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Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt refutes media reports, says he has no plans of joining politics

OpIndia Staff
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Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt refutes media reports, says he has no plans of joining politics

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has put all rumours to rest after he clarified that he has no plans of re-joining politics. Wishing the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha chief, Mahadev Jankar all the luck for the upcoming assembly elections and his future endeavours, Dutt in a statement cleared that he has no plans to join any party.


Reports had emerged earlier today claiming that Dutt will soon be joining Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), a BJP ally in Maharastra. The RSP is a junior ally of the ruling BJP in Maharashtra.

The party founder and Cabinet minister in Maharashtra government, Mahadev Jankar, on Sunday, had claimed that Sanjay Dutt was set to re-enter politics by joining the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP). Mahadev Jankar said the RSP was tapping the film industry to expand his party.

“We have started working in the film sector as well to expand our party. As part of which, actor Sanjay Dutt is also joining the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha on September 25,” said Jankar, who is the Minister of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development in Maharashtra government.

Earlier in the day, reports of Sanjay Dutt campaigning for the RSP in the upcoming Maharashtra elections had emerged. However, there was no official confirmation from Sanjay Dutt’s side as he had not released any press statement regarding his re-entry into electoral politics until now.

In 2009, Sanjay Dutt had joined Samajwadi Party (SP) as a candidate to contest from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency but withdrew after the court refused to suspend his conviction under the Arms Act. However, he was later appointed as the general secretary of the SP but resigned and had subsequently quit the party.

Arun Jaitley: An inclusive politician, and a lawyer who was a symbol of humility and acceptability

Siddharth Acharya
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Arun Jaitley: An inclusive politician, and a lawyer who was a symbol of humility and acceptability

Arun Jaitley had a wide contribution to Indian Politics and Bar. Not only Arun Jaitley was successful in Political life and Legal career but the fact is that he also represented the aspirations of young urban Lawyers from the middle class and poor background that could dream big and think of a successful legal career with determination and perseverance. Arun Jaitley was a perfect blend of the sharp legal brain at the same time humility which is of the paramount importance in public life.

Arun Jaitley rose to prominence as a DUSU president and was arrested during Emergency as he supported JP movement. After that, he was jailed for 19 months and was freed only after the Emergency was ended. In those days, Arun Jaitley was widely regarded as the custodian of morals and ethics and was heralded as the most promising politician in upcoming times. He could not contest 1977 elections as Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted him to contest, but due to his age is less than 25 at that time. Such was his impact on the national leadership of Janta Party that he was approached by legendary figures like Nanaji Deshmukh, Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani. It was courageous lawyers from Indian Bar at that time that combated the evils of draconian emergency when Press was censored and all the other institutions were paralysed.

After that Arun Jaitley deliberately kept a low profile for many years as he focussed on his legal practice and kept himself at bay before being officially inducted as Minister in 1999 NDA Government. Mr. Jaitley had dominated Delhi High Court along-with Mukul Rohatgi in those years and He was often considered as Darling of Media. If Ram Jethmalani was a symbol of flamboyance, Arun Jaitley represented humility and acceptability. After that he was inducted in the Cabinet and had managed many important portfolios like Law Ministry, he was appointed Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge). In addition, he was appointed Minister of State for Disinvestment (Independent Charge). The disinvestment ministry was created for the first time in accordance with the policy of disinvestment under the World Trade Organization regime. On 23 July 2000 following the resignation of Ram Jethmalani as the Union Cabinet Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, he took over his ministry as an additional charge. He is perhaps the best mediator and trouble-shooter in Indian Politics who had high regard across the entire political spectrum.

Jaitley perhaps was one of the few BJP strategists who was not completely in sync with the idea of Shining India and had a different opinion from Pramod Mahajan. He always believed that Development Propaganda misses important undercurrent which can connect with the voters and was firm that Shining India will not connect with the rural masses. He proved to be right and BJP had to go through a debacle in 2004 elections.

