Self-rule in J&K

Feb 3, 2006

          PDP ad on self-rule triggers row 

                                                                       S.P.Sharma

                                                                Tribune News Service 

 

Jammu, February 2

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) of Mufti Sayeed today triggered a controversy by giving an impression that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's proposal of self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir was better than the National Conference's (NC) demand for internal autonomy.

 

The PDP has inserted a full-page advertisement in local newspapers regarding its stand on the controversial issue of self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir. The advertisement, besides the party's resolution, of self-rule, also carries three basic differences between the idea of self-rule and the NC's demand for autonomy.

 

This has brought to the fore the serious differences between Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his coalition partner, the PDP, on the sensitive issue. While Mr Azad has outrightly rejected the suggestion of self-rule on the plea that its own elected representatives were ruling Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP has come out with the demand for a debate on the issue.

 

Observers feel that the advertisement is an effort of the PDP to set to rest the confusion that has been created due to conflicting statements of its leaders on the issue. The advertisement carries the text of the resolution that was adopted in the recent meeting of the executive committee of the party in which it was demanded that instead of rejecting the proposal of self-rule, it should be discussed at all forums.

 

There were reports of serious differences also within the PDP leadership on the suggestion of self-rule that has come from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

 

Interestingly, the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Baig, who was a founder member of the PDP, has tried to wriggle out of his earlier statements on the issue by inserting the advertisement with his signatures.

 

Mr Baig had earlier reportedly said that Jammu and Kashmir already had self-rule, but now the advertisement issued under his signatures stresses that instead of addressing the issue on partisan or narrow considerations, an attempt should be made to ensure that the suggestion when furnished with specifics, should be considered sincerely and objectively.

 

The PDP has among other things said that Article 370 of the Constitution of India, read with the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, is one of the models of self-rule, which the state already enjoys. However, this original model of self-rule was materially altered first in 1952 and subsequently by various constitutional and legal actions.

 

Describing the self-rule proposal as different from the demand of the National Conference for internal autonomy, the PDP's advertisement points out that the former idea was different from autonomy in three respects. Firstly, the slogan of internal autonomy aims at restoring the position back to the one that existed at the time of arrest of Shiekh Abdullah in 1953. It is not equivalent to the model of the self-rule that existed in the state in its original and undiluted form at the time of adoption of Article 370.

 

Secondly, the PDP has pointed out that the brief sketch of proposals given by General Musharraf would entail self-rule not only for Kashmir but all three regions of the state, including Jammu and Ladakh. Whereas the slogan of internal autonomy would address only the sentiments of the Kashmir valley and a few areas outside it, the idea of self-rule will have wider application.

 

Thirdly, the internal autonomy addresses only, and partially, the constitutional and administrative relationship between Delhi and Kashmir. On the other hand the idea of self-rule proposed by General Musharraf appears to be aimed at finding a solution to the Kashmir problem without advocating the state's accession with Pakistan or diluting India's sovereignty as General. Musharraf has himself stated that plebiscite and independence are not the options for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

 

Other partners of the ruling coalition too have conflicting views on the self-rule proposal. While the CPM leader, Mr Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, has sought a debate on the issue, the Panthers Party is opposed to the idea.

 

The vice-president of the state BJP, Prof Hari Om, in a statement today, demanded an explanation from the Congress on its stand on the issue.

 

He said the PDP was consistently singing the Pakistani song and making suggestions that were not in the interests of the country.

 

 

Rights violations

The Tribune

Feb 28, 2006

Governor faces NC wrath on rights issue

                                                                 S.P. Sharma

                                                         

Tribune News Service 

 

Jammu, February 27

Battlelines are drawn between the Congress-led coalition government and the opposition National Conference (NC) as members of NC today 'greeted' the Governor, Lieut. Gen. S.K. Sinha (retd), to the legislature complex with anti-government slogans on the issue of human rights violations in the valley. They also sought a judicial inquiry into the killing of four boys at Handwara during an encounter between the Army and terrorists.

 

The NC legislators boycotted the proceedings and raised slogans outside the Central Hall while the Governor addressed the joint sitting of both Houses on the opening day of the Budget session. Within the hall, the CPI MLC, Mr Abdul Rehman Takroo, interrupted the Governor and raised the issue of human rights violations in the valley.

