Article 35A: Abrogate fraud on Indian nation
by Hari Om on 20 Oct 2013 7 Comments
Thousands of Hindus, mostly Dalits, migrated to Jammu from West Pakistan in the wake of the communal partition of India in August 1947 to save their lives, dignity and culture. Ever since then, they have been struggling very hard to obtain citizenship rights in order to lead a dignified life as Indian citizens and enjoy all the rights available under the Indian Constitution and Jammu & Kashmir Constitution, but in vain.

 

They hold the successive Kashmiri dominated governments in the State responsible for their absolutely miserable life and hold Article 370 in contempt as an anti-democratic instrument in the hands of the Valley’s political elite which uses it brazenly to deprive them of their fundamental rights which are available to all Indians, barring them, despite their over 65-year-long stay in various parts of Jammu province. This means that they do not have the right to obtain jobs under the State Government, no right to acquire immovable property anywhere in the state, no right to vote in the Assembly and local-bodies’ elections, no right to higher and technical education, no right to bank loans, and so on.

 

Their oft-repeated argument that the “pampered and appeased” Kashmiri ruling elite along with Article 370 are responsible for their wretched life is partly correct and partly incorrect. It is correct to the extent that the Kashmiri-dominated Jammu & Kashmir Constituent-cum-Legislative Assembly which was formed in 1951 after wholesale rigging, exploited Article 370 to the hilt and adopted Sections 6, 8 and 9 for incorporation in the Constitution under which the State was to be governed in the future. (The Jammu & Kashmir Constitution was implemented on January 26, 1957.) Article 370 gave the solitary State of Jammu & Kashmir the right to have a separate Constitution and separate flag, but nowhere does it say which category of Indians will enjoy all citizenship rights in Jammu & Kashmir and which section/sections will not.        

 

Section 6 as adopted and strictly enforced by the State Government reads: (I) “Every person who is, or is deemed to be, a citizen of India under the provisions of the Constitution of India shall be a permanent resident of the State, if on the fourteenth day of May, 1954, (a) he was a state subject of class I or of class II, or (b) having lawfully acquired immovable property in the State, he has been ordinarily resident in the State for not less than ten years prior to this date” and (II) “any person who, before the fourteenth day of May, 1954 was a State Subject of class I or of class II and who, having migrated after the first day of March, 1947, to the territory – now included in Pakistan, returns to state under a permit for resettlement in the State or for permanent return issued by or under the authority of any law made by the State Legislature shall on such return be a permanent resident of the State”.

 

As for Sections 8 and 9, the former gives the State Legislature the right to define Permanent Residents and the latter empowers the State Legislature to alter the definition of Permanent Residents.

 

These provisions in the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution have been working to the detriment of Hindu refugees from West Pakistan, who number about 1.5 lakh. They make a valid point when they bemoan these provisions and accuse the Kashmiri ruling elite of inflicting pain and injustice on them. The Valley leadership has consistently and vehemently opposed the refugees’ democratic and human demand seeking full citizenship rights on two specific grounds.

 

One is that grant of citizenship rights will change the demographic landscape of Jammu & Kashmir and erode the “distinct identity” of Kashmiri Muslims. The other is that the accommodation of their demand will enhance representation of Jammu province in the Legislative Assembly. Indeed, the Kashmiri leadership’s whole stand on the issue is narrow, parochial and regressive.

 

Yet, it would be wrong to put the entire blame on the Kashmiri-dominated Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly and the State Government. The real culprit was the Government of Jawaharlal Nehru. It subverted the basic structure of the Indian Constitution in May 1954 to deprive all Indian citizens, including refugees from West Pakistan settled in Jammu province, of their fundamental right to exercise all rights in Jammu & Kashmir.

 

While making unjust, invidious and humiliating distinctions between Indian citizens inhabiting States barring Jammu & Kashmir, plus refugees from West Pakistan settled in Jammu, and the so-called Permanent Residents of the State, the Nehru dispensation also made sure that the Permanent Residents of Jammu & Kashmir shall exercise all rights all over India.

 

What did the Government of Jawaharlal Nehru do in May 1954? That black month, it amended Article 368 without taking the Indian Parliament into confidence, though Parliament alone had the power to amend or not amend the Constitution, to amend Article 35 and add to it the atrocious Article 35A which was enforced in Jammu & Kashmir through the Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, May 1954.

 

Article 35A reads: “Saving of laws with respect to permanent residents and their rights: Notwithstanding anything contained in this (Indian) Constitution, no existing law in force in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, and no law hereafter enacted by the Legislature of the State – (a) defining the classes of persons who are, or shall be permanent residents of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, or (b) conferring on such permanent residents any special rights and privileges or imposing upon other persons any restrictions as respects (i) employment under the State Government; (ii) acquisition of immovable property in the State; (iii) settlement in the State; or (iv) right to scholarships and such other forms of aid as the State  Government may provide, shall be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any rights conferred on the other citizens of India by any provision of this part”.