In 2006, Arun Jaitley was again elected from Rajya Sabha and this marked as his second innings in his Political career. He played a pivotal role as a Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha between 2009 to 2014 and attacked the Government on issues like 2G Scam, Coal Scam, Adarsh Scam etc. He has to be credited for setting the anti-incumbency narrative for the outgoing Government in 2014. He defended Narendra Modi politically in his speeches and played a vital role in getting him to the national scene in 2013 when Modi faced severe resistance from the Old Guard of the Party. Arun Jaitley was his go-to man in Lutyens Delhi and was responsible for Narendra Modi’s first speech at Shri Ram College of Commerce where he first time hinted to contest for Lok Sabha elections and take over the reins of BJP as a PM candidate. Arun Jaitley shaped Indian Politics through this and later everything is history. As a Minister, he enjoyed the confidence of Narendra Modi and played a crucial role in the Defence Ministry and Finance Ministry. He was Pro-FDI and various sectors like Pharma and Aviation got a substantial increase in it because of him. His speeches and presentations in favour of GST and Demonetisation were really helpful for the Government which was often targeted by Economists and oppositions. Even after becoming fragile due to health conditions, he advocated Government on Rafale issue and Balakot Air Strike with strong legal arguments saving the Government’s position where it looked vulnerable.

Mr Jaitley was an institution in himself and more than respect and fame, he had earned people. His ability to take a firm position yet managing to reach out to opposition as he did in getting the GST Act passed was an exceptional skill which nobody in his contemporary age possessed. He was a man of exemplary qualities like oratory and understanding of complex legal and constitutional issues. Mr Jaitley is not here between us but he has definitely left an unparalleled legacy and void which cannot be filled so easily.

Youth Congress peddles lies, claims Z-category security to Mukesh Ambani was given by BJP govt

OpIndia Staff
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Youth Congress peddles lies, claims Z-category security to Mukesh Ambani was given by BJP govt

The Youth Congres’s Twitter handle @IYC today posted a tweet falsely alleging that the Modi government had withdrawn the SPG cover provided to the former PM Manmohan Singh while granting Z-category security to the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited conglomerate Mukesh Ambani.

Youth Congress Tweet

The tweet by Congress handle was in response to the Modi government’s move to withdraw the Special Protection Group(SPG) from the security cover of the former PM Manmohan Singh and replace it with CRPF. The decision to remove SPG was taken after the Intelligence Bureau had given a security assessment report in Singh’s case. The IB director, Arvind Kumar, had met the former PM last week.

Singh continues to enjoy Z+ security. According to the government sources, the current security cover review is a periodical exercise based on threat perception that is purely based on a professional assessment by security agencies.

However, Congress was quick to politicise the issue claiming that the SPG removal was a ‘downgrading’ of Manmohan Singh’s security. Insinuating that the Modi government is for super-rich businessmen, Youth Congress asserted that the BJP government granted Z-category security to Mukesh Ambani while reducing the security cover of Manmohan Singh.

This is patently false as Mukesh Ambani was granted Z-category security not by the NDA government but by the UPA-2 government in 2013. The Supreme Court had held a dim view of the centre’s decision to upgrade Mukesh Ambani’s security cover and criticised the Congress government saying why such men are given security cover by the government while the common man continues to feel unsafe.

After the decision to provide commando security to Mukesh Ambani drew flak, the then Congress government had also clarified that Ambani himself would pay for the expenses. In 2013, Ambani was one of the 200 people in Mumbai who had been put under the top-level security cover.

It was a Congress government that had enlisted Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani to receive a Z-category security cover, a move that drew flak from the SC. However, in order to project that the Modi government is a purveyor of crony capitalism, Congress has tried to pass off a decision taken by their government as Modi’s government’s move.

The other facet of this controversy, which is lost on the Congress supporters and leaders protesting about the government’s move to strip Manmohan Singh of his SPG cover is that the threat perception to a particular leader is periodically reviewed professionally by security agencies. Moreover, the Z+ category security provided to Manmohan Singh continues to remain in place.

