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COLUMNISTS
Are’nt Shias the
citizens of the State
By: Sadiq
Ali
Right
of Self determination,
Key
to Kashmir Solution
By: Ali Safvi
Are’nt
Shias the citizens of the State
By: Sadiq
Ali
I challenge anyone to prove
that any dispensation ever took any action to rid this community of
ignorance, superstition, politico-economic or cultural backwardness, Sadiq Ali laments
In the changed global context, national, regional
and sub-regional considerations have lost some of their relevance. In a
structured political system we may even assume that caste, linguistic and
ethnic aspirations are an impediment, but the ground reality is that no
democratic system can claim to be based on justice and equity unless
every segment has a sense of involvement. Our Constitution guarantees
social, economic and political justice and dignity of the individual, yet
there is rampant discrimination when it comes to governance. I have heard
lofty sermons by every ruler claiming that he was different yet all of
them have turned out to be highly selective when they could impart
justice. One such instance was the recent much hyped RTC that had a fair
representation of all the minority groups like Gujjars, Paharis, Kashmiri
Pandits, Bhudists etc but no representation of almost a million Kashmiri
speaking Shias. This in spite of the fact that way back in February I had
submitted a comprehensive note to the CM through the then Chief
Secretary. This speaks
volumes about a certain mind set that has not changed with the times. The
result is that the Shias continue to suffer the ignominy of neglect and
indifference.
I will not refer to the Shia-Sunni divide in Iraq,
Lebanon, Afghanistan or Pakistan. But I as an avowed secularist have no
answers when I am asked why this attitude persists in our own State. We
haven’t seen a single officer of the rank of a Commissioner/Secretary in
a 400,000 strong bureaucracy, a single police officer of the rank of SP/
AIG/ DIG or above, a single Shia Deputy Commissioner or a Tehsildar in
the field? I really don’t find the incident amusing where very
sarcastically an Iranian diplomat had asked “Aren’t Shias the citizens of
the State” or a Western diplomat told me ironically “It ain’t any
different from Saddam’s Iraq”.
Some people have lamented that the Coalition Govt.
has ignored the constitutional rights of this community by not giving it
any representation. I don’t subscribe to that viewpoint because democracy
is not like an essential commodity that can be provided on a ration card.
It is based on the principle of adult franchise where the final outcome
determines the share. Since most of our minorities are scattered all over
the State, except the Buddhists and the Shias in the Ladakh region, our
electoral system does not permit these segments to get elected on their
own. While every major political party makes lofty pronouncements about
bringing morality and ethics in our political system all of them have
shamelessly thrown some crumbs before our clerics and the priests and
bought them along with their dumb flocks. It is like buying one and
getting a dozen free. It suits the degenerated and wooden headed clerics
who get ministerial berths in spite of their illiteracy and helps them to
keep their docile and illiterate followers intact. They do not ask for
schools, better educational facilities, development, social progress,
employment or a better standard of living. Our electoral system gives an
undue advantage to the majority and the smaller segments suffer as a
consequence. When I first put forward the proposal of Proportional
Representation I was called an agent of the IB. Since the power has by and large remained with the
majority Community it has religiously ensured that its base did not get
diluted.
Discrimination and injustice has become a
fate-accompli of the Shias since independence and nobody has seriously
tried to address the malady.
This dismal scenario witnessed a change when Sheikh
Sahib returned to power after those historical elections of 1977.
