Kashmiris ready to shed the last drop of blood if Article 35 A is tinkered with, says Valley-based advocacy group

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

Srinagar: The Kashmir Centre for Social and Developmental Studies (KCSDS), an advocacy Centre and the largest civil society formation in Jammu and Kashmir, has ridiculed the statement made by RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat and said that Kashmiris will shed the last drop of blood if any tinkering is done with article 35-A.


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“He (Mohan Bhagwat) should know that it is not India which has given Kashmir any special status rather she has taken powers by force from the state by forcing the reluctant king Maharaja Hari Singh into signing the instrument of accession whose legitimacy Kashmiris have been questioning ever since,” KCSDS said while ridiculing the Bhagwat statement.

On the eve of Vijaya Dashmi last week, Bhagwat demanded “necessary constitutional amendments” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to be “completely assimilated” with the rest of the country and batted for the rights of Hindu refugees in the state.

“Even then the conditional clause inserted in the document by Governor-General makes the connection with India only tentative and tenuous subject to ratification by the people of the state. The article 35-A was inserted as a bulwark against the further erosion of the sovereignty of the state by the predatory union,” KCSDS said.

“Seeing the gradual onslaught of New Delhi on the residual sovereignty of the state by way of extension of the fundamental rights and Indian citizenship to natives of the state in 1954, the then state government sought protection to the exclusive rights of the natives of the state of permanent residency and settling or owning or buying land as well as jobs and scholarships in the state. Further, that state alone can decide on these matters,” it added.

Last month, the KCSDS had submitted a memorandum to members of the Visiting Congress delegation which included ex- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh where it had called the delegation to demonstrate sincerity and seriousness by educating the public opinion, talking about the issue in all relevant fora including the parliament and earn the confidence of people of JK by promoting settlement of Kashmir in accordance with the promises made to the people of Kashmir.

It had also asked the delegation to educate the Indian public about the actual reasons behind the temporary nature of 370 and article 35A as a protective article of the residual sovereignty of the state.

KCSDS is an advocacy group which carries out advocacy on issues to economic, social, cultural, environmental and political nature. It also acts as a watchdog on the government and builds an opinion on important issues facing the state on the universal principles of justice, human rights, equity and genuine democratic principles.

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