A tribute to the man who brought ‘Nationalism’ to our drawing rooms

Guest Author
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A tribute to the man who brought ‘Nationalism’ to our drawing rooms

I’m still struggling to digest the fact that Arun Jaitley is no longer around, but I’d like to pay tribute to a gentleman who was instrumental to my politics.

Most people I meet are a little bewildered when I tell them that I cast my lot with the nationalists in the RSS and the BJP. This isn’t unusual for me and I’m quite used to (and secretly delight in) their expressions of shock and dismay. How could a fairly broad-minded, foreign-educated guy who fits in perfectly into liberal drawing-room conversations support ‘them’?! For that, you can thank (or blame) Arun Jaitley.

Most of you know Arun Jaitley by his achievements (of which there are many) – first ABVP leader to win the DUSU elections; imprisoned for more than a year during the Emergency; Additional Solicitor General at the age of 37; super successful General Secretary and party strategist who delivered impressive election victories (most notably chasing out Digvijay Singh from Madhya Pradesh in 2003 and Lalu Prasad Yadav from Bihar in 2005, besides installing the first BJP government in Karnataka in 2008); Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha; and the de facto ranking Cabinet Minister (holding the Finance and (albeit briefly) Defence portfolios) in NDA-II.

Well before I trained with the RSS and spent time in the ABVP, before I ever picked up a book on Indian politics, when I was just a teenager looking to learn a thing or two about Indian politics following the 2004 national elections results and in the wake of a new government that counted amongst its top ministers men and women who had graduated from Harvard and Cambridge (the kind of institutions my parents encouraged me to aspire to be a part of), Arun Jaitley gave a voice to common sense nationalist impulses in a way that was effective, reasonable and unbelievably smooth. At a time when the English media had nothing nice to say about the BJP and the Sangh was painted out by the media to be a bunch of unreconstructed lumpen elements that resisted any notion of modernity and liberty, Arun Jaitley did yeoman’s service in making nationalism cool to my generation.

As time passed by and I grew more steeped in nationalist ideology and national politics grew more partisan (the Congress’ infinitely stupid decision to make the RSS out to be a terrorist organisation is the watershed moment in my view), I confess to finding Jaitley to be insufficiently ideological, heavily reliant on the bureaucracy and frustratingly bipartisan. His tenure as a ‘tax and spend’ Finance Minister was a particular disappointment and I really do wish he had been shifted out to a different, less important portfolio. The BJP has three articles of faith: the construction of a Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code; and the ‘abolition’ of Art. 370. Among the three, I think the one Jaitley cared about the most was Art. 370 and he must have been pleased to see that achieved in his lifetime (in so small part thanks to his efforts).

For all his faults, Arun Jaitley was a man who loved his country more than anything else and his country benefitted greatly from his hard work and commitment. He lived an extraordinary life and will be remembered fondly for his many achievements, but for me, his greatest achievement lies in swinging me (and many others like me) to the political right. And so, from a one-time fan and ever-grateful karyakarta, let me say: “Thank you, Mr Jaitley!”

(Adhitya Srinivasan is an ABVP karyakarta who holds law degrees from National Law Institute University, Bhopal and Harvard Law School)

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav dissolves the party’s Delhi state unit with immediate effect

OpIndia Staff
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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav dissolves the party’s Delhi state unit with immediate effect

In a desperate attempt to repair the rupture created during the Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has announced to dissolve the Delhi state unit with immediate effect.


Party General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav made the announcement in a statement, saying the Delhi unit had been dissolved “with immediate effect”.

This decision comes three days after the Party’s similar move in Uttar Pradesh. On August 23, Akhilesh Yadav had dissolved the state unit of the party in Uttar Pradesh.

Attempting a course correction in the party after the Lok Sabha poll debacle, Akhilesh Yadav had on Friday announced to dissolve the party’s entire Uttar Pradesh unitsm, including the state executive, and district and youth wings. The party, however, has retained state president Naresh Uttam.