Although Ansari, like in the recent by elections, vitiated the atmosphere
and tried to polarize the two communities Sheikh Sahib took some far
reaching and statesman-like decisions. Carving out of Kargil and Badgam
Districts, nominating a Shia to the Legislative Council, declaring Navroz
a State holiday, bringing all the warring Shia outfits to an agreement
for a unified Muharram Procession in Srinagar, are some landmarks that
this community will always remember with gratitude. Had Sheikh Sahib
lived longer perhaps he would have found a solution to the long standing
political grievance as well. I do agree that some important decisions
were taken during the Governor’s rule when for the first time we found a
place on the PSC, SSRB and the JKB Governing Board. Power sharing or
Political participation continues to be a distant dream that will not
materialize unless the State undertakes positive electoral reforms
ensuring equitable representation. The fruits of democracy, employment,
police recruitment have eluded this peace loving patriotic segment
eternally. Every dispensation out of expediency has perpetuated the
highly radical and obscurantist clergy and not allowed the healthy social
progression. The community has remained abysmally backward, the priests
have received their free pound of flesh and the rulers have flourished at
the cost of voiceless. While the clerics have amassed huge illegitimate
fortunes the illiterate masses have been handed over a promise of the
World-Hereafter. Can the Govt. justify why the literacy rate of the Shias
is a disgraceful 3% while the average in the State has crossed 50%? This
at a time when we are bragging from the roof tops that we have
revolutionized the educational system. I have a right to ask why was the
Zadibal College proposal shelved and at whose behest? How many primary, middle
or High schools were upgraded or opened in Shia dominated areas? How many Shia boys and girls made
it to professional or technical courses during last 10 years?
I remember during the Governor’s rule when I took
up the issue with the then Chief Secretary Mr.Ashok Kumar he was taken
aback. He thought I was either pulling a fast one or exaggerating the
facts. His response was very reassuring that no dispensation could ever
be so indifferent to its own citizens. After verifying the veracity of my
note he convinced the then Governor, Retd. General Krishna Rao that
things had to be corrected. When I took up the threads again with Finance
Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beg in 2003 his response was “Sadiq, it sounds
incredible and in my opinion Shias deserve a better deal not as favour
but as a matter of right”. He asked me to submit a comprehensive note
that I did the same year. Considering his initial response I was hopeful
that we would get justice. When I enquired eighteen months later why
nothing had happening his answer was cryptic and shocking, “The CM did
not agree”!.
It is really a travesty of our Constitution that
the Shias should be demanding their rights even 58 years after
independence while Art.25 of our
State Constitution under Directive Principles of the State Policy so
candidly and unambiguously enunciates the role of the State as under:
*Duty of the State to foster
equality and secularism- The State shall combat ignorance, superstition, fanaticism,
communalism, racism, cultural backwardness and shall seek to foster
brotherhood and equality among all communities under the aegis of a
Secular State”.
I challenge anyone to prove that any dispensation
ever took any action to rid this community of ignorance, superstition,
politico-economic or cultural backwardness. As I have explained at length
above, by harnessing the clergy all the political parties have exploited
this docile, peace loving and patriotic community for furthering their
political interests. The clerics playing the role of willing concubines,
Pamela Bordes,Tarranum or Sabina, it doesn’t matter who!
We are in the process of developing a strategic
relationship with Iran by signing a multi billion dollar energy supply
agreement. Out of almost a hundred identified CBMs with Pakistan, India
has unilaterally implemented one third, this with a country that has seen
a constant slaughter of the Shias. Two notorious radical outfits like LeT
and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are actively involved in terrorist activities in
our State. There have been repeated efforts to create a sectarian divide
in the Valley. The recent by-elections in one of the constituencies
witnessed the stinking depths to which our mullahs can fall. For these
power hungry wolves it does not matter whose side they are on. We have to
view things in a wider perspective. India has a much larger population of
Shias than Iran or Iraq. All our successes and failures in Jammu &
Kashmir will therefore have a fall out on our external relations as well.
It is in this context that we shall have to find ways to redress the
minority grievances. While the youth is getting restive and is genuinely
interested in breaking away from the radicalism taught by our retrograde
clergy, addressing the following reasonable demands of this discriminated
segment alone can ameliorate its future and restore its confidence in the
democratic system and in its own capabilities:
*Declare the Shias a Minority and accord them all
those concessions and incentives that are available to minorities in the
Country.
*Since the Shia dominated areas in the Valley are
abysmally backward with scanty civic facilities, roads, health care,
schools etc. declare all such areas as backward so that the present
disparity is removed.
*Constitute a Shia Advisory Board on the same
analogy as other boards for Gujjars and Paharis have been set up.
Positive efforts must be made to extricate this backward segment from the
dismal dump of illiteracy and clerical servitude.
