In a rapporteur issued by the UN Human Rights Council to the Indian Government on February 10, 2021, regarding minority issues in the erstwhile state of Jammu Kashmir after the unilateral revocation of its autonomy under article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
The organization has demanded from the Indian Government response to the serious concerns about the rights of the natives of the erstwhile state.
The rapporteur quoted various Human Rights Council resolutions and raised concerns about the reduced political representation and participation of the various native groups in the area, i.e., Kashmiri, Dogri, Gojri, Pahari, Sikh, Ladakhi and the other minorities.
It states that according to the information received via various Special Procedures mandate holders, the government had unilaterally revoked the constitutional status of the region on August 5, 2019. The state legislature of the region had been disrupted since June 2018, and the subjects of the erstwhile state had since been under the control of New Delhi.
While various states of the Indian nation-state like Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim still hold their autonomy, Jammu Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority state was ripped off it.
The state was converted into a Union Territory and divided into two regions, Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, respectively. As a preventive measure, the local political leaders were detained for a prolonged period of time and a communication blackout was imposed on the region for many months and the Reorganization Act was enforced without consultation with the subjects, In addition, new domicile laws were implemented, the rapporteur stated.
In its rapporteur, the UNHRC noticed, These laws have clearly simplified the process of handing out domicile to the subjects from outside the region, with little or no scope of verification, while the minority subjects from the region itself face difficulty.
The new domicile rules are not only alarming because of the diminishing rights of the natives of the region economically, there are high chances of threat to the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of the Kashmiri Muslim, Dogri, Gojri, Pahari, Sikh, Ladakhi and the other minorities.
It is evident that the number of domiciles issued to the outside subjects will pave the way to demographic changes on a linguistic, religious and ethnic basis.
Further, the Jammu Kashmir Land Revenue Act has been amended by which the officials can easily convert the agricultural land into non-agricultural land which would hugely impact the Nomadic Gujjar community and their land ownership rights.
The rapporteur has also castigated the demolition drives launched by the Pahalgam Development authority against the Gujjar and Bakerwal community of Jammu Kashmir and said that the land in most of the cases has been used for generations by the indigenous community.
Clearly, the subjects from outsiders are favored above the native minorities. The rapporteur also mentions its concerns regarding the expected increase of military presence in the region, which pose a risk of human rights violations. It states,
“A related concern is the central Government’s decision to notify areas of the former state as ‘strategic areas’ for development by the army, suggesting a further expansion of the military presence in the hinterland and border areas. The Government has also identified over 57,000 acres of land for setting up industrial estates for prospective entrepreneurs. Existing industrial estates in Kashmir are highly militarized. The setting up of new industrial estates creates the impression that there may be an increase in military presence in the
area.”
The rapporteur expresses to the government of India, a grave concern regarding the loss of autonomy of the region and also indicates concerns about the new domicile laws, how these laws might endanger the political participation, representation and the linguistic and cultural rights of the minority subjects.
Along with all the concerns regarding political participation, land ownership laws and domicile laws, the rapporteur repeats its anxiety expressed in the earlier communications as well, over the communication blockade, the internet shutdowns, the restrictions on assembly, and the right to freedom of expression. It further says that continuous harassment of journalists and human rights defenders is worrisome.
Hence, the government of India is called upon that the subjects of the region are ensured equal rights and like other Indian subjects, these subjects be given their right to exercise their regional political autonomy so they may freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
The government of India has been asked to provide its observations on the various matters posed. It is stated that the response of the Indian government shall be made public within sixty days. And while the government responds, it is directed to halt all the alleged violations in the region and has also been asked to hold the individual(s) responsible for the violations accountable.