The Centre may have nipped the demand for autonomy in the bud, but the controversial report adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has already generated a fast-growing backlash within the state. The communal agenda of trifurcating Jammu and Kashmir is top of the mind, and some groups are even speaking the language of partition.The Congress-leaning Ladakh Hill Development Council passed a resolution seeking separation from J&K and a Union Territory status for Buddhist-dominated Leh. The Bhartiya Janata Party has openly threatened to pursue an agitation for trifurcation if the Centre even discusses the autonomy demand. Several political parties with a base in the Hindu-dominated areas of Jammu, such as the Panthers Party, have suggested statehood for Jammu or a complete merger with the Indian Union. The right-wing Kashmiri Pandit group, Panun Kashmir, even demands further partition of the state, seeking a separate homeland for the community in the Kashmir valley directly controlled by Delhi.``Autonomy means independence. It is an anti-national act and we condemn it,'' declares Shri Kumar, the RSS chief of J&K. He claimed that the demand for separate statehood for Jammu and union territory status for Ladakh was a reaction to the ruling NC's autonomy demand. Kumar said his party would support all those fighting against autonomy. ``We have sacrificed so many precious lives, including our hero Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, to achieve integration with the country, we will not allow it to happen at any cost,'' he said.Though the restoration of autonomy seems a distant dream, the reactions generated on communal lines is likely to strengthen hardliner groups which are advocating the two nation theory. Ironically, the stand taken by the right-wing Hindu groups echoes that of their Muslim adversaries in the separatist camp.Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader and chairperson of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, openly advocated division of the state if necessary, to reach a permanent settlement.The BJP Vice president in J&K, Chander Mohan Sharma, accused Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of ``hobnobbing with foreign agencies to disintegrate the country''. He even claimed that Abdullah had sent a copy of the Autonomy Report to US officials before tabling it in the assembly. In a recent press briefing, he called the report a ``document of secession'' and threatened that Jammuites would be forced to launch an agitation for trifurcation.The autonomy debate is now so neck-deep in communalism that the ruling National Conference has started reacting in the same language. Conference leaders from the Muslim-dominated belts of Jammu and Kargil in Ladakh openly warn of further division of their regions on communal lines if the opposition demands trifurcation. ``We are against any division of the state and will fight to prevent it. But if the division is inevitable, we would rather be a part of Kashmir than Jammu,'' said the NC legislator from Doda, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy.Another legislator from nearby Bhaderwah has similar views. ``The BJP is not the majority voice in Jammu. In fact Kanak Mandi (a small, BJP-dominated area) is not Jammu,'' said Firdous Sayeed Baba. A pro-Pakistan militant commander-turned-legislator, Baba says any settlement on religious lines would be disastrous not only for the state but for the whole of the sub-continent. ``It's like playing with fire. The events of 1947 will get re-enacted in every village,'' he warned.Things are no different in Ladakh. There were protests against the demand for autonomy in Buddhist dominated Leh, where the Ladakh Hill Development Council adopted a resolution calling for separation from J&K and seeking union territory status to come under Delhi's direct rule. The NC termed this move illegal and questioned the hill council's jurisdiction. ``The so-called resolution has no legal standing. This hill council has only a developmental mandate,'' said P L Handoo, State Law minister. ``If the Srinagar municipality passes a resolution tomorrow that Srinagar is a part of Pakistan, who will accept it?''But the Executive Councillor and spokesperson of the LHDC, Rigzin Jora, said their resolution reflects the popular sentiment of Ladakhis. ``We're sure that if the J&K government gets autonomy and more powers, they will throw us away like the Kashmiri Pandits,'' he said. But isn't their move to have a separate union territory for the Buddhist-dominated area communally motivated? According to Jora, Farooq Abdullah himself initiated this sentiment by dividing the state into eight regions in his regional autonomy plan. The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) is continuing its agitation for union territory Status despite the Centre's rejection of autonomy. Jora explained: ``We know that sooner or later, the Centre has to resolve the problems in Kashmir. We are not against autonomy to the Kashmir Valley, but it should not be binding on us. Our aspirations should also be taken into consideration.''The Junior Works minister and NC legislator representing Kargil, Qamar Ali Akhoon, claims that the demand for a union territory on communal lines was a Congress game plan. ``The LBA is nothing but a front for the Congress,'' he said.Pradesh Congress president, M S Qureshi, agrees that states deserve more powers but is uncomfortable with autonomy to J&K. ``We are not for autonomy that results in total regimentation,'' he said. His party's position is to discuss matters only within the parameters of the Sheikh-Indira accord of 1975. ``If Farooq Abdullah wants to nullify that accord, let him openly say that his father was wrong and was taken in,'' Qureshi said.Readers can send feedback to focus@expressindia.com