*Make the State Minority
Commission more representative. Nominate a member from the Shia community
as well
*The present electoral
system does not leave any room for smaller ethnic groups to find proper
representation in the political institutions. Without the majority
support no Shia, Sikh, Kashmiri pundit or Gujjar can get elected. Proportional
representation could be considered as an alternative. It is something
even our freedom fighters had demanded from the Maharaja. There shall
have to be certain constitutional guarantees whereby this could be made
possible. In this respect we could perhaps emulate the Constitution of
Fiji where 50% of the Asians, doesn’t matter what Island they live in,
elect half the representatives and the other half by the ethnic
Polynesians or Lebanon where the Shias, Sunnis and the Christians have
adopted a rotational system and have been living in comparative harmony.
*To break the clerical
shackles, rid the people of their oppression and discourage regular
defections. Enact a law, like Pakistan, that restricts the choice of our
mullahs to either religion or politics. Our priests do not have the
requisite qualification even for a class IV job and it is really a
travesty of justice that every political party manipulates their presence
in the legislature. Even in radical Pakistan a law has already been
enacted whereby graduation has been fixed as the minimum qualification
for contesting an election. Why can’t we emulate Pakistan?
*Except once by the
Congress party no Shia has ever been given a Parliamentary mandate by any
political Party although their vote-percentage in Srinagar and Baramullah
constituencies exceeds 20%. Nobody has ever been considered for the Rajya
Sabha either. There has been no Shia representation in the Legislative
Council for last 15 years although by a convention two persons were
always nominated till 1987. It should be as a matter of right that every
segment is represented in the Democratic institutions.
*The Shia religious endowments receive crores of
rupees every year from the gullible and ignorant followers that only fill
the coffers of the priestly class. One of the major accusations against
me during the 2002 elections was that I advised the State Govt. against
spending an enormous sum for the construction of an Imambara. I still
believe that in a secular State such expenditure would be inappropriate,
illegal and against the spirit of our Constitution. Most of the religious
places have a constant income. Instead of the State reconstructing them
at the tax payer’s money we must enact a law that would make it mandatory
for such institutions or religious leaders to submit their accounts for
auditing. As a responsible
citizen of this State I have every right to demand action against these
religious leaders to render accounts of crores of rupees they have been
collecting for last several decades. To defeat the law I know of several
clerics who have usurped thousands of Kanals of land from their innocent
and gullible followers on this false pretext that the income would be
spent for furtherance of the Faith and they would be rewarded Here-after.
The properties are being used for their own Ayashi. Some have bought huge tracks of migrant property even
without any proper documentation.
To stop the constant misuse of these funds a law needs to be
enacted on the pattern of the Muslim Auqaf Trust so that the clergy does
not use huge offerings for personal luxury, subversion or political
purposes. This was the underlying idea of enacting the Muslim Auqaf Trust
Act and the Mata vaishnonodevi Shrine Board. If the Shia Endowments have
been left out the only reason could be to keep the clergy in good humour.
With the latest ruling by the Hon. Supreme Court that all the shrines and
religious places must be covered by an Act, it
has become mandatory for the State now to come up with adequate
legislation to cover the Shia Auqaf as well so that there is transparency
in their accounts and expenditure. This is the least our law department
could do.
*Although the priests
continue to tell us that it is forbidden to take a loan, the educated
youth want to break away from the past and contribute to the economic
welfare of the state. The State must direct all the DICs and HOD.s to
prepare a list of registered units and the total number of Shia employees
and make it public.
*SERVICES. The
Govt. must collect a Department wise data about the ratio of Shias in all
classes of employment. Although more than 300 people were recruited in
the Assembly Secretariat during last 5 years outrageously the two
Speakers did NOT find a single Shia worth even a class IV job.
Legislature is a sacred Institution that leads us to the path of justice,
righteousness and transparency. If a Shia can be ignored there, it is
understandable how we would be treated elsewhere. I know of two graduate
applicants (one with LL.B Hons,) and neither of the two was called for
even an interview. A Matriculate was, because he was related to the
Chair? Shouldn’t such instances be investigated? The fact remains that
the Shias have all along received a raw deal. It is a sad reflection not
on the system but a certain mindset that does not believe in sharing and
caring. We have had nobody of the rank of a commissioner for past twenty
five years. The previous Govt. had appointed one Deputy Commissioner
after decades. Everybody admits that he is an honest and upright officer,
yet he became a victim of intolerance and was recalled. In the present
bureaucratic structure a community almost a million strong have just one
secretary, two Special Secretaries, two directors, two SOs, Six Head
Assistants/ two Stenos, Six senior and Five junior assistants and Eight
orderlies. Almost 90% of the Departments have no Shia presence. Compare
it to one Lac Buddhists, a few hundred Christians, 3% KP.s or 1 % Sikhs
and one would find a lot of merit in the observations made by me or several
diplomats. Although everybody despises sectarian bias, the ground reality
tells a different story.
