Delimitation, how it will affect politics of Jammu and Kashmir? Dr Shabir Choudhry, 24 December 2021
The people of Jammu and Kashmir lost unity and integrity of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, when Pakistan attacked the State with intention to occupy it.
Apart from Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan occupied some area which is now called Azad Kashmir, meaning an independent Kashmir, although it has no independence apart from the prefix of azad.
The other parts of the State remained as one political entity under the control of India. Despite the UN Resolutions demanding Pakistan to vacate the occupied territory so that the future status could be determined, Pakistan did not vacate, and we remain forcibly divided since 1947.
Despite special status within the Indian Union, Jammu and Kashmir under India gradually lost its autonomy. In August 2019, India abrogated the Articles 370 and 35 A of the Indian constitution, and separated Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir. However, both regions were given the status of Union territory.
This action of India ended the Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. There were many protests against this unwise and unwarranted decision, but that did not change anything.
It must be pointed out that for several years, there was a demand from Ladakh that their region should be separated from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir.
All the signs are there that New Delhi wants to grant statehood back to Jammu and Kashmir, and, as I predicted in 2019, the new status of statehood will be minus Ladakh.
Some contacts of mine confided that after the delimitation there will be new elections of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, which will reflect new realities of the region.
From this, I infer that ‘new realities’ will mean a new power structure, where ‘dominance’ of the Kashmir Valley may be neutralised. There are
Delimitation itself is a normal procedure to reflect new changes since the last delimitation. However, sometimes this mechanism is used to gain political gains; and this is a cause of concern for some communities and politicians.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir questioned the motives of the Delimitation Commission, and urged them to clarify the criteria for increasing seats for the Jammu Province. While speaking to a big public gathering at Gool in Ramban district on 24 December 2021, he said:
‘Population and area of the constituency is always considered as the main parameters for creating a new Assembly segment. But here in J&K we are unable to understand which criteria has been adopted while increasing seven Assembly seats by the Commission in J&K’. 1
The Limitation Commission proposed to increase six seats in Jammu and one in Kashmir; and this proposal, in his opinion, is ‘facing strong opposition from several parties and groups’.
However, Ghulam Nabi Azad, agreed with the suggestion of increasing seats in Doda, Kishtwar, Rajouri and Udhampur, as in his view, these are big districts. He questioned the rationale of increasing a seat for a small district like Samba, which already has two constituencies.
On the issue of abrogating the statehood, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said, the Jammu and Kashmir:
‘Has been pushed about two decades back by the August 5, 2019 decision, when the erstwhile state was disbanded and its special status abrogated. The Government of Delhi wants to continue with the proxy rule in J&K and seems to be least interested in elections. But the Congress Party would continue to exert pressure on the Union Govt to hold assembly elections after winters. 2
He also complained about the deteriorating conditions of roads and health facilities, especially in remote hilly areas. He said people feel they are being neglected by the current administration.
Apni Party also rejected the Delimitation Commission’s Report. The Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari in a press conference held on 24 December 2021, said, the Party leadership feels that the Delimitation proposal ‘deviates from the procedures as mandated by the constitution of India’. He further said:
“Apni Party has a clear stand on this report that defeats the very idea of a secular India. Both the divisions of Jammu and Kashmir have always complimented each other while such arbitrary edicts are aimed to disturb the harmony in J&K. However, Apni Party will never allow these schemes to succeed.” 3
Many political activists of the Valley feel that the Delimitation Commission wants to upset the existing political structure by disproportionately giving more Assembly seats to Jammu province. Ladakh was separated from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir and made a Union Territory in August 2019, hence seats of this region will not have any representation in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Six more seats for Jammu means more power for the Jammu province, hence the resentment and anger in some quarters of the political system in Jammu and Kashmir.
It must be noted that Ghulam Nabi Azad is a Congress leader and belongs to the Jammu Province, and he only had an objection on one extra seat of Samba district.
Reference:
2. Ibid
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