Just International

Letters – Jammu & Kashmir voters have their say

By Nikhilesh Giri

I HAVE seen the article titled “Kashmir: The world should stand up” published in theSun on Sept 22. The article has been authored by Dr Chandra Muzaffar, president of JUST, Malaysia.

I am constrained to say that the article is misinformed, misleading and lacks objectivity, particularly since it provides an excuse for terrorism and seeks dismemberment of a sovereign nation.

In this context, I would like to flag three specific points:
(i) The state of Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. Democratic elections have been regularly held in the state, including in 2014 on the last occasion, where the people of Jammu & Kashmir have exercised their right of franchise in a free and fair manner to elect their representatives to the Jammu & Kashmir State legislature and the Parliament of India.
(ii) The recent upsurge in violence and terrorist activities in the state of Jammu & Kashmir is fomented by forces from across the border to disrupt peace and development activities in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The people of the state have demonstrated commendable resilience in the face of disturbance.
(iii) Indian security forces have exercised maximum restraint in dealing with the violence that has been instigated from across the border.

The Government of India appreciates the understanding shown by the international community towards the difficulties being faced by the Government of India in facing the terror onslaught from groups based across the border.

Nikhilesh Giri
Deputy High Commissioner of India
Kuala Lumpur

2 October 2016

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

“Jammu & Kashmir voters have their say”

I read the letter with the above title by Mr. Nikhilesh Giri, Deputy High Commissioner of India in Malaysia (the Sun daily, 2 October 2016) with interest. He wrote in response to JUST president Dr. Chandra Muzaffar’s article titled “Kashmir: The world should stand up” published in the Sun on Sept 22. He found the article “misinformed, misleading and lacks objectivity, particularly since it provides an excuse for terrorism.” As a student of history I feel compelled to write and highlight some facts on the subject.

Mr. Giri claims that Kashmir is a part of “sovereign” state India and voters in Kashmir have their say.” Really? Does he know how Kashmir became part of India? Does he know that India landed its regular troops in Sri Nagar, Kashmir’s capital on October 27, 1947? If the people of Kashmir were to decide their fate why did India need to deploy troops there? My question 69 years later may sound irrelevant and outdated to Mr. Giri. That is why, as a student of history, I will only cite some facts and quote some international and Indian personalities on the issue.

The term ‘dispute’ to describe the subject was not coined by Pakistan but by the United Nations where India tabled the issue. It is well-known that the UN decided to hold a plebiscite but the chief of the UN mission Sir Owen Dixon, a senior Australian judge, later wrote in a report that he was not able to hold it because of the presence of “large numbers of regular soldiers of the Indian Army as well as the State Militia and police” in the state. “I could not expose a plebiscite conducted under the authority of the United Nations to the dangers which I believed certainly to exist,” he said.

Then in October 1949 the Indian Constituent Assembly incorporated an article in its constitution declaring Kashmir within Indian jurisdiction. In 1951 India conducted an election in which 73 out of 75 seats in Kashmir Assembly were elected uncontested. Why and how so many seats were won uncontested? The authorities simply didn’t allow any opposition to join any democratic process. Then in October 1956 the same Assembly adopted a resolution declaring Kashmir an integral part of India. Would Mr. Giri still claim that the voters in Kashmir have their say?

Is Mr. Giri aware of the opinion of Mr. B.K. Nehru, who served as Delhi’s appointed governor of the state of Kashmir? He is reported to have said, “From 1953 to 1975, Chief Ministers of that State [of J&K] had been nominees of Delhi. Their appointment to that post was legitimised by the holding of farcical and totally rigged elections in which the Congress party led by Delhi’s nominee was elected by huge majorities.” I would also strongly recommend Mr. Giri to read Arundhati Roy on the subject.

Mr. Giri has accused Dr. Chandra of providing “excuse for terrorism.” This is a very serious allegation at this juncture of history and this is no diplomacy. Accusing Dr. Chandra or “enemies” on the other side of the border will not help Indian diplomacy. If Mr. Giri is really objective in finding the truth about the current upsurge of violence in Kashmir, he should read not only history of the conflict objectively but do objective reading of some current affairs such as the Huffington Post article ‘Burhan Wani’ also written by an Indian journalist. 22 year old Burhan Wani became violent, as his father put it, not because he was born with Indian hatred, but because he felt humiliated by the Indian troops in Kashmir. Mr. Giri should learn from Dr. Chandra that every human being loves dignity as do the people of Kashmir.

3 September 2016