian ppl) understand there real goal? are we really so fool that we can’t understand wht pro india world want???
i belive the ans is big NO, we do understand wht the other ppl want. then wht is holding us from acting against them? wht is that thing which is holding us to punnish the guilty? why we are so scared to reply ? why we indian are so week that we can’t defend our basic rights? after more then sixty years of freedom we still r developing nation, why we r satisfy with developing nation tag? i want to ask each indian IS OUR WILL OF HOLDING OUR HEAD HIGH IS DEAD??? if no then where is the action for it? we only blam each other for everything, either politician or our custom or our society or comunity or system or many excuess, but never take responsibilty by ourself.we are the one who is faceing this situation and we will have to solve it, if we have to survive.
we indians r already divided with each other in every topic. we all know that british ruled us by divide and rule policy, but we didn’t learnt for our mistake. we hindus are still divided as marathi, gujrati, punjabi,bihari,tamil,etc. does this really matter???? we all say india shd grow, but noone says we will make india grow. i wanna ask each indian can’t we sacrifise our small interest for our country, i m not asking for any gr8 sacrifise or any monatary need, wht i want is that we shd keep our nation INDIA first before our personal interest. untill we don’t have the strong need, strong will to raise india we can’t do anything. we will remain as developing nation untill we all unite. if we can’t learn to make a team how we will win matches.
we have to fight a big world, the war has started long back but we haven’t been in fight till now. the world is against all indian but we indian are still at the feet of world crying for mercy. indians now is the time to wake up .we have to make mind now, we have to fight now, we have to show the world wht indians r capable of,we have to show all the anti indian ppl that hindus/indians notonly had gr8 leaders/myrth in past but still there mothers can give birth to leaders. who are ready to give everything for there country.
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All: Thanks a lot for your comments…The nonsense continues unabated (e.g. see my latest post)
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@ Nishka: Your question re. filing a lawsuit against the seditionists (along the lines of Sanghvi, Arundhati Toy, Aiyar et al) has also been echoed by Subramaniam Swamy:
Thanks to Bharat for the link.
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Ashutosh: Hopefully you had a look at my latest post re. how Jammu has systematically been sidelined/ignored in matters of aid, development and representation…I think it is important to document these facts so that the debate can be based on hard facts rather than wooly terms such as “Kahsmiriyat”
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Jiggs: From the same link above, pl. read this part of Dr Swamy’s statement (emphasis mine):
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vck, Mahesh, parv: Thanks for adding your voice against the nonsense that is being propagated…
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Tarun: I share your sentiments…The blame – broadly speaking – lies within ourselves..Unless Hindus unite and think as Hindus and Bharatiyas first and everything else second, this atrocities, stealth attacks, snide remarks etc will continue and the pseudo-secularl liberals will continue to prosper.
We have to get a voice – and speak as one. Only then there is some hope.
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Bharat: Thanks for the news-item and the link re. the cowardly attack on Swami-ji. To call the attackers “Maoists” does not fool anyone…We hope that the police get the criminals quickly.
Hi Shanatanu,
Please send me the link of google group as you have mentioned above in comment # 14.
Jai Hind!
Dear Friends,
I have so far been a silent spectator to the flurry of emails being exchanged amongst us, only reading them, without taking part.
But on the issue of “ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE”, I have something to say.
I agree that J&K is a part of India and article 370 had no business to be there in the first place, but since it is there, it should be abolished pronto.
But before doing so please consider the folowing:
Many States follow the Sons of the Soil theory in the areas of education and employment,; Maharashtra is brazen about it; Karnataka is quitely implementing it.
In the North Eastern States you cannot buy land unless you have a PRC ( Permanent Residency Certificate) if you are a non Assamese etc. Even if you spend 20 years there, you cannot get PRC for love or money.
Many other state specific discrimination examples are there.
Can we, living in a glass house, afford to throw stones?
