Memorandum on Kashmir Issue

HER EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT OF BHARAT

SMT. PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL

RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN

NEW DELHI.

EXCELLENCY,

Subject- Regarding report submitted by the Interlocutors on Jammu – Kashmir.

A.     With humble respects and compliments, we wish to approach your highest offices with the following submission related to the subject mentioned above :

·        The Instrument of Accession was signed by the then Maharaja of Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir on October 26, 1947 leading to accession of the state into Bharat.

·        With signing of this document Jammu and Kashmir became an integral part of Bharat. As per the provisions of the Instrument of Accession, the accession of Jammu and Kashmir into Bharat is irreversible and irrevocable.

·         Pakistan and China are in illegal occupation of a large part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This being Indian land, it is not only our duty but also responsibility to regain control of those parts of the state that are under illegal occupation of Pakistan and China.  Parliament of India unanimously adopted a resolution to this effect on February 22, 1994.

·        Putting forward or supporting any demand like separation of any part of the state from Bharat, rejection of the Accession of Jammu and Kashmir into India, seeking freedom from India or taking it out of the jurisdiction of Constitution is nothing but an act of treason. 

·        India Has fought three direct wars and one limited war in Kargil for defending Jammu Kashmir from the aggressors. A proxy war in the form of Pakistan sponsored terrorism is on in the state since 1988.  Total 21 Param Veer Chakras have been awarded by HE for displaying extraordinary valour in the battlefield since 1947. Out of these 16 have gone to the brave soldiers who fought for and in Jammu –Kashmir. More than 6000 soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the nation’s fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

B.     Many of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Group of Interlocutors are against national sentiments, tend to negate/violate the supremacy of Indian Constitution, aim at eroding the sovereignty of India and also attempt to encroach upon the rights and powers of HE the President of the Republic of India.

·        Recommendation of setting up a Constitutional Committee (CC) to review all Central Acts and Articles of the Constitution of India extended to the State after the signing of the 1952 Agreement.

·        It will bear in mind the dual character of Jammu and Kashmir, viz. that it is a constituent unit of the Indian Union and that it enjoys a special status in the said Union, enshrined in Article 370 of the Constitution of India; and the dual character of the people of the State, viz. that they are both State subjects and Indian citizens.

·        The Central Acts and Articles of the Constitution of India, extended with or without amendment to the State, have dented Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and abridged the State government’s powers to cater to the welfare of its people.

·        The next step would be for the President, in exercise of powers conferred by clause (1) and (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution, to  issue an order incorporating the recommendations of the Constitutional Committee. Once this process is over, Clauses (1) and (3) of Article 370 shall cease to be operative and no orders shall be made by the President hereafter under the said clauses as from the date of the final order. 

·        Deletion of the word ‘Temporary’ from the heading of Article 370 and from the title of Part XXI of the Constitution. Replace it with the word ‘Special’ as it has been used for other States.

·        On the Governor: the State Government, after consultations with Opposition parties, shall submit a list of three names to the President.  The President can ask for more suggestions if required.  The Governor will be appointed by the President and hold office at the pleasure of the President.

·        Article 356:  the action of the Governor is now justiciable in the Supreme Court.  The present arrangement should continue with the provision that the Governor will keep the State legislature under suspended animation and hold fresh elections within three months.

·        The nomenclatures in English of the Governor and the Chief Minister should continue as at present.  Equivalent nomenclatures in Urdu may be used while referring to the two offices in Urdu.

·        Parliament will make no laws applicable to the State unless it relates to the country’s internal and external security and its vital economic interest, especially in the areas of energy and access to water resources.

·        Take all appropriate measures to regard Jammu and Kashmir as a bridge between South and Central Asia.

The above said recommendations of the Group of Interlocutors make it sufficiently clear that this report is an attempt to encroach upon the sovereignty of India over the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is against the provisions of Constitution of India as well as against the aspirations of the Indian nation as a whole.

C.    In their capacity as citizens of India and also as representatives of the Indian Citizens, the undersigned humbly request HE that the Report of the Interlocutors titled ‘ A new Compact with People of Jammu Kashmir’  that has been displayed on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, for public debate may please be :

·        Rejected and scrapped with immediate effect.

·        Removed from the official website of the Home Ministry immediately. Instructions to this effect may be given to the Ministry.

·        It is further requested to institute an Inquiry into the circumstances/ compulsions under which the Interlocutors prepared and submitted such an anti-national and highly objectionable report. This job should be assigned to a competent agency and the same may be mandated to look into the alleged connections/connivance of the interlocutors with anti-national forces in and outside the country. If the allegations of direct or indirect connections between any of the interlocutors and the anti-India forces are found correct, the guilty must be brought to book and punished under the law of the land.

             Thanking Your Excellency in anticipation,