by A. G. Noorani*
*The author is an eminent Indian scholar and an expert on constitutional issues.
Abstract
The implications of the constitutional coup of 5 August 2019 – “the manipulation, abrogation of articles 35a, 370 and unconstitutional delimitation or trifurcation of the state” – have not been grasped in India or abroad. Narendra Modi has alienated even the Unionists of old. They have lost trust in India. The middle ground is destroyed. Pronouncements by these leaders tell the tale. Both Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti strongly advocate talks with Pakistan. The wall between Unionists and separatists is being dismantled – Author & Editor)
“Laaton ke bhoot baton se nahi mante”, the BJP’s General Secretary Ram Madhav said at Chandigarh on 15 December 2019 during a panel discussion. He was responding to a point made by A.S. Dulat, former Chief of Research & Analysis Wing of the Cabinet Secretariat (India’s external intelligence agency), that the Kashmir problem cannot be solved without talks and negotiations. Madhav added, revealingly, the real definition of “Kashmiriyat” would be “when we see Kashmiri Pandits returning to their homes and hearths.” (The Times of India, 16 December 2019).
Ram Madhav was seconded by the RSS to its political wing, the BJP. He was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emissary for talks with the PDP chief, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s emissary, Haseeb A. Drabu, for negotiations on the formation of a PDP-BJP coalition which brought the BJP into the Valley. Prolonged talks were held in Mumbai and elsewhere. In the agreed document Agenda of Alliance, the BJP won with hands down.
On 19 June 2018 the PDP-BJP coalition fell as the BJP walked out. When the PDP, the National Conference and the Congress agreed to form a coalition, the Governor, Satya Pal Malik, played dirty. He dissolved the State Assembly for fear of a Kashmiri Government assuming power. But he did not hold elections to the Assembly simultaneously with those to the Lok Sabha. Around that time 85 per cent of the electorate boycotted those polls. Incidentally, on 14 November 2014 the then Foreign Secretary (now Foreign Minister), S. Jaishankar, virtually ruled out talks with Pakistan as well.
The implications of the constitutional coup of 5 August 2019 have not been grasped in India or abroad. Abrogation of Article 370 has been the Jan Sangh’s demand since 1951 (BJP is its successor). The slew of its accompaniments reveals the true purpose. Abrogation of Kashmir’s special status meant that it would be reduced to the same status as any other State. But the State was bifurcated. Ladakh was lopped off. Jammu and Kashmir became Union Territories ruled by a Lieutenant-Governor.
The BJP Government has no objection of the “special status” of the North-Eastern States embodied in Article 371 of the Constitution as Union Home Minister Amit Shah said at Guwahati in Assam on 20 February 2020 (The Hindu; 21 February 2020).
Fresh delimitation of Assembly constituencies has long been a part of the BJP’s Jammu unit’s demand. It has planned to capture power as a Hindu party lording over the Muslim Kashmiri by a 35 + 9 formula – 35 from Jammu and Ladakh and 9 from the Kashmir Valley – with New Delhi’s help, of course. In his Independence Day (15 August 1947) speech Modi announced that the election to the Union Territory’s assembly would be held after the delimitation of constituencies.
Here are some statistics. There are 22 Districts in J&K. Jammu and Kashmir Census Data – Jammu, Chinab Valley and Pir-Panchal.