And now read this. The State gets a free quota of Hajjis every year and also selects
some Khuddam. Their job is to render assistance to pilgrims during their
stay. Till date no Govt. has ever considered a Shia to render this
service, not even to Shia pilgrims. No further comments.
*Kashmir is a sensitive
State. The present religious, geographical, linguistic and cultural
composition may be a fluke but that is where our strength lies. We owe
our gratitude to our constitutional fathers who had foresight and wisdom
to tell us that the State’s future was embedded in Secularism. It doesn’t
have to remain only on paper. The Government shall have to broaden its outlook
and attend to those segments as well that have been the victims of total
apathy. What is good for Valley's majority community should be good for
12 Lac Gujjars, 3 Lac Kashrniri Pundits and almost a million Shias as
well. There has to be a way out where one segment alone does not
manipulate power. This kind of a situation has already created strife in
Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, Quebec and now
Pakistan. Let us ensure that we don't let it happen here. For lasting
peace you need lasting solutions. If the solutions are not fair to all,
they will not work. There are many Shias that have made our state proud
by contributing to various spheres of life. They need to be considered on
merit and not because they are related to someone.
*Papier Mache is an environment friendly craft that has brought fame to our State
from far and wide. It is the only craft that does the scavenging of trash
and is not dependant on any raw material. This industry represents the
best example of recycling of the waste. Besides generating employment it
is one of our principal foreign exchange earners. This industry is
predominantly concentrated with the Shia community that has produced a
galaxy of master craftsmen. The advent of militancy destroyed the local market
and with Chinese Papier Mache flooding the world market, the demand for
this craft has considerably gone down. Youth find it un-remunerative and
with hardly any encouragement from the State, this industry is gasping
for breath. To revive this craft, a comprehensive policy needs to be
devised so that youth is lured to it again and its quality does not
suffer. The way the State has come to the rescue of the Houseboat owners,
the transport industry, taxi operators and the Shikara-wallas over and
over again, some package needs to be considered for Papier Mache workers
as well.
*The Srinagar Master Plan is a total failure, lopsided, highly prejudicial and unfair to many
sections. I have repeatedly expressed my concern that it has been drafted
with an eye on helping the land mafia and is highly detrimental to the
future of the Dal Lake and its inhabitants. The modern Town planning is
no more an exercise in planning lanes and drains and laying new colonies.
It involves a scientific perspective in visualizing the requirements a
hundred years hence. It has to be futuristic. One can judge the
efficiency and competence of our town planners by the fact that the same
people have produced a new Master Plan four times to please every new
dispensation by putting the blame on the previous one for its faults. A
city represents the soul of its people, their culture, their past and
future and must seem to breathe. We have some internationally renowned
town planners and environmentalists in the Country. They ought to be consulted.
