This is not trifurcation

When JK acceded to India on October 26, 1947, it had a total area of 84,471 sq miles. It got bifurcated between India and Pakistan on Janua...

When J038;K acceded to India on October 26, 1947, it had a total area of 84,471 sq miles. It got bifurcated between India and Pakistan on January 1, 1949, when an unilateral ceasefire ordered by Nehru left about 30,000 sq miles area of the state, including the whole of Gilgit, Baltistan minus Kargil and Dras, and the Punjabi and Pahari speaking belt along the Jhelum river, under the de facto control of Pakistan.

This area did not include any part of the Kashmiri-speaking Valley. It is therefore wrong to describe Pak-occupied territory as ?Azad Kashmir?. Around 1959, China occupied about 15,000 sq miles of the Ladakh region. As a result, J038;K got trifurcated between India, Pakistan and China, leaving only about 30,000 sq miles under Indian control. It is unfortunate that this forced trifurcation of the state has been forgotten. Part of the state that remained with India includes Jammu, the homeland of the Dogras; Kashmir Valley, the homeland of the Kashmiris, and a truncated Ladakh.

It is thus clear that the demand for the reorganisation of the state on the basis of geography, the unalterable ground reality and the principle of devolution of power to the people of the three regions, goes back to the time of the accession of the state to India. To hand over the administration of the whole state to Sheikh Abdullah, who had no locus standi outside the Valley, was a grave blunder. His demand for special status for the whole state was not acceptable to the people of Jammu and Ladakh. This is why opposition to the incorporation of temporary Article 370 in the Constitution began from day one. The refusal of the Indian government to pay heed to this demand added to the distrust of the people of Jammu and Ladakh of the Sheikh. The opposition of Farooq Abdullah to the reorganisation of the state is a legacy from those times.

Due to over-representation given to the Kashmir Valley in the assembly, Kashmiri Muslims have developed a tendency to dominate Jammu and Ladakh. The process of Islamisation of not only Kashmir but also Jammu and Ladakh has been going on apace. As a result, Ladakh is on the verge of losing its Buddhist identity. The growing grip of Kashmiri Muslims on the administration of Jammu is a major factor in the extension of Islamic terrorism to Jammu. This has made the people here desperate. They now want an administrational delink of Jammu from Kashmir through the formation of separate Jammu state.

People of Jammu and Ladakh do not want any kind of special status and more autonomy. But they would not oppose special status for the Kashmir Valley within the framework of the Indian constitution. Farooq Abdullah cannot be allowed to impose autonomy of his conception on Jammu and Ladakh. Also, to describe reorganisation of the state on the basis of geography and ground realities given above as trifurcation of the state on communal lines is to betray a communal, anti-secular and anti-national mindset.

The problem of resettling about half a million Kashmiri Hindus who have been driven out from Kashmir during the last 50 years is ticklish. The pundits cannot go back to their original homes. Their demand for a well demarcated area in the southern part of the Valley is reasonable. A high-powered commission must be set up to find a workable solution of this problem.