Jammu Division
Total population : 5378539
Hindus : 3364616 = 62.55%
Muslims : 1799232 = 33.45%
Jammu District
| District | Total Popula- tion | Hindus | %age | Muslims | %age | Sikhs | %age |
| Kathua | 616435 | 540063 | 87.61% | 64234 | 10.42% | ||
| Udhampur | 554985 | 489044 | 87.61% | 59771 | 10.76% | ||
| Reasi | 314667 | 153896 | 48.90% | 156275 | 49.66% | ||
| Jammu | 1529958 | 1289240 | 84.26% | 107489 | 7.02% | ||
| Samba | 318898 | 275311 | 86.33% | 22950 | 7.19% | ||
| Total | 3334943 | 2747554 | 82.38% | 410719 | 12.31% |
Pur-Panchal Districts
| District | Total Popula- tion | Hindus | %age | Muslims | %age | Sikhs | %age |
| Poonch | 476836 | 32604 | 6.83% | 431279 | 90.44% | ||
| Rajouri | 642415 | 221880 | 34.53% | 402879 | 62.71% | ||
| Total | 1119251 | 254484 | 22.73% | 834158 | 74.52% |
Chinab Valley Districts
| District | Total Popula- tion | Hindus | %age | Muslims | %age | Sikhs | %age |
| Doda | 409936 | 187621 | 45.76% | 220614 | 53.81% | ||
| Ramban | 283713 | 81026 | 28.55% | 200516 | 70.67% | ||
| Kishtwar | 230696 | 93931 | 49.71% | 133225 | 57.74% | ||
| Total | 924345 | 362578 | 39.22% | 554355 | 59.97% |
Jammu and Kashmir-III Ladakh (Leh and Kargil)
| District/ Hill Council | Total Popula- tion | Hindus | %age | Muslims | %age | Bud- dhist | %age |
| Leh | 133487 | 22882 | 17.14% | 19057 | 14.27% | 88635 | 66.39% |
| Kargil | 140802 | 1031 | 7.34% | 108239 | 76.87% | 20126 | 14.29% |
| Total | 274289 | 33223 | 12.11% | 127296 | 46.40% | 108761 | 39.65% |
The Kashmir Valley is predominantly Muslim. Jammu has some Muslim-majority districts. But the BJP’s long-aired plan is trifurcation Buddhist Ladakh, Hindu Jammu and Muslim Kashmir. Large parts of Jammu have Muslim majority. The Times of India reported on 23 March 2020: “The Centre has decided to complete the delimitation exercise in Jammu & Kashmir within a year which is likely to increase the number of seats in the Jammu region, adding to its clout in the Union Territory’s legislation.
“The Centre had notified constitution of the delimitation commission headed by former SC judge Justice Ranjan Desai to redraw the assembly and parliamentary constituencies of J&K as per the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019. After abrogation of Article 370, the state was carved into two separate UTs of J&K and Ladakh, the former with a legislature.
“According to the J&K Reorganisation Act, seven seats are to be added to the present 85 in J&K. Azad Kashmir with 24 allotted seats will remain untouched. At present, Kashmir region has 46 seats and Jammu 37, besides two nominated members.
“The delimitation commission, which will simultaneously undertake similar exercise in the four northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur, will distribute assembly constituencies as per the 2011 Census. The Jammu region, which saw large scale migration from the militancy-hit Kashmir since 1990s, will have more representatives in the new legislature.
“Hindu-dominated Jammu region saw an influx of both Muslim and Hindus fleeing the Valley after armed militancy broke out in 1989. However, if more seats are allotted to the Jammu region based on population, each constituency will have a mix of voters unlike Kashmir.
“The 24 seats in Azad Kashmir will not be considered in “reckoning the total membership of the assembly” and will remain vacant. They will be excluded in the delimiting exercise. The total assembly seats after delimitation will go up from 107 to 114. The exercise will also lead to a number of reserved constituencies based on Scheduled Caste and scheduled Tribe settlements.”
At present Kashmir has 46 seats and Jammu 37. Vijaita Singh of The Hindu reported, “A senior Home Ministry official said the unique provision for J&K was enabled through an amendment introduced in the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Act passed by parliament on August 6 bifurcated the State of J&K into the Union Territories of J&K (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature). The J&K Assembly was dissolved in November 2018 and the region has been under Central rule since June 2018.
“As per the 2011 Census, the population in the Kashmir region is 68, 88, 475. In Jammu 53,78,538 and in Ladakh 2,74,289.
“As per a government answer in the Lok Sabha last year, there are 37,33,111 voters in the Jammu division, 40,10,971 in Kashmir and 1,79,147 voters in Ladakh in undivided J&K. Delimitation was last done in J&K in 1995.
“Section 63 was introduced in the J&K Reorganisation Act so that the delimitation exercise can be conducted smoothly without overlapping with other provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act, 2002. It is a saving clause and since J&K is a UT, it now has constitutional safeguards. The provision did not require any separate legislation as it was incorporated in the primary Act”, the official said.