 

He said while on one hand the government was engaged in the peace process, on the other hand the incidents of human rights violation had increased in the valley. NC members led by Mr Abdul Rahim Rather, Leader of the Opposition, gathered outside the legislature complex in the morning and started raising slogans against the government.

 

They continued to raise the issue till the Governor left the complex after delivering his 90-minute address.

 

Thereafter, they assembled in the lobby and raised slogans while the House met.

 

Mr Rather demanded that action should be taken against the Army personnel who were involved in the killing of the four boys. He wanted that a judicial Inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court should be ordered into the incident.

 

In his address Governor Sinha said the government had given clear instructions to the security forces that common man should not be brought to any harm while fighting terrorism and violence and that the collateral damage, if unavoidable, has to be absolutely minimum.

 

He said the state government was totally against all forms of excesses and would not hesitate to take action under law where such excesses are reported and proved.

 

''The state government wholeheartedly supports the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan and the confidence building measures (CBMs) agreed upon by the two governments. It is hoped that the ongoing dialogue and CBMs lead to an era of permanent peace between the two countries'', he said.

 

The Governor said the first priority of the government was to restore normalcy in the state to enable everyone to live and work without fear. ''As a result of the coordinated efforts of the Army, para-military forces and the police and with the support of the ordinary people, the graph of terrorist violence is going down''.

 

The year 2005 registered a drop of 24 per cent as compared to the last year in the killing of civilians and political activists.

 

In all 917 terrorists were killed in 2005. As many as 157 officers and jawans of the Army and para-military forces, 32 officers and jawans of the J&K Police, 37 special police officers (SPOs) and 18 members of the village defence committees had sacrificed their lives while fighting militancy last year.

 

Referring to the reopening of the road link between Srinagar and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Governor said earlier in the year India took a great step forward in facilitating contact between the divided families of the state by opening the Jhelum valley road for passenger traffic.

 

''The bus to PoK may be a small beginning, but I am sure, it will pierce through the frozen mindset that have promoted violence and hatred and help usher in an era of goodwill and people to people contact, the need for which is increasingly realised in the new global scenario''.

 

''The recent announcement by the governments of India and Pakistan to allow trucks with merchandise to ply on the road has a great significance for the economy of the state. The start of the Poonch-Rawlakote bus service will be a boon for the people of the border areas of the Jammu province who are cut off from their kith and kin as a result of political problems'', he added.

 

The Governor reiterated that the government was keen to ensure safe and respectable return of the Kashmiri migrants to their homes in the valley.

 

He also listed various achievements of the government and steps taken for development of the state.

Soldier's skeletal remains (Aug.15, 2003)

Anchor

Sepoy Beli Ram cremated after 35 years
S. P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Devipur (Akhnoor), August 14
Eightytwo-year-old Tando Devi stood numb in the Devipur migrant camp as the skeletal remains of her soldier son, Beli Ram, were handed over to her by the Army. The remains were flown in today from the Dacca glacier in Himachal Pradesh, where these had been lying for the past 35 years.

It was an unprecedented cremation of a soldier in the history of the armed forces as he was cremated 35 years after death. It was a sheer chance that remains of Beli Ram, who had died in an air crash in February, 1968, were recovered.

Beli Ram's wife Giano Devi sat with folded hands besides the remains, wrapped in the Tricolour, as a sea of humanity turned up at their mud house in the village to pay last respects.

The body was flown to Pathankot from Manali in an IAF aircraft this morning and brought here in a Chetak helicopter of the Army in the afternoon.

He was cremated with full military honours and given a gun salute by jawans of the Assam Rifles, when the pyre was lit by his nephew. Besides a large number of people, senior Army officers were also present at the cremation.

The people lined up on both sides of the road as the remains were brought here from Akhnoor, where the GOC of the 10th Infantry Div, Maj-GenTej Sapru, laid a wreath on the body.

Ms Tando Devi several times tried to have a glimpse of her son's remains by lifting the plastic sheet in which these were wrapped. Beli Ram's sisters wept bitterly and placed a rakhi on his body, wrapped in bandages when it was brought out of the plastic sheet.

A village elder, Mr Baldev Singh, said no one had ever thought that the body of Beli Ram would be recovered, 35 years after the crash. "It is a miracle for all of us." he said.

He was thankful to the Army, which gave respect to the dead soldier and brought his body home from an inaccessible mountain glacier.