It would be a disaster for the health and ecology of the Lake if the
entire population is given a life sentence and deprived of its only means
of livelihood. Dislocating the entire population would choke the lake
because you won't have thousands of boats oxygenating the lake round the
clock or people involved in agriculture that use the weeds and the silt
as fertilizer. The entire southern foreshore has been commercialized with
hotels and business establishments. On the eastern side you have the Golf
Course, The Grand Palace, Centaur, SKICC, hundreds of houses belonging to
the neo-riche, officers, businessmen and drug peddlers. The western side
from Dalgate to Saida Kadal is predominantly a commercial area. I have
not seen anybody saying a word about disturbing it, but the moment you
reach Nagin Hazratbal Road, you find everyone in unison talking of
environment. I won't go into the reasons but it does stink of sectarian
bias because this is the portion where you have a predominant Shia
presence. In terms of compensation, people have been paid fifteen lakhs
per kanal in certain areas but it becomes a fraction of that if the
person is from Haji Mohalla, Zaildar Mohalla or Sultan Mohalla? Is that
fair? Isn't that questionably inequitable, unjust and dishonest? Is there any place in the
peripheral Srinagar where land is available now at even fifteen lakhs a
kanal? Then why force eviction at the point of a gun? Nowhere in the
world have I seen a Master Plan banning construction of commercial
establishments on the National Highway in the name of environment. In
Holland you have huge settlements below the sea level yet they have found
ways to control pollution. Why can't we do it here? The biggest pollutant
is the Houseboat, yet nobody talks of removing this menace. It is the
Shia who helps keep the lake clean, produces vegetables worth crores, is
not a burden on the State's economy or services yet the axe has to fall
on him because he is meek! It is outrageous, pathetic and painful! The
State shall have to review the whole Master Plan in a way so that there
is minimal dislocation and it does not affect the socio-economic fabric
of this segment of population that has lived there for centuries. Must
they be Saddamised like the inhabitants of Basra marshes? What is even
more shocking is that there is no provision for a Petrol Pump, a
hospital, a school or any public utility in the entire length of this
portion. I don't see any logic in shifting these Mohallas if the proposed
sewage and sewerage scheme is ultimately to be connected and made
operational in another couple of years. WHAT IS GOOD FOR the southern
foreshore should be equally good for the entire western foreshore. The
cardinal principle of justice is that it should not only be just but
should appear to be so. How long do the Shias have to wait for being
treated as equals? The answer lies in the hearts and not the heads.
(The author
is a prominent Shia Leader, a three time legislator and a senior public
man of the state; can be mailed at m_sadiqali@hotmail.com)
Right of Self determination,
Key to Kashmir Solution
By: Ali Safvi
The solution of Kashmir
imbroglio is practicable provided all parties are committed to resolve
the dispute for the sake of so many innocent Kashmiris. Both New Delhi
and Islamabad have been doing a lot in this regard but their efforts have
not yielded concrete results. The last few years have witnessed a
tremendous improvement in the bilateral relationship between the two
nations. However, when Kashmir, which is a bone of contention between
India and Pakistan, comes for discussion the atmosphere of hope turns
into distress and both the countries are unable to come to a joint
agreement. Both the nations must know that the good relations will last
long only when the made-complex issue of Kashmir is resolved, otherwise
such Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) will turn out to be ephemeral
only.
India
and Pakistan are so allergic to each other that they are not going to
accept any solution proposed by either of the nation. The reason is that
the leaders of the two countries don’t trust each other and the past
history too does not augur well for them. Musharraf‘s proposals of
‘demilitarization’ and ‘self-rule’ was turned down by India without considering
them worthy of giving a serious thought. In such a hostile and hopeless
situation, the solution of Kashmir crises looks very much elusive.
The
past history bears testimony to the fact that India and Pakistan can’t
reach any solution and the measures they take are only to make an
impression in the international stage that Kashmir is being ‘seriously’
discussed. In fact, both the countries are merely killing time and the
status quo will mean that Kashmir crises will continue unabated.
Pragmatically,
there seems to be only one way out to put an end to nearly 60 years of
mayhem in Kashmir: free and impartial plebiscite under the aegis of the
United Nation as per the UN Resolution, with the inclusion of a third
option, Independence, just to update the ‘old’ Resolution. Let the people
of Kashmir decide about their future. The UN Resolution can peacefully
and permanently solve the Kashmir dispute. After all, it was responsible
to permanently solve the dispute in South Africa and Angola. Ironically,
one of the largest democracies in the world, India, has refrained from
granting the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir, which
happens to be their democratic right.
The
referendum should be held in two different phases:
Phase
one: Independence or Union
Phase
two: Union with India or Pakistan
(The
second phase will come in effect only when the majority of the Kashmir
population vote against Independence in the first phase).