A senior party leader on conditions of anonymity told PTI that: “Party president Akhilesh Yadav has dissolved the state executive. All district executives and the executives of youth and other wings have also been dissolved. A new executive will be formed soon.”

Despite stitching up an alliance with Mayawati’s BSP in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav’s party had to face severe humiliation in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as its tally remained stuck at five. Embarrassed with this huge loss, the Samajwadi Party president had in May dismissed the panel of spokespersons of the party.

The appointment of all party panellists was cancelled in one stroke by the party chief who also said that no TV channel should invite any of them for debate.

Furthermore, the BSP and SP parted ways after the humiliating defeat and the so-called ‘Mahagatbandhan’ in Uttar Pradesh, which the two parties had trumpeted big time, had come tumbling down like a pack of cards. BSP chief Mayawati had then held Akhilesh Yadav responsible for their poll rout.

Moreover, what rubbed salt to Akhilesh’s injuries was the shock of defeat of his wife Dimple Yadav, who had entered the fray as a sitting MP. She represented the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat.

P Chidambaram’s CBI custody extended till August 30, CBI to confront him with others accused in the INX Media case

OpIndia Staff
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P Chidambaram’s CBI custody extended till August 30, CBI to confront him with others accused in the INX Media case

A special CBI court at the Rouse Avenue court complex has extended the CBI custody of Congress leader P Chidambaram by four more days. Accepting CBI request to extend the custody, the court allowed to them to keep him for custodial interrogation till 30th August.

CBI had sought five more days of P Chidambaram’s custody, saying the interrogation of the former finance minister is not over yet. CBI told the court that he was confronted with one of the co-accused, but it could not be completed as the custody was ending today and he needed to be brought to the court. The agency also told the court that they want to confront the former union minister with more co-accused in the case, and that’s why they need 5 more days of custody.

On 22nd August, the special CBI court had granted CBI four days custody of P Chidambaram, against the agency’s request of five day’s custody. CBI had presented him at the court after his dramatic arrest on 21st August.

Today the Supreme Court had dismissed Chidambaram’s petition against Delhi High Court order rejecting his anticipatory bail plea against arrest by CBI, as the agency has already arrested him and he needs to apply for regular bail. His other petition seeking protection from arrest by ED was taken by the court today but it didn’t complete, which will continue tomorrow. Till then the court has extended his interim protection against arrest by ED.

Pakistan President gets notice for tweeting fake news, ‘human rights minister’ calls Twitter a ‘Modi mouthpiece’

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan President gets notice for tweeting fake news, ‘human rights minister’ calls Twitter a ‘Modi mouthpiece’

Arif Alvi, the President of the parody country Pakistan, has been served with a notice by micro-blogging site on Monday for spreading disinformation regarding the Kashmir situation.

In a Twitter post, President Alvi had shared a video of a protest march organised in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir while claiming that the protests had instead happened in Kashmir valley.

“This is Srinagar yesterday despite curfews, bans, blackouts, teargas & firing. No amount of oppression & brutality can suppress the resentment of the Kashmiris against India. They want freedom at all costs. Please retweet and let the world know,” read his propaganda post.


In the video, it can be clearly seen that flags of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, which Pakistan refers to it as Azad Kashmir, is being displayed in the protest march indicating that the protest march had happened in the PoK and not in the Kashmir valley.

As Arif Alvi did not delete the tweet despite pushing false information, the Twitter may have sent a ‘notice’ to President Arif Alvi regarding his tweet on Kashmir situation.

Shireen Mazari, Human Rights Minister of Pakistan took to micro-blogging site to vent out her anger against Twitter for sending a notice to Arif Alvi, claimed that Twitter has gone too far and blamed them for being a mouthpiece of the ‘rogue Modi government’. The minister took to social media to share the image of Twitter email regarding the president’s personal account.

“Twitter has really gone too far in becoming a mouthpiece of the Rogue Modi govt! They sent a notice to our President! In bad taste and simply ridiculous,” said Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari.