The remains were scheduled to reach here at 11 am, but the helicopter landed about 1 pm as it could not take off from Manali due to bad weather.

Beli Ram had died when the AN-12, in which he was flying from Leh to Chandigarh, crashed on February 7, 1968, on the south Dakka glacier in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.

There were 102 soldiers and crew members on the flight. So far only the skeletal remains of Beli Ram have been found by trekkers of the Mountaineering Institute at Manali.

Pratibha Chauhan adds from Manali: "Except for Beli Ram's body, we could not identify any other person as only pieces of bones and flesh, which have become leathery and bloated after remaining buried under snow for years, could be recovered," said Colonel Chauhan, Director of the Mountaineering Institute.

"Though Army personnel in the search team have returned, the Air Force personnel are expected back here tomorrow," said Colonel Chauhan, who has been assisting in the search operation. He added that Dogra Scouts from the Sumdo battalion have returned to their location in Kinnaur.

He said the presence of Lance Naik Kamal Singh Bhandari in the aircraft could be established as his bed holding was found intact.

"Though the Army is trying to verify if the name of Lance Naik Bhandari figures in the manifest of the persons on board the aircraft, but from the documents found, he hails from Chamoli district in Garhwal and was in the Army Ordinance Corps.

A joint team of the Army and the Air Force had for the past three days been undertaking Operation Salvage at the 16,500 feet high Dacca glacier to search for the remains of persons on board the aircraft. The Army, after searching for the missing aircraft, had suspended the operation six months after the crash, said Army sources.

The recent search was carried out at the Dacca glacier, as the aircraft had crashed after hitting the Chander Bhaga-13 peak. The operation was undertaken after a team of climbers from the Mountaineering Institute chanced upon the remains of Beli Ram, whose identity could be established from his service documents.

Following this, the Army decided to launch an operation to search for the remains of others and extricate the body of Beli Ram.

It is, however, not certain whether the search operation would be wound up, as the defence authorities might wish to lift the wreckage of the aircraft from the glacier.

Watermills generate electricity (Sept.27,2006)

OPED

Lighting up the hills
by S.P. Sharma

IT is a dream come true for residents of at least 420 remote and mountainous villages in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, where the traditional watermills (gharats) have started generating electricity to light bulbs in the households.

The task has been accomplished by the Army under its Operation Sadbhavana. The army has identified 1000 watermills in far-flung and inaccessible areas for being converted into micro-power houses. Just a few, minor, mechanical modifications are required in these traditional mills for this purpose, that have so far only been grinding corn.

Residents of the villages where each watermill has started generating 2 to 3 kws of electricity are full of joy as they never imagined that they could have a bulb in their house. Every household was allowed to install one bulb and in certain villages the streets have also been lit.

The Hillkaka village in the forward area of the Poonch district, which was three years ago under the virtual captivity of terrorists, now has its own electricity generating watermill. Residents of the Nilgrar, Barsada and Kolale villages were thrilled to see the bulbs light up their houses.

The army had started converting these watermills into power houses just a year ago and as many as 420 villages and hamlets have been lit. The financial back up is also provided by the ministry of non-conventional energy sources (MNES) and under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP).

Of the 420 projects commissioned so far, 289 were under Operation Sadbhavana, 95 under the BADP and 52 supported by the MNES. The highest number of 435 projects was being supported by the MNES which has already provided a grant of Rs.8.70 crores for the purpose.

According to sources in the MNES, 100 villages in Ladakh, 550 in Kashmir and 350 in Jammu will be lit by constructing micro-power projects. The project has been taken in hand under the prime minister's reconstruction plan that provides for constructing 1000 such power houses in the remote areas of the state.

The government has now realized that the mini and micro power projects were the answer to remove darkness from the far-flung villages. The big power projects were not only time consuming, but have also failed to supply electricity to the border areas in the past 60 years.

However, red-tape in the bureaucracy continues to delay execution of the 10 mini-power projects that chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had himself cleared eight months ago.

According to a spokesman of the army, the technology kit for upgrading the watermills to perform multi-utility functions have been devised in consultation with a Dehradun based NGO. Apart from performing the traditional function of corn grinding and cotton combing, the watermill would generate 1 to 8 kilowatts of electricity and also run the lathe machine.