“Section 63 (special provisions as to readjustment of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies) says that “until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published”, it shall not be necessary to readjust the constituencies and any reference to the “latest census figures” shall be construed as a reference to the 2011 census figures.
“On 17 February 2020, on a request by the Legislative Affairs Department of the Lawand Justice Ministry, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora nominated Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as his nominee to the proposed Delimitation Commission for J&K. The Act says the number of seats in the Assembly would be increased from 107 to 114. The full Delimitation Commission is yet to be appointed.
“The delimitation will be done for 90 seats as 24 seats fall in Azad Kashmir. The exercise will take at least a year to complete. Till then, no elections can be held.” (1 March 2020).
Modi and his minions have repeatedly declared that the 5 August 2019 arrangement is a temporary affair. On 14 March 2020, for instance, he told a delegation of Kashmiri leaders led by one Altaf Bukhari, that statehood would soon be restored to J&K (The Times of India; 15 March 2020). Then why the interlude of a constitutional outrage, repression and the rush? There was, surely some purpose. It was to erase the Kashmiri identity and its history and reconstitute its politics.
Altaf Bukhari, a former Minister in the PDP Government is one of the richest politicians in Kashmir. He floated the Apni Party and certified that Modi’s “heart beats for the people of J&K”. No wonder he is regarded as Uncle Tom and his party, the King’s Party. Obviously neither use of force nor the legal remedy can help; judging by experience of the latter. Force is purely destructive. The remedy is political mobilization. But this is what the Modi regime is out to prevent and crush.
There are at present three forces operating in Kashmir besides, of course, the might of the State. One is militancy. A report filed on 15 February 2020 stated that “for the first time since 2000, the number of local militants killed in the Valley in 2018 was significantly higher than the number of foreign militants shot dead by security forces” (Indian Express; 19 February 2020).
But militants in Kashmir are nowhere as powerful as those in Nagaland. Yet the latter could do no more than compel New Delhi to talk. The Army Chief General, Manoj Mukund Narvane’s claim that peace was returning to the Valley after 5 August 2019 is pure moonshine (Hindustan Times; 4 June 2020). A day after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed in Parliament that everything was normal in Kashmir there was a complete shutdown of shops and business establishments in Srinagar (Tribune; 22 November 2019). The former Army Chief and now Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Bipin Rawat, correctly diagnosed the disease but only to prescribe an absurd cure.
“What we saw in Kashmir, we saw radicalization happening. Today we are seeing radicalization being undertaken even amongst young people. Girls and boys as young as 10-12 are now being radicalized. These people can still be isolated from radicalization in a gradual way, but there are people who have been completely radicalized. These people need to be taken out separately and possibly taken into some deradicalization camps,” the General said.
“We have deradicalization camps going on in our country”. Gen. Rawat said radicalization was happening in schools, universities, religious places and other sites. “First we need to get to the nerve of who is radicalizing people.” He and others like him should ask what drives people to take up the gun. What drove Prof. Dr. Mohammed Rafi Bhat of Kashmir University to join the Hizbul Mujahideen and embrace death?
This writer has seen with his own eyes, soldiers on rooftops of homes in rural areas while driving to Kupwara in 2008. In the evenings, I was told, many make themselves comfortable in the homes below. The Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says “No soldier shall, in times of peace be quartered in any house…” Reports of systematic human violations of human rights documented by Kashmiri activists and international bodies are common. The J&K Public Safety Act, 1948 virtually invites its own abuse. Police dossiers made to justify detentions make one laugh: Mehbooba Mufti is called “Daddy’s girl” and Omar Abdullah of “radical methodology” and of “capacity to influence people” which every politician would love to possess. Amnesty International’s Report on PSA entitled “Tyranny of a Lawless Law” (2019) published by its Indian Section in Bangalore has documented Kashmiri activists like Khurram Parvez and Pervez Imroz of the J&K Coalition of Civil Society who have rendered high service. So has the Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons. These have been able reports by a good few Indian organization.
The Hindu of 21 May 2019 reported that India will no longer respond to UN Rapporteurs on human rights. All this and more can and should be used by Kashmiris to expose wrongs.