 

Article 35A enabled the Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly to deny citizenship rights to the refugees from West Pakistan and all other Indians, barring Permanent Residents of the State. Armed with absolute power, the Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly adopted Section 6 which said no persons who had crossed over to the state after May 1944 will be considered eligible for citizenship rights. 

 

In fact, Section 6 meant two things: Denial of citizenship rights to the Indians who were not Permanent Residents of the State as per the definition of Permanent Resident of the State and provision to grant full citizenship rights to those who migrated from the State to Pakistan on or after March 1, 1947 and adopted Pakistani citizenship in case they returned to Jammu & Kashmir (meaning Muslims).

 

If what the Nehru Government did to enforce Article 35A in Jammu & Kashmir was unconstitutional and a fraud on the Indian Constitution and the Indian nation, the concealment of these unconstitutional steps was all the more despicable. His Central Government hid the amendments from the public by not mentioning the same in the main body of the Constitution. The unconstitutional amendments to Article 368 and Article 35 were mentioned only in Appendix-I and Appendix-II, respectively, so that they could escape public attention, and this is what actually happened.

 

In sum, it can be said that the Jawaharlal Nehru regime first of all conspired against the refugees from West Pakistan, and then further hatched a conspiracy against all Indian citizens in order to pander to communalists in Kashmir by subverting Articles 16 and 19 of the Indian Constitution which deal with the rights of Indian citizens, including fundamental rights.

 

Article 19, for example, says that “All citizens shall have the right (a) to freedom of speech and expression, (b) to assemble peacefully and without arms, (c) to form associations or unions, (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India, (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; (f) to acquire, hold and dispose of property; and (g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business”.

 

It follows that what is needed is not just the abrogation of Article 370 but also the revocation of Article 35A. This is the only course left to enable the refugees from West Pakistan and other Indians to exercise citizenship rights in Jammu & Kashmir and integrate it fully into India.

User Comments Post a Comment
Attention of all those who have been advocating for the uniform Constitution -
There are no fundamental rights in the so called Constitution of J&K. It is because of the intervention of the SC that the people in J&K have been sharing some of the fundamental rights. There is no High Court of Judicature. There is Bar Council, The Chief Justice is the chairman of the so called Bar Council. Shall Modiji explain his reaction or answer ?
Bhim Singh
October 20, 2013
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@Bhim Singh
"Thousands of Hindus, mostly Dalits, migrated to Jammu from West Pakistan in the wake of the communal partition of India in August 1947 to save their lives, dignity and culture..........but in vain"

BUT in other state thousands of Hindus, mostly Dalits, enjoying special privileged rights , dignity and culture.......... want to trigger a civil war as traitors, and this is being done with the encouragement of missionaries.


.Over 15 districts spread across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa saw Durga Puja with a difference this festival season. Instead of the goddess slaying Mahishasur, the usual story of the Puja, this year, tribals and people belonging to Scheduled Castes and backward classes in these districts are celebrating the “demon king” as a non-Aryan inhabitant and a just king of the land, with Durga representing Aryan invaders.

They will conclude the Puja with Vijay Dashmi or Dussehra marked as ‘Mahishasur Shahadat Diwas (Martyrdom Day)’.

According to this version, it is the Brahmins and Aryans who spun the “false” yarn of Durga being good and Mahishasur evil.

The first Mahishasur Diwas celebration was organised by the All India Backward Students’ Forum at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, three years ago — perhaps the first such subaltern version of the mythology of Mahishasur and Durga. Now, for the first time, it is being observed at such a large scale.

“The nine days of Durga Puja have never been a time of celebration for the Kherwal tribes but that of mourning. Only this time, there is greater awareness amongst our people about the story of Mahishasur and Durga,” Ajit Prasad Hembram, a tribal activist organising the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day in Purulia district of West Bengal, said over the phone. “Similar ceremonies are being organised in at least 20 different places in West Bengal this year, including Malda, Bankura and Hooghly.”

As per Hembram and Ashwini Kumar Pankaj, a tribal activist and editor of Johar Disum Khabar, a multi-lingual journal published from Ranchi, Mahishasur (also known as Hudhud Durga) was a clan leader of tribals in the Santhal region, who put up a strong fight against Aryan invasion. According to Hembram, as tribals did not pick up weapons against women, children, aged and the weak, the Aryans sent a woman to lure him. “The Aryans came with a proposal of marriage. But they used treachery and a woman called Durga killed Mahishasur,” said Hembram.

A similar story is narrated by Pankaj: “There is a tradition among the Santhals wherein during the Navratras, they hold what is called the Dasain dance. During that dance, tribals visit houses and search for something. That something is nothing but Hudhud Durga.”

Celebrating the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day on Sunday, tribals in Puruliya danced the Dasain and Kathi dance and presented their story of Hudhud Durga through a play, apart from organising meetings and telling people about Mahishasur, said Hembram.