Dear Sir,
I agree with you. Let there be a sons of the soil theory and a no-property-for-aliens theory for Kashmir. But demanding secession from India and wanting to join Paskistan are unacceptable. If Kashmir is given freedom, there is no theoretical reason why NE States cannot demand freedom. This strikes at the very root of the concept of the integrity of India. Even to gain independence for India, Mahatma Gandhi had to wage a struggle for decades, and the British finally conceded his demand because India is not part of England and is thousands of miles away and India’s independence in no way endangers the security of Britain. We cannot grant freedom to a state of India like Kashmir just because Geelani demands it. Though his first and last letters are the same as those of Gandhiji, Geelani is no Gandhiji. In fact he is not fit to polish Gandhiji’s chappals. Let there arise a hundred selfish separatists like Geelani and our answer each time should be: yes, development of the region, proper representation in the government, protection and improvement of local culture and traditions, ensuring local interests, but freedom – a loud and stout NO! Unfortunately our PM is neither stout nor loud, and Sonia is more interested in her nasty dynasty than the country and more worried about the name of Indira than that of India.
From “Enemies Within the Borders” by Lalit Koul
It says:
But all aside, I am relieved that Syed Ali Shah Geelani has finally admitted that he, along with hundreds of thousands of his followers, is Pakistani.
So that begs the questions:
What are Geelani and his followers doing in India? Why should Indian taxpayers pay for their pension and security?
It is about time Geelani and his followers bought a one-way ticket to Muzaffarabad and board the Caravan-e-Aman bus and leave India for good. If they are Pakistanis and Pakistan is theirs, they have no business to stay here in India.
Sixty years ago, Indians sacrificed a lot and gave away a large piece of their body and soul to make a new country Pakistan. Millions at that time made their choice and moved to Pakistan. Those who stayed back also made a conscious decision to stay back. And most of them are content and happy. But those who are still in India and for some reason are not happy, should stop whining and go to Pakistan — the country that was created solely for them.
India and Indians will not accept another partition, whatsoever.
I am sure that Indian taxpayers will not even mind paying one last expense, the one-way ticket to Pakistan, for Geelani and his followers. This would be the best investment Indians can make.
Harsh makes a great case for abolishing Article 370:
Excerpts from Second flag of the Republic by Tarun Vijay:
In our republic, which boasts of one nation, one people and one union, we have two flags. One for India and the second for Kashmir.
No one asks why?
…
Whose flag is this any way? They say its Kashmir flag.The Red reminds you of some communist touch, so naturally interwoven. So why don’t our rulers hoist it too in the republic day parade in New Delhi?
A bit red faced,they say it’s just for Kashmir.
So why not Bihar and Uttarakhand and Punjab and please, Tamilnadu too have their seperate flags?
They say Kashmir is special and other states are NOT.
Really?
Why not every state in India is special?
Why not every Indian citizen is equally special?
We, the Indians, the people of India.
Who gave the constitution to themselves on 26th January 1950, hence the republic and the parade for it.
We can’t buy an inch of land in Kashmir because thats special and we are NOT.
There is a provision in the Indian constitution that gives it that special status.And bars the soldiers , who give their life to protect the region, to buy or to get settled down there.The special provision in our constitution, the constitution we are celebrating on 26th January,is called article 370.
It says we are not authorised to be a citizen of Kashmir. But we are Indian citizens.
So what?
The article 370 says, we are not naturally Kashmiri citizens, even if we are Indians.
If we are Indians, we can be Biharis, Tamils or Arunachalis.
But not Kashmiri.
There was a man whose name was Syama Prasad Mookerjee. He died protesting separate provisions for Kashmir. News agency IANS reported recently, “Mukherjee was imprisoned for entering the state without a proper permit in violation of the Article 370. His entry was in protest against the separate constitution, head of the state and flag of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Mukherjee wanted that Jammu and Kashmir be declared as an integral part of India and governed like any other state of the country.â€
Mookerjee(thats how he spelt his name)died mysteriously in a Srinagar jail.
Who cares for such ‘mad’ man, giving life for national integration in its truest sense?
Live peacefully, in your Lutyen’s Bungalow and offer government a constructive cooperation.
That makes life easy, you know.
…the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir…has a separate identity from the Indian constitution and no law that Indian Parliament passes is applied in J&K unless the J&K assembly passes it too and it has the right to overrule Indian parliament and amend or change the contents of the laws passed by the parliament situated at New Delhi.
This link details the preparations that laid the groundwork for the momentous decision of 2019: “The anatomy of Article 370 abrogation: How Modi undid Nehru’s five blunders” by Akhilesh Mishra, August 5, 2023