Flashback (Dec.25, 2005)

 

 

FLASHBACK 2005
A historic year
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

JAMMU: Restoration of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, opening of the LoC at five places 57 years after Partition, and return of the Congress to power after 30 years in the state, are among the events that made the year historic in Jammu and Kashmir.

It was a historic occasion when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, flagged off the bus to Muzaffarabad PoK in April. The bus service has provided an opportunity to divided families to meet again.

The bus service, however, had to be suspended in October because of the devastation caused by the earthquake. The road link was recently restored when Army engineers rebuilt the Aman Setu connecting both sides of Kashmir.

The earthquake made India and Pakistan soften their stand on the Kashmir issue and open the LoC at five places to enable the exchange fo relief material for victims. Rotational opening of these points has now become an ongoing process as victims on both sides are being allowed to cross-over to meet their relatives.

The year brought cheers for the Congress that returned to power in Jammu and Kashmir after 30 years. This was one of the most significant political events of the year that also witnessed the breaking of ice between the Prime Minister and the APHC.

Amid uncertainty over the change of guard in the state, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, resigned from the Union Cabinet and became Chief Minister of the Congress-led coalition on November 2. Throughout the year speculations were rife whether PDP leader Mufti Sayeed would step down to pave the way for a smooth transfer of power on the completion of his three-year term as was provided in an agreement between the two parties.

Initially, there were reports of Mr Azad being reluctant to shift here but he was asked by the Congress leadership to take over the reins of the state.

However, the changeover left some ministers high and dry as they could not get a berth. The Panthers Party was on the verge of a split on the issue of its chairman, Mr Bhim Singh, deciding to support the Azad government from outside. But damage control is being undertaken.

It was a set-back for the APHC that suffered a split with Syed Ali Shah Geelani parting ways. The Hurriyat leadership held a successful round of talks with the Prime Minister.

The Hurriyat leaders were given the green light to visit Pakistan and other countries without any precondition by the Centre.

The BJP saw a split with the breakaway group reviving the Praja Parishad.

The National Conference also did not remain immune to dissidence as its two senior MLAs, Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari and Mr Dillawar Mir, left the party to join the PDP.

The PDP also faced dissidence with one of its senior leaders, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir, having differences with party chief Mehbooba Mufti.

Because of security threat, the state government could not filfil its commitment of shifting back the first batch of Kashmiri Pandis to Kashmir where flats have been built for them.

J&K CM Azad (Dec.15,2005)

Azad inaccessible to party leaders
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 15
The inaccessibility to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is causing anxiety among senior leaders of the ruling Congress in Jammu and Kashmir.

It has been one and a half month now since Mr Azad replaced PDP leader Mufti Sayeed, but top leaders of the Congress were cooling their heels to have a glimpse of the Chief Minister belonging to their own party. The Congress has returned to power in the state after a gap of about 30 years.

The rank and file of the party has now started discussing in open the issue of inaccessibility of Mr Azad. It is being pointed out that certain top leaders of the party have repeatedly put in their request for an audience with the Chief Minister, but are still waiting for a word from his secretariat. They cry that Mr Azad should now shun his Delhi tag and acclimatise with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

A number of Congress activists said there had been no problem in meeting Chief Ministers in the past, including Mufti Sayeed, Dr Farooq Abdullah and even Sheikh Abdullah. But, now when their own party was in power the Chief Minister's Office and residence have been virtually declared out of bounds for them.

The doors of the Chief Ministers during the previous Congress regimes, when Mr G.M. Sadiq and Syed Mir Qasim ruled the state, had been always open for the workers who were considered the best source of feedback from the grass-roots level.

Although Dr Farooq Abdullah was accused of having been surrounded by a coterie of bureaucrats, he never closed his doors to the National Conference activists and for others too.

However, senior Congressmen here, who did not want to be quoted, are surprised over the indifferent attitude of Mr Azad. They appreciate the crusade of Mr Azad against corruption, but fear that the party would be the ultimate loser in case he did not immediately shun his Delhi tag. Things here are totally different and unlike a Central minister, the Chief Minister, particularly that of Jammu and Kashmir, has to make himself available to the common people who that have faced the brunt of terrorism for the past 16 years.

