Several national newspapers have commented on the terror that struck Kashmir once again killing five uniformed men right inside their camp which is situated beside a police school in the heart of the city of Srinagar. Some of the comments deserve a strong reaction by those who genuinely believe that J&K is an integral part of the Union of India and that the Constitution of India must prevail in the State of J&K.

J&K did not have militancy, nor were there terrorist operations in the State from 1947 to 1989. The tallest Kashmiri Muslim leader, Sheikh Mohd Abdullah, was sent behind bars at the instance Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1953. When Abdullah made undesirable remarks on State-Centre relations during a visit to Algiers in 1964, he was called back and arrested on return along with his deputy, Mirza Afzal Beig. They were released by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi only when Sheikh accepted the verdict of the Instrument of Accession and agreed to work as Chief Minister under the headship of the Governor appointed by the President of India. However, the State remained hostile to individual freedom and democratic institutions.

It was Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s government which admittedly ‘allowed’ Kashmiri youth to go to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir for military training to fight the Indian Army. It is the National Conference which, after the death of Sheikh Abdullah, has been playing hide and seek with Delhi, fueling hatred against India and exploiting innocent Kashmiris in the name of freedom. In June 1984, months before she died, Indira Gandhi described Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference as a security threat.

Rajiv Gandhi blundered in joining hands with the National Conference because unseeded Congressmen in the State were dying for power. That culture persists even today. The first batch of JKLF boys on return from POK killed Air Force Officers in 1990. Even after the culprits confessed, the trial was dumped and the culprits glorified by the media with the blessings of Central leaders.

What happened on 13 March 2013 was not an ordinary terrorist attack, but an organized attack against the CRPF camp which is situated along the police school. This is part of the ongoing terrorism against the Union of India with the help and support of people working within the State Government.

It does not convince anyone that fidayeens telephoned a local news agency that they were responsible for the attack. Does it mean that the J&K government, intelligence agencies and police were not capable or competent to trace out the contact? When government agencies bring another proposition that four or five fidayeens had infiltrated into J&K, it appears that the Government had the knowledge but was reluctant to act or stop them.

The Union Home Ministry accepted in both Houses of Parliament that 243 Kashmiris had returned to J&K from POK via Kathmandu and are being settled by the State Government. This can only mean that the Union Government has opened routes for mercenaries or terrorists to enter J&K via Nepal, or by some other route. Blaming Pakistan all the time convinces no one, particularly those are at the receiving end in J&K. Even if the proposition is accepted that foreign fidayeen have been responsible for the terror attack of 13 March, 2013 in Srinagar, questions must be asked as to what the State Intelligence Agencies were doing. How could foreign terrorists enter the State with weapons? And how did they manage to walk right up to Srinagar from the border? Where were they staying in Srinagar? Whose hospitality did they enjoy? The conclusion is straight and unambiguous that the government in J&K is not capable of handling the affairs of the state, even if it is not directly abetting the acts of terrorism.

It is strange that some newspapers, particularly The Hindu in its editorial dated 14 March 2013 counselled the Government of India for “Implementation of many sensible measures contained in the report of the Group of Interlocutors on Kashmir, beginning with the proposal that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has himself mooted of lifting the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from those areas of the State where violence has abated. The report also wanted the Centre to move towards ensuring special status for J&K, enabling the economic self-reliance of the State, and easing the movement of people and goods across the Line of Control. A review of all Central laws and Articles of the Constitution extended to the State since 1952 by a Constitutional Committee will also have to be done as part of the search for a settlement.” The editorial unfortunately pleaded ‘to meet the democratic aspirations of the Kashmiris’.

The Indian people are aware, as are the class of intellectuals thus pleading, that this is a call for implementation of the Dixon Plan which in 1951 called for partition of J&K on religious basis to carve out an Islamic Republic of Greater Kashmir by annexing the Muslim majority areas of Jammu Pradesh with the Valley. The idea was to disintegrate the Union of India via J&K as part of an Anglo-American conspiracy against India. Those pleading for pre-1953 status for J&K must know that the Parliament of India under Article 370 cannot legislate in respect of any subject in J&K. The State has a separate Constitution with no fundamental rights for State Subjects, as was wished by the National Conference. J&K has a separate flag also.

The only way for permanent peace in J&K is to dismiss the Omar Abdullah government and dissolve the Assembly so that free and fair elections can be held in the State. Further, the State will have to reorganized so that its heterogeneous character does not hamper mutual cooperation of the people residing in Ladakh, Kashmir Valley and Jammu Pradesh. The interlocutors’ report was trash and deserves to be consigned to the dustbin. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is the creation of the Union Government with the consent of State Government and it is relevant to the security of the State.