Interestingly, Indian reaction to criticisms in the US has been mild. A Bill in the House of Representatives (HR 1865) asked India to “reverse its course in Kashmir” in December 2019. The European Union has been critical as well.
Who in Kashmir will take up this cause bar the activists? The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is dead. It flourished only so long as Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Abdul Ghani Lone saw eye to eye. They ceased to do so. Lone was assassinated. Recently Geelani, now in poor health, resigned from the Joint Resistance League comprising of Geelani, Maulvi Umar Farooq and the ailing Yasin Malik of the JKLF who is behind bars in New Delhi.
Repression is rife. Opposition candidates are being harassed. A leading English daily has suffered gravely. Kashmir Life, a weekly published and edited by an outstandingly able journalist Masood Hussain, soldiers along. Its virtue is that it lives up to its name. It covers all facets of Kashmiri society – politics, literacy, economics, social and the rest. It is profusely illustrated and fiercely independent.
This leaves us with the third and last check – the People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration formed by its six constituents on 7 November 2020. It decided on that day to contest the current election to the District Development Councils. The alternative was to abstain and leave the field open to the BJP. In the 1960s the Plebiscite Front had decided to contest elections but was prevented from doing so by all, including a servile Election Commission. The six constituents are, the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the People’s Conference, the People Movement and the Awami National Conference.
What binds them is the historic Gupkar Declaration of 4 August 2019 on the eve of New Delhi’s Coup. It said: “1. That all the parties would be United in their resolve to protect and defend the identity, autonomy and special status of the JK against all attacks and onslaughts whatsoever. 2. That modification, abrogation of articles 35a, 370, unconstitutional delimitation or trifurcation of the state would be an aggression against the people of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. 3. That the parties participating in the meeting resolved to seek audience with the President and Prime Minister of India and the leaders of other political parties to apprise them of the current situation and make an appeal to them to safeguard the legitimate interests of the people of the state with regard to constitutional guarantees given to the state the constitution of our country. They will also apprise them of the unwholesome consequences bound to follow the unconstitutional violation of these guarantees. The representatives of the political parties resolved to remain together and stand united in their struggle for safeguarding identity autonomy and special status of the state.”
From Nehru to Modi, India has ignored one crucial factor, the will of the people. Modi is out to dismantle Shaikh Muhammad’s legacy and erase the peoples’ memories. The title of Sher-e-Kashmir is being chopped from awards, medals and buildings, including the International Convention Centre which he built.
The result is that Narendra Modi has alienated even the Unionists of old. They have lost trust in India. The middle ground is destroyed. Pronouncements by these leaders tell the tale. Both Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti strongly advocate talks with Pakistan.
Recent statements by Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar reveal the depth of the bitterness and give us an insight into Kashmir’s recent history. I note them in extenso, starting with an interview of Farooq Abdullah taken by Peerzada Ashiq for The Hindu on 24 August 2020 and updated on 25 August 2020. Excerpts from the Interview are as follows:
“As National Conference president Farooq Abdullah takes the lead by rallying parties around the Gupkar Declaration to revive politics in J&K, which has by and large remained suspended after 5 August last year, he speaks of the bitter past and the tough future ahead:
Two political events — on August 9, 1953 and August 5, 2019 — have reshaped J&K’s course. Are there any parallels?
9 August 1953 was the first blow to the autonomy of the State. My father was arrested and was taken to the Udhampur Palace.
Our own Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers have betrayed the people. The erosion of Article 370 had taken place by our own people. Delhi was behind it but we were the instrument of theirs to do that. This time, the change was that they did not find our people to betray. They tried with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but couldn’t do it. That is why this lady [PDP president Mehbooba Mufti] is suffering as they want to punish her. Yes, they tried to persuade a splinter group of the PDP to implement changes on the ground. They failed. Thus they took this thing [revoking J&K’s special status] to Parliament and their own Governor, with no Assembly or Chief Minister to back it. The people governing Delhi believe in no Constitution. I am sure one day if they have their way, they will throw the Constitution into Ganga or Jamuna. There is every possibility. These fascists can do anything.
Do you regret the decision to return to politics in 1996 on the persuasion of New Delhi at a time when J&K was facing the peak of militancy?
