By Prakash Karat
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is taking steps which search to obliterate the historic legacy and identification of the Kashmiri folks whereas selling measures which is able to heighten the communal divide between Jammu and the Valley.
July 13 has been historically noticed as Martyrs Day in Kashmir to commemorate the reminiscence of twenty-two individuals who have been killed in firing by the Maharaja’s police in 1931 whereas protesting in opposition to the feudal monarchy.
For the second consecutive 12 months there was no official commemoration of the occasion. In 2020, the union territory administration withdrew state patronage to Martyrs Day when often a wreath was laid on the graves of the martyrs by the top of the state authorities. Additionally it is now not a authorities vacation. The gates of the martyrs’ graveyard have been locked and barricaded. This disavowal of a historic date which has resonance for the folks of Kashmir is one other try to disempower the folks of the Valley.
Following this, the administration has introduced that the birthday of the previous Maharaja Hari Singh on September 23 can be noticed as a public vacation. This adopted a request from varied organisations in Jammu. The Maharaja symbolised autocratic feudal rule underneath British patronage of the system of princely states. The Nationwide Convention, with its chief Sheikh Abdullah had led the peoples’ motion in opposition to feudal rule and in opposition to British suzerainty – a continuation of the battle which noticed the martyrdom of twenty-two folks in 1931.
Whereas the Maharaja’s birthday has been declared a public vacation, Sheikh Abdullah’s birthday observance has been discontinued since December 2019. The Maharaja’s position on the time of impartial was a doubtful one. As per the Mount Batten Award, Princely States may select which of the 2 impartial states to join- India or Pakistan. The Maharaja, who had unleashed extreme repression in opposition to the favored motion led by the Nationwide Convention for an finish to monarchy and for democratic rule, needed Jammu and Kashmir to stay an impartial state and never be part of both of the 2 new dominions. This can be a reality admitted by the Maharaja within the letter to Mountbatten on October 26, 1947. He wrote the letter enclosing the instrument of accession to India after Pakistan despatched armed ‘tribal invaders’ to annex Kashmir.
It’s the resistance put up by the folks led by the Nationwide Convention, whereas the Maharaja fled from Srinagar to Jammu that helped the Indian Military, when it was dispatched, to drive out the invading forces.
The Maharaja on the time when he was considering independence was absolutely backed by the RSS and later by the Praja Parishad which was run by RSS cadres. That they had endorsed his stance for independence and later after the accession, separation of Jammu from Kashmir. It’s this Maharaja, an erstwhile ally of the British, who’s being honoured with a state vacation whereas those that struggled in opposition to the monarchy and fought for democracy are being de-recognised. In honouring the Maharaja, the truth that he was a Hindu who dominated over a majority of Muslim topics appears to be a vital issue.
The angle of the BJP rulers to Hari Singh who sided with the British and needed J&Ok to be an impartial state is in stark distinction in its angle to Nizam of Hyderabad. The BJP noticed ‘liberation day’ on September 17 in Telangana hailing the Military intervention which ousted the Nizam who additionally had refused to accede to India and toyed with thought of remaining impartial. The distinction in method is decided by the faith of the ruler. The primary was a Hindu and the second a Muslim – each toadies of the British.
The angle of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha to the princely states on the time of independence is revealing. They have been staunch supporters of the Hindu princes and rulers. They have been against the folks’s motion within the princely states which fought in opposition to autocracy and in opposition to British rule. They prioritised the pursuits of the feudal rulers over the pursuits of the impartial State of India. In truth, V D Savarkar despatched a telegram of help to the declaration of independence by the Maharaja of Travancore. He supported the ‘brave dedication to declare independence of our Hindu state of Travancore’ citing the choice of the Muslim ruler of Hyderabad to proclaim its independence. It’s this pro-feudal, pro-imperialist outlook that also prevails among the many BJP rulers.
The suppression of the traditionally important dates and the symbols of the Kashmir folks’s battle in opposition to autocracy and for democracy is a part of the general plan of disenfranchise and politically marginalise the Valley inhabitants. Features of this was seen in the best way the delimitation of seats of the meeting has been undertaken and the modifications made in domicile standing.
The previous RSS plan to trifurcate the united J&Ok is again in motion in a modified type. All that is sowing the seeds for a wider battle and deeper troubles within the coming days. (IPA Service)
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