Here
are various measures which need to be taken to ensure free and impartial
plebiscite:
i)
Complete cease-fire: The two countries should anno-unce the
complete cease-fire along the Line of Control (LOC) to ensure that there
is no untoward incident. The gove-rnment of Pakistan should take
militants into confidence. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq once said in an interview
that Hurriyat can convince militants on cease-fire and if Hurriyat can do
that then I believe Pakistan govt. should not find it a gargantuan or an
impossible task.
ii) Demilitarization: After the cease-fire is ensured, India should call
back its troops from Indian Administered Kashmir (IAK) and,
simultaneously, Pakistan, too, should follow the suit by calling back its
troops from Pakistan Adminis-tered Kashmir (PAK).
iii) Post Demilitarization: After the demilitarization, the UN security
forces should occupy both sides of the divided Kashmir. The UN can ask
for reinforcement from any member country (of course, except from India
and Pakistan) to maintain law and order in the erstwhile Jammu &
Kashmir and pave the way for an impartial and peaceful plebiscite. The
Observers of the United Nation should remain in Kashmir and should keep a
close vigil on the scheme of things, and when the situation becomes
conducive, the Observers should go for referendum. Since, people of
Kashmir do not want the solution of Kashmir on ethnic or religious basis,
therefore, the pandits who left Kashmir in one of the most unfortunate
and shameful incident in the history of Kashmir (which of course was a
handy work of the then Governor of J&K, Jagmohan), should be called
back and in a capacity of being an integral part of Kashmir’s culture and
identity, they too would decide the future of Kashmir along with their
Muslim brethren.
The
referendum, as already stated, should be held in two phases:
First Phase: - In the first phase people of Kashmir would vote
between independence or Union. The referendum would be held under the
aegis of the United Nations and one representative each from India and
Pakistan would monitor the democratic exercise. If the people of
Kashmir vote for the Union, then second phase of voting becomes
inevitable.
Second Phase: - In the second phase of voting, people of Kashmir
would choose between Union with India and Union with Pakistan. Their
‘will’ must only decide with which country they want to associate their
future.
However,
both the countries should respect the consequ-ences of the electoral
verdict without being egoistical. If Kashmir decides to accede to
Pakistan then Jammu and Ladakh will, by default, go to India and in case
the Kashmiris favour India, even in that case Jammu and Ladakh will
remain a part of India because there is apparently no dispute over Jammu
or Ladakh between India and Pakistan.
Therefore,
there is no denying the fact that unlike the common belief, Kashmir can
survive as an independent entity.
If
the people of Kashmir decide to be Independent, both India and Pakistan
have to guarantee its Independence. For a start, Kashmir would not have
its own currency but the currency of both India and Pakistan would be
accepted as legal tender money. Kashmir, as an independent state, would
have a free trade with both India and Pakistan and both the countries
would invest in its economy. It is an admitted fact that only fruit and
tourism industry, if properly managed, are enough to keep the economy of
Kashmir afloat.
However,
the onus is on the United Nation to finally show its existence and act as
a protagonist to permanently resolve the Kashmir dispute. In the world of
globalization no country would like to be engaged in war or constant
dispute. Similar is the case with India and Pakistan.
Now,
this is the high time for both New Delhi and Islamabad to show
flexibility and see the Kashmir imbroglio from the humanism point of view
instead of perceiving it from the nationalism angle.
As
things are going nobody can rule out the possibility of yet another full
fledged war between the two estranged neighbors of Asia. Since, both
India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and if the war breaks out then the
situation in the entire South Asia will be vulnerable.
The
threat of such a calamity amplified after India put a break on the peace
process with Pakistan following the serial blasts in Mumbai. If India and
Pakistan decide to go for war, every sane person can imagine the impact
and consequences such a war could have on the entire South Asia.
Moreover, both the countries have expelled the diplomats in what could be
termed as a tit for tat diplomacy. Taking notice of these things one can
clearly say that all is not well between India and Pakistan.
For
the safety of the entire region of South Asia, and for the larger benefit
of the world community, United Nation and the super-powers of the world
need to come forward and prevent such a catast-rophe from becoming a
reality. The International peace-keeping agency must keep the interest of
Kashmiri people paramount and take serious and resolute initiative in
order to make things better for the common mass of Kashmir and settle the
Kashmir issue once and for all. Over to U.N.
(The
author can be reached at syedalisafvi@yahoo.com)
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