He added that Asur or Rakshas as presented in the Vedas and Puranas were none other than natives who fought the Aryans to protect their land. “There is still a tribe called Asur amongst the Kherwals. So they are living people who are shown as devils and killed symbolically every year at Durga Puja,” said Hembram.

Dr Vijay Kumar Trisharan, president of the Ambedkar Chetna Parisar, Palamu, Jharkhand, will organise the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day on Monday in his district.

In Giridih district of Jharkhand, people are observing the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day by tying black clothes on their faces and narrating the story of the just king door to door, said Damodar Gop of Giridih.

Like the tribals, the Yadavs also claim to be descendants of Mahishasur. One view is that the name Mahishasur is derived from ‘Mahish’, meaning buffalo, the main source of sustenance for both the Yadavs and tribals.

“Mahishasur was our ancestor and these stories of him being a demon are wrong,” said Rajvir Singh Yadav, founder president of the All India Prabudh Yadav Sangam and editor of the journal Yadav Shakti Patrika. “We are advocates of equality and are striving to promote rational thinking and wipe out superstitions.”

Yadav will organise the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. It will also be celebrated in Kaushambi, Deoria, Sant Kabir Nagar, Unnao and Maharajganj districts of the state.

Bihar will also see such celebrations in Patna, Nawada, Muzaffarpur and Buxar. In Muzaffarpur, the celebrations will also include an idol of Mahishasur. Harendra Prasad, who is organising the meeting in Minapur, Muzaffarpur, claims to be a descendant of Mahishasur and said he will soon get a marble statue of Mahishasur erected.

In Orissa, Kalahandi district will hold the Mahishasur Diwas, said Narayan Bagarty, a social activist.

According to Jitendra Yadav, president of the All India Backward Students’ Forum and a PhD scholar at JNU, the “widespread acceptance” of the Mahishasur Diwas was a successful attempt to emancipate subalterns from the grasp of Brahminical culture.

“India is a land of myriad cultures. But a particular group forced its own version of culture and religion on us. It was against this homogenisation that we started observing the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day,” he said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tribals-backwards-seek-own-voices-in-durga-puja-this-year/1182314/0
som
October 20, 2013
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@Som - you are too hysterical; we know it is a Missionary badmashi

Read Aravindan Neelakandan - Of Mahishasura and JNU Hate-mongers
http://centreright.in/2013/10/of-mahishasura-and-jnu-hate-mongers/#.UmOQJE26ZpM
Rani
October 20, 2013
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Quite amazing !!!
National Assessment and Accreditation Council gave the JNU a grade of 3.9 out of 4, the highest grade awarded to any educational institution in the country ranked second among the public universities, in India, as published by India Today ,WHO PURCHASES AND MAINTAINS" AN INVENTORY OF HATE" AS GOODS TO BE SOLD.
AND SO IT HAS AWARDED HIGH RANKING.
A TRAITOR WITHIN THE SYSTEM TO BALKANIZE INDIA AND CONVERT INTO MUTUAL HOSTILE CAMPS AFTER INTRODUCING WAR OF TERROR TO MAKE INDIA LIKE RAWANDA WHERE 2.50 MILLION PEOPLE DIED IN HUTU-TUTSI MASSACRE.SEVERAL CHURCH FIGURE AND NUNS FOUND GUILT IN THIS MASSACRE.
AND...AFTER THAT ...THE WHOLE RAWANDA CONVERTED INTO
CHRISTIANITY.
THE WAR IS ON,THE WAR AGAINST DEADLY COCKTAIL OF
IDEOLOGY THAT IS "DRAVIDIAN CHRISTIANITY "AND FOR LIBERTY,THE VERY AIR WE ARE BREATHING.
IN INDIA ,CHRISTIANITY IS JUST MERELY A COLONIAL TOOL AND MISSIONARY ARE LITTLE MORE THAN IMPERIAL AGENT.
karan
October 20, 2013
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SO NOW SITUATION IS WORSE:
The real target of this conversion industry is to take away a chunk of India as a separate Chrsitian country where the pastors and bishops will rule. It is the same old game played by the two desert religions (Christianity and Islam) all over the world throughout history.
The Ranganath Mishra Committee, established by the UPA-government, has recommended that the reservation benefits available to Hindus be extended to converts too.
The root cause of the recent violence in Orissa is the conversion racket being run by the Church on the strength of deception and guile. In this, it has the direct and indirect support of India’s secularist elite.
Very sad situation .
ravi
October 20, 2013
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There is hardly any religious group in the world today, other than the Hindus, who are willing to let other religions coexist peacefully without any organized attempt to convert them or coerce them.
The wars are still fought in this world more frequently in the name of religion.
som
October 20, 2013
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It’s time India shut down JNU and turned it into an engineering institute.
nitha
October 20, 2013
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