Sahir Bilal
Kashmir is a dystopia of post-apocalyptic age. What would have George Orwell made out of the Kashmir situation in the year 2020? What would Orwell say about today’s Kashmir? Orwell would’ve captured some sense of living in today’s Kashmir with extensive government over-reach, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of all people and behaviors.
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In Kashmir, there is external intimidating power which kind of makes it a sadomasochistic relationship that grinds down an entire population to perpetuate its power. Since August last year, the government of India has embarked on a mission to perpetuate a drastic demographic change in a predominantly Muslim majority region. The policies that the Indian government is implementing since the curtailment of regions’ special autonomous status last year will bring tectonic shifts in Kashmir society. As the first anniversary of the scraping of Kashmir’s special status was marked on 5th August, here is a factual analysis of the various policy changes which were enforced post abrogation of article 370.
Domicile law
Jammu Kashmir was revoked of its semiautonomous status by the government of India in August 2019, where ten thousand people were arrested including politicians, activists, journalists, and civilians. The relegation of Jammu Kashmir from a state with special status two separate union territories i.e. Ladakh and Jammu Kashmir gave direct control and more powers to the BJP-led government. According to the reorganization bill, the government-appointed of Lieutenant Governor for both UTs. It practically limits the autonomy of the state legislature of Jammu Kashmir which came under Article 370 of the Indian constitution. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Order de-empowers the state legislature of Jammu Kashmir from ascertaining ‘permanent residents’ and their right to employment, as was provided under Article 35A of the Indian constitution. Under the domicile law, those who have resided for a period of 15 years in Jammu Kashmir become eligible for permanent residency. Observers say that the new Domicile Law could permanently alter the demography of the disputed region and “17.4 million people can certainly acquire domicile rights, which constitute roughly 14% of J&K’s population of 1.23 billion according to 2011 census.
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New Education Policy
According to the newly introduced Education Policy 2020, ‘the government intends to set up various universities in Jammu Kashmir. The government will facilitate allotment of land in UT from the specified available land bank and will coordinate with the concerned departments for the required approvals and clearances to facilitate the process of setting up educational institutions in Jammu Kashmir. There has been an open invitation to various private investors outside the Kashmir to incentivize the set up educational institutions in Jammu Kashmir. The new education policy dismisses the local history and the textbooks are to represent a narrative suitable for the present Government of India. The Narendra Modi government has repeatedly been accused of ‘saffronizing’ education – particularly by editing history textbooks.
New Media Policy
The intimidation and threatening of journalists for highlighting people’s issues have frequently been reported in Jammu Kashmir. The administration approved the new Media Policy-2020 in J&K, stating that it was meant for effective communication and public outreach. The Media Policy-2020 allows the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) to examine the content of print, electronic, and various other forms of media for fake news, plagiarism, and unethical or anti-national activities. The new media policy has rendered Jammu Kashmir newspapers into government hand-outs. The new policy gives Jammu Kashmir administration powers to decide what is ‘fake’, ‘unethical’ or ‘anti-national’ news, and to take legal action against the journalist or media organization concerned, including stopping government advertisements and sharing information with security agencies.
The new policy has been described as an attempt ‘to kill journalism’ and a ‘remnant of the colonial era.’ In this state censorship, the government will decide what to publish and what not to.
The BJP-led central government has curtailed Kashmir region’s special autonomous status on the premise that complete integration of the erstwhile state with the Indian union will usher in a new era of peace and development in the economically starved region.
A recent report by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a local human rights group, says Kashmir sees 229 killings in the first half of 2020 which includes 143 militants and 32 civilian deaths which are happening during the lockdown. It is a massive operation by the Indian military to wipe out militancy from Kashmir. Post this abrogation J&K has witnessed the longest internet blackout. It has been a year without high-speed internet. The human rights violations here are alarming now and with covid19 plaguing the world people here must have access to tools necessary to fight this disease. Without adequate resources and internet access, the covid19 is taking a heavy toll in a region with already fragile health systems.
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The revocation of the special status with lockdown and communication blockade it deepened the anxieties among Kashmiris. For centuries Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits, Hindus in local parlance, are living in peaceful coexistence in a harmonious relationship. But the ongoing settlement of outsiders in the valley is seen as an assault on the identity of Kashmiris. Even though the conflict in Kashmir is deep-rooted but it has a strong psychological dimension as well. As tensions continue to rise in Kashmir after the shocking revocation of article 370, fear has, once again, gripped the valley of Kashmir. The mental health burden of this militarisation is reflected in the general psychology of the already anxious population.
It’s been a year since the revocation of the Kashmir’s special status. This step by GOI was condemned worldwide stating it unconstitutional. New demographic changes are being carried outpost this abrogation. According to some Kashmiris, they are facing existential threats as Article 370 and 35-A was the identity that differentiated them from others.
Sahir Bilal, the author is a Research Scholar at the Central University of Kashmir.
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