An untenable assertion

Sir, - Mr. Muchkund Dubey goes too far when he opines that ``autonomy is the only basis of, and indeed the minimum must for, settling the problem with the people of Kashmir'' (The Hindu, July 18).

His view is not based on the realities as they exist in Kashmir. And one of the stark realities is that a vast majority of the people in the Kashmir Valley, including over six lakh Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims, nearly eight lakh Shiite Muslims, more than three lakh internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus and nearly one lakh Kashmiri Sikhs and Christians, is firmly opposed to the idea of independence or to the kind of autonomy Dr. Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference (NC) demand.

It is only the Kashmiri-speaking Sunnis, who constitute nearly 45 per cent of Kashmir's population and about 22 per cent of the State's population and who have been controlling the State's polity and economy since October 1947, are creating troubles for the over-generous New Delhi in Kashmir. But even they are not a homogeneous lot. They are vertically divided into four factions, demanding Pakistan, independence from both India and Pakistan, semi-independence (NC stands for the pre-1953 status which obviously means a step short of independence) and the Valley's closer integration with the rest of the country.

Those who take the 23-party Hurriyat Conference or the NC as the sole factor in the State's political situation are living in a world of the past. The Hurriyat Conference is irrelevant. For, its sphere of influence is limited to the Srinagar's downtown and a few other small pockets in the Valley. But more than that, it is a divided house. While its leaders such as Syed Ali Shah Geelani favour the Valley's merger with the theocratic, fundamentalist and feudalistic Pakistan on the ground that it is 100 per cent Muslim, those like Yasin Malik stand for the State's total independence.

Similarly, the NC has become so unpopular that none in the Valley takes it seriously. The Kashmiris are of the firm opinion that the sole aim of the NC is to perpetuate its misrule, secure absolute legislative, executive and judicial powers and fleece the State under the garb of autonomy. And, they are absolutely correct in their assessment.

It is, however, true that they want freedom or autonomy. But it is more than true that they want freedom or autonomy from the NC and Hurriyat. At the same time, they cry for a genuinely democratic government and a fair, clean and responsive administration.

Hari Om,

Jammu

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