We sought guarantees from the Prime Minister of the day, P.V. Narasimha Rao. On the floor of Parliament, he announced that “we will restore autonomy of the State to the sky, sky is the limit but no freedom or azaadi”. We never asked for azaadi but for our rights to be returned. He promised. It’s on that promise [that] I went to the polls and carried people with me. I was in London when Delhi sent me an emissary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the CPI (M), to see me. Before that George Fernandes came to see me and kept on telling me that the State is going downhill… I said I will come but first we will have to talk to the PM. Let him listen to us. Our senior colleagues met the PM and pointed out how it was for (NC founder) Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah that J&K close for India because we have Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists. I never thought I would be repaid in the fashion. I always thought they would increase our degree of autonomy. We never revolted against India. My people died holding the tricolor. Did they realize this before they did August 5? Who was here in 1996? Was the BJP here or any party? I was alone.
How were you treated during your detention?
I was treated like a criminal. That I am a thief and the three families have looted the place. That I am a terrorist. I wonder whether I would have been better off as a terrorist. It reminds me of an English saying “I wish I had served my lord more than I served the king, this would not have been my fate”. I wish I could have served my people better and thought of them…”
“…Did you meet former RAW chief A.S. Dulat as Delhi’s emissary during detention?
Yes. He came to see me and he must have been sent by them to see whether I have come down, I have compromised and if I was ready for this or that. He had lunch with me. I said no. He later gave an interview, which they didn’t expect him to do. That exposed them that they gave him a special plane. I don’t think they talk to him anymore….”
“…People are accusing you of changing the goal post from the restoration of pre-1953 position to pre-August 5 position.
The National Conference (NC) stands for pre-1953 position and the Gupkar Declaration stands for 4 August 2019. The NC’s fight will continue for that…”
“…The Lt. Governor’s administration claims a number of development projects are under way in J&K for the first time.
“The L-G sits in the palace and his great advisers click pictures of meeting with people. Could they show guts to go and meet ordinary people in a village or go to Jamia Masjid without security bandobast and with every street blocked? They are living in the cuckoo world.”
The following are excerpts from ‘The Times of India’article,updated on 24 September 2020, titled: “Kashmiris don’t feel they’re Indian: Farooq”.
“Responding to a question in an interview to TV anchor and journalist Karan Thapar on the mood in the Valley, Abdullah said, “To be honest, I wonder whether they (government) will find someone who will call himself an Indian…You go and talk to anybody they don’t want to know, not Pakistanis let me be very clear about it, but they don’t feel Indian and us who have to speak, wonder whether we will survive…”
“…He claimed there are security personnel in every street carrying AK-47. “Where is the freedom?” he asked.”
Responding to government claims of how people are happy with the current situation and there are no protests, Abdullah said, “How can you have protests when you have soldiers in every street? You remove the soldiers, there will be protests.” He alleges that the PM deliberately deceived him in August 2019, but he will fight to restore the dignity of Kashmiris.
The following are excerpts from an interview of Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah by Ramesh Vinayak.
Omar: “I agree that we are on the losing side of public opinion. In J&K, we are losers because we are mainstream political operatives.” We lose out elsewhere as well for being the proponents of special status. Article 370 has never been explained in its correct context to the rest of the country. It was always seen as a barrier to buying land in J&K. That is not the nuts and bolts. There are still parties that lend their voice to us, particularly the Left, DMK, and TMC. Would I like to see more? Yes. But we take what we can get…”
“…There is a sense that the August 5 move has constricted political space for mainstream political parties in Kashmir.
Farooq: Mainstream parties were always taken by the people of Kashmir to be mouthpieces of Delhi. They always thought they are not a part of us and they don’t stand by our emotions. This is so even today. When we (NC) fought the 1996 assembly elections, on what basis did we fight? Narasimha Rao Ji, as Prime Minister, had on the floor of Parliament promised us that sky is the limit and there is no azadi. We never asked for azadi, but we wanted back what has been taken away from us. Where was the BJP at that time? Where was any other party except Farooq Abdullah’s NC. We lost our workers and ministers because they were standing by the nation. But did the nation stand with us?…”
Farooq: “…You have lost the hearts of the people. It will be difficult for a political party to just accept that statehood has been restored and, therefore, you’re alright…”
Omar: “… It’s a much bigger fight. Statehood is one part of what was done on August 5. Therefore, when you trap us into this argument about statehood, you try and give this impression as if once statehood is done, everything else will be forgotten. How can that be?
