The graceful transition of energy in Jammu & Kashmir, with Omar Abdullah taking the oath as Chief Minister of the Union Territory, heralds a imaginative and prescient of ‘Naya Kashmir’. The time period will not be alien to the historical past of the 92-year-old Jammu & Kashmir Nationwide Convention (NC), which is again on the helm in Srinagar with a transparent majority.
One of many first acts of the brand new well-liked authorities was to move a decision for the restoration of statehood. It acquired post-haste approval from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Joshi. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is more likely to journey to New Delhi now to hunt the Prime Minister and Union Residence Minister’s endorsement—marking a quick transition of normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir.
In 1944, the social gathering adopted a Left-oriented manifesto for financial emancipation that encompassed visions for training, girls’s rights, communication, and well being, aiming for equitable growth throughout all areas of Jammu & Kashmir. This manifesto was handed over as a memorandum of protest in the course of the period of the erstwhile Princely Dogra State, dominated by Maharaja Hari Singh. The ‘Naya Kashmir manifesto’ was drafted by B.P.L. Bedi, a Sikh who’s now higher recognised as the daddy of worldwide actor Kabir Bedi.
Following accession to India in 1947, the NC authorities, led by Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, whose social gathering image, the plough, is emblazoned on a pink flag, carried out agrarian reforms in Jammu & Kashmir in 1950. This abolished land-ownership according to the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, which was enacted two years later, in 1952, all through the remainder of India. Tenancy legal guidelines had been made extra beneficial to small farmers, leading to decreased poverty in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Sheikh was the second Muslim chief after Kamal Atatürk of Turkey to abolish Purdah for ladies—a transfer that has been undermined by Pakistan-inspired extremists since 1989. The imaginative and prescient of Naya Kashmir has been obscured by terrorism since 1989; now there’s hope for its revival.
Naya Kashmir 2.0
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s insurance policies since August 5, 2019, are seen as makes an attempt at making a Naya Kashmir 2.0, which might contain integrating the geographical entity of Jammu & Kashmir into the nationwide mainstream and offering equal rights to all, together with migrants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The abolition of the ‘short-term and transient’ Articles 370 and 35A has granted common voting rights and possession entitlements to all residents of India—rights that had been beforehand confined to the ‘state topics of J&Okay’ earlier than 5 August 2019.
In step with the 1944 Naya Kashmir manifesto, an omnibus financial and social reform package deal has been carried out over the previous 5 years underneath the President’s Rule, negating anti-India sentiment, as mirrored within the excessive voter turnout throughout latest elections. Campaigning continued until midnight, contrasting with the political campaigns from 1989 to 2019, which had been restricted to sunlight hours as a result of looming concern of violence.
Naya Kashmir 2.0 acquired a landmark breakthrough as Omar Abdullah took his oath. In 2009, when he was final sworn in as Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, he affirmed his true religion and allegiance to ‘the Structure of the state as by legislation established’. In 2016, Mehbooba Mufti swore allegiance to the ‘Riyasati Aayām’ (state statute). On October 16, when he took workplace—marking the sixth time a member of the Abdullah household has been sworn in as CM of the Union Territory—he pledged allegiance to ‘the Structure of India, as by legislation established’.
A Mature Begin
Omar Abdullah has initiated decisive steps to keep away from confrontation with the Union Authorities and its consultant, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. His INDIA bloc ally, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP), recommended throughout a thank-you rally in Jammu’s Doda that Omar may seek the advice of him on ‘the right way to run a half authorities’.
Omar ignored Kejriwal’s suggestion, stating to the media, “How does getting right into a struggle with the Lieutenant Governor from Day One assist me handle the issues of the voters?” NC’s Srinagar MP, Ruhullah Mehdi, reminded the AAP supremo that the NC requires no prodding from his social gathering, which had supported the abrogation of Article 370.
Omar referred to Modi as ‘an honourable gentleman’ who had promised in Parliament that statehood can be restored to J&Okay at an applicable time—thus extending an olive department to the Centre. He has categorically said that the NC is ‘setting apart’ its demand for the restoration of Article 370 to a ‘future date, when a brand new authorities is in energy on the Centre’—signalling that looking for cooperation, fairly than participating in confrontation, will probably be his strategy. This can be a lesson that maybe the AAP may study from the NC, and probably additionally one for Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to replicate upon.
Omar’s mature strategy paid off when Lt Governor Sinha signed on the dotted line to approve the restoration of statehood. His resolution to de-hyphenate statehood from Article 370 might show decisive in the long term.
The Debate On Article 370
The abolition of Article 370 has been a core agenda for the BJP since its inception because the Bharatiya Jan Sangh on October 21, 1951. Its clarion name, ‘ek desh mein do vidhan, do nishan nahin chalega‘, focused each Article 370 and the separate Jammu & Kashmir flag. It took 68 years to implement this agenda. The NC’s resolution to bide its time on its demand for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A is geared toward a long-term perspective—it’s unlikely to have an effect on the governance of J&Okay at present. This maturity on the a part of the NC needs to be reciprocated by the BJP; the state unit of the social gathering should not create roadblocks for Modi-Shah’s Naya Kashmir 2.0.
The elections of 2024 haven’t solely marked a triumph for the NC but in addition an assertion for the BJP, which polled 25.64%, attaining its highest-ever tally of 29 seats (all from Jammu), whereas the NC, with 23.43%, gained 75% of the seats within the Kashmir Valley (35) and 7 seats from Jammu. Congress, with 11.97%, has recorded its worst-ever tally of six seats. Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Social gathering has been decreased to 3 seats, whereas Sajjad Lone’s Individuals’s Convention and Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Social gathering have been worn out.
On October 8, whereas addressing triumphant BJP staff on the social gathering’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg headquarters, Modi prolonged his felicitations to the NC. On October 16, the Prime Minister congratulated Omar Abdullah on his swearing-in and posted on ‘X’: ‘Wishing him the easiest in his efforts to serve the folks. The Centre will work intently with him and his crew for J&Okay’s progress.’ Omar responded on X, saying, ‘My colleagues and I stay up for working along with you to supply the folks of J&Okay with an efficient, environment friendly, and sincere administration.’ Naya Kashmir 2.0 has been launched with fervour.
A Effectively-Balanced Method
Quickly after the outcomes had been introduced, the NC solidified its place by approaching Congress rebels who had gained, thus garnering the assist of 5 Impartial MLAs and growing its power to 47 in a Home of 90. It additionally enjoys the surface assist of six Congress MLAs, and one every from AAP and CPM, successfully holding 55 out of 90 seats.
Omar has said that the emotions of the Jammu area will probably be revered; thus, regardless of the overwhelming variety of MLAs from the Kashmir division, three of the six ministers sworn in are from the Jammu area. Kejriwal’s plea for his sole MLA to be included was ignored. Though Congress is making an attempt to take the ethical excessive floor by stating it is going to be part of the federal government solely after statehood is restored, Omar’s deliberate avoidance of sharing a platform with Rahul Gandhi suggests he’s more likely to keep away from Congress’s abrasive politics so as to construct bridges with the Centre.
At no level did the NC share Congress’s doubts concerning the equity of the ballot course of. The J&Okay polls are a slap within the face for these doubting the integrity of the Election Fee of India.
Hopefully, the worst is now behind J&Okay. No effort needs to be spared in attaining Naya Kashmir 2.0—with the current imaginative and prescient and an 80-year-old legacy woven in.
(Shubhabrata Bhattacharya is a retired editor and a public affairs commentator)
Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the writer