A senior leader of the Congress pointed out that Mr Azad might be trying to copy the functioning of the former Governor, Mr Jagmohan, who became very popular in the state by taking action against corrupt officials. But Mr Jagmohan was at the same time the most easily accessible to the common man.

The only occasion when Mr Azad met the party legislators and councillors here was during a dinner he hosted for them recently. A senior party functionary said during the dinner party Mr Azad said he would take another month to open his doors to them. Another leader said he got an opportunity to have a glimpse of Mr Azad last week when Mrs Sonia Gandhi landed at the airport here to catch a helicopter to the earthquake-hit areas of the state.

Not many Congress leaders were allowed to enter the airport as Mr Azad himself approved the list of the invitees, he claimed.

As a Central minister Mr Azad was a regular visitor to the PCC Headquarters just near the Chief Minister's official residence, but has not gone there once after taking over the reins of the state.

A former MP drew parallel between the present scenario here and that in Madhya Pradesh during the regime of Mr Digvijay Singh when the Congress lost its mass base, as the Mr Singh remained confined to the secretariat.

However, the senior party leaders are keeping mum at the moment because Mr Azad enjoys the blessings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Moreover, he has yet to expand his ministry and no one want to lose the opportunity by opening his mouth against the style of Mr Azad's functioning.

Mr Azad had recently said that he did not want to waste time in gossip as he had in hand the important job of putting back on the rails the systematic functioning of government offices and removing the ills that had over the years crept into the system.

His supporters claim that the Chief Minister was himself occasionally flying to the remote areas of the state to have a firsthand information about the wellbeing of the people, so there was no point accusing him of keeping the common people away.

On the other hand, the legislators were eagerly waiting for the special session of the legislature to begin when, they hope, they would be in a position to meet the Chief Minister frequently.

Changing weather in cold deserts of Himachal and J&K (Aug.18, 2006)

OPED

Cold desert and pouring rain
by S.P. Sharma

THE new phenomenon of incessant rains in the cold desert stretching between Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir and Lahaul-Spiti of the neighboring Himachal Pradesh is worrying residents of these areas.

Heavy rains and cloud-bursts have triggered floods in Ladakh and caused widespread damage to buildings and crops. Many lives have also been lost. Residents of the cold desert have never before seen so much rain. These areas had, so far, mostly remained dry and the people were dependant on the water sources fed by the glaciers.

An elderly Tsring Dorje, resident of the Nubra valley near Leh, said that rain was a rare sight in the area, "but now we have had enough of it." He attributed the unprecedented phenomenon to the cold desert being converted into greenery. He blamed the desert development programme for the change in climatic conditions of the area.

Dorje said that the traditional clay houses in Ladakh will not withstand the rains and now the people will have to go in for cement structures. Floods have washed away several houses, roads and bridges in the Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh.

The clay houses in Lahaul-Spiti area were also threatened due to rains. Monks in the Tabo Monastery, which is more than 1000 years old, were worried that the wall paintings were getting damaged due to seepage of rain water. The Archaeological Survey of India was taking special measures to protect these paintings from further damage.

Mr. P. Namgial, a former MP and a sitting MLC, said that never before had he seen continuous rain for about one week in Ladakh. Cloud-bursts, like those in Himachal Pradesh, were a new phenomenon here.

Much damage has also been caused due to climatic variations that have led to melting of the high altitude glaciers. The only two power projects Stakna and Marchelang in Leh, have been badly damaged due to flash-floods.

Mr. Namgial said that Ladakh used to register a below freezing temperature of -30 degrees c during winters till the past few years, but now the temperature during the peak winter hovers around -18 degrees c.

He said that the snow line of the Stok glacier just opposite the Leh town has receded upwards and many smaller glaciers have vanished. The situation has become alarming with the Gompa locality within the Leh town littered with boulders that were carried by a flash flood. All bridges and culverts in the nearby Phyang village have been washed away.

Mr.Pinto Nurboo, a MLA and hotelier, attributed the change in the climate of the cold desert to the global warming.

Pilots of the army and IAF point out that a number of artificial lakes have developed on the mountain tops in the far-flung areas due to melting of glaciers. The Shyok river that crosses through Ladakh and later joins the Indus, was overflowing this summer mainly because of melting of the Chong Kamdan, Gasherbrum and Nubra glaciers. Scientific data points out that almost all 335 glaciers in the Sutlej, Beas and Spiti basins were receding.