“Domicile is one part. What about the representative character of the government? We are still a Muslim-majority state. Please look at the make-up of our administration today. Your LG is non-Muslim; chief secretary non-Muslim; DGP non-Muslim; both your divisional commissioners are non-Muslims; both your IGs of police non-Muslims; the chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court is non-Muslim; the rest of the high court bench, barring two judges, are all non- Muslims. How many of your deputy commissioners and SPs posted in Kashmir today are Kashmiri-speaking? It may appear minor, but please understand these are the issues that resonate with people. We don’t play the religious card, but when there is such a severe communal imbalance, there will be resentment…”
“…How do you look at the new formation, Apni Party?
Omar: Political space is open to everybody. Aaiye apni kismet azamayiye (Come, try your luck). Who stops anybody from trying?…”
“…How has the August 5 move impacted your personally?
Farooq: I felt betrayed as a man who stood for the nation. Friends on the other side (Pakistan) hated us. For them, we were slaves or mouthpieces of India. The only thing that mattered to them is the Hurriyat. If anything gave me strength. It was the Quran. I will fight till my last breath.
Omar: I’m bitter and less trusting. I used to be cautiously optimistic, now I’m pessimistic than even realistic. I don’t care that I spent eight months in detention. It’s not a big deal in a life of 50 years. The betrayal with J&K is far deeper. It’s betrayal of an idea of the relationship between J&K and India that was crafted by far greater minds. It is difficult to reconcile. We are still trying to come to terms. I don’t know if we ever will.”
The following are excerpts from an article written by Arun Sharma and published in The Indian Express on 7 November 2020:
“I am 85, but I am still young, will not sleep until get back for the people their rights. And once that happens, I will go,” “Farooq told a gathering of party workers at Sher-i-Kashmir Bhawan in Jammu seen as a BJP stronghold. “I do not pelt stones, but we will fight for our identity,” he said. “We have fought, we will fight, and we will win…”
“…NC vice-president Omar Abdullah accused the BJP of cheating the people of Jammu, too, by taking away the safeguards earlier available to them with respect to jobs and land. “By doing so, they have taken revenge on the people for not helping them win 45 seats in 2014 Assembly polls,’’ Omar said.
“He said, “Today even our land is not secure. We always said that the road to Kashmir passes through Jammu. Whosoever comes to buy land here will first come to Jammu.
“Pointing out that Haryana has secured 75 per cent jobs for locals, Omar said, “But when we ask for that, we are called anti-nationals. You will not let us buy land in Himachal Pradesh, have jobs in Haryana, but similar laws in J&K hurts you.”
“He said the BJP criticizes Article 370 and 35-A even though these were provisions made in the Indian Constitution, and “not that of Pakistan’s”.”
In an interview to Suhasini Haider and Peerzada Ashiq (Published in The Hindu on 28 July 2020), Omar Abdullah said:
“Why are they trying to create an atmosphere where Kashmiris feel forced to come out and protest? And if Kashmiris have accepted the decision, why is the government still banning 4G Internet? Every day we hear of youngsters joining militant ranks…. Just because you cannot see protests don’t confuse it to mean there is no anger and a sense of hurt that prevails over what happened on August 5…”
“…They have made the point that people were happy to see National Conference leaders behind bars…
I won’t disagree. The BJP through its actions has done more to destroy mainstream politics than any separatist or militant organization has been able to do since 1989-90. We were reduced to objects of ridicule. People said [Farooq Abdullah] was served right for saying ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. They said Mehbooba Mufti and I were being served right for putting down protests in 2010 and 2016.
“We stood with the nation, and we were ridiculed for standing with the nation.
“Instead of patting themselves on the back, BJP leaders should be worried that this is the sentiment towards mainstream leaders, and there’s no space left for mainstream leaders…”
The wall between Unionists and separatists is being dismantled. Modi and Amit Shah’s rage at the Gupkar Alliance reveals their dread of Kashmiri nationalism.