However, in its notice, Twitter has said that it has investigated the report content and did not find any violations of the Twitter rules. One wonders how Twitter has turned into a Modi Agent for actually finding no fault with the President of the parody nation tweeting fake news. In fact, the microblogging website should be held accountable for not taking action against clear fake news tweeted by the President of Pakistan.

It is also noteworthy that such emails are often sent when a tweet is reported to Twitter and this does not mean that it was the Indian government that had reported the tweeted. In fact, given the bizarre conduct of Pakistan, one wouldn’t be surprised if low IQ Pakistanis had themselves reported the tweet erroneously. Even so, any Twitter user from within India or outside should be reporting a tweet that spreads fake news.

Sidelined and pushed into a corner for its habit of using terrorism as a state policy, Pakistan is now openly indulging in fake news to fear-monger and incite violence in India. Following India’s historic move to strip Article Article 370, which granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir state and a subsequent bill aimed to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories, Pakistani establishment seems to have lost their mental balance.

All issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral: PM Modi’s firm statement before US President Trump at G7

OpIndia Staff
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All issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral: PM Modi’s firm statement before US President Trump at G7

PM Modi and US President Donald Trump have met at Biarritz at the sidelines of the G7 summit here. In the meeting, PM Modi has stated firmly before Donald trump that all issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral in nature, indirectly dismissing his ‘proposals’ to mediate.


PM Modi stated before Donald Trump, “Any issue between India and Pakistan are bilateral in nature, hence we don’t bother any other country over it.” He further added that India and Pakistan were united before 1947 and hence we are capable of discussing and solving our issues between us.

President Trump, when asked by the media his views over the Kashmir issue, stated, “We spoke last night about Kashmir, Prime Minister really feels he has it under control. They speak with Pakistan and I’m sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good.”


It is notable here that PM Modi’s firm stand over the issue and Trump’s affirmation that PM Modi has it under control shows how India has managed to thwart any attempt at interference by the USA over India and Pakistan’s bilateral relations.

US President Trump had earlier, on multiple occasions, hinted that he is ready to mediate between the two countries if needed. While Pakistan had termed it as a major diplomatic victory, India has dismissed it, reasserting its decades-old stand that any discussion with Pakistan will only be bilateral.

Supreme Court extends interim protection to P Chidambaram from arrest by ED till Tuesday

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court extends interim protection to P Chidambaram from arrest by ED till Tuesday

The Supreme Court on Monday extended the interim protection granted to former union minister P Chidambaram from arrest by ED by one day, which was to end today. Now ED can’t arrest him till tomorrow, when the apex court will continue to hear the petition against Delhi High Court order rejecting anticipatory bail.

The hearing for the ED case had started today after the Supreme Court dismissed Chidambaram’s plea against Delhi High Court order denying him anticipatory bail in the CBI’s case. The court said that as he is already arrested by CBI, the plea has become infructuous and he needs to apply for regular bail.

In the ED case, P Chidambaram’s lawyer Kapil Sibal presented his arguments today. The court will hear the counter-arguments by ED tomorrow.

In his arguments, Kapil Sibal objected to ED submitting documents in a sealed cover at the court, saying the defendant need to know the contents of the documents presented by the prosecution to counter them. Sibal alleged that CBI had nothing to ask Chidambaram in the ongoing custodial interrogation, saying that CBI had asked whether he has a Twitter account.

Sibal alleged that a media trial was going on against the former union minister, saying that ED had leaked its statement to media, which was influencing judgements. Sibal had alleged that the Delhi High Court judge had copied the entire note in its judgement. But the ED lawyer Tushar Mehta denied the allegation, saying ED didn’t submit any such note with the Delhi High Court.

Sibal said that Chidambaram is ready to comply with any condition that is imposed on his bail. While he argued that the investigation in the case is over and there is no need of custodial interrogation, ED rejected that claim, saying the probe is still ongoing.

A Delhi court had granted CBI four days of custody of P Chidambaram after his dramatic arrest on 21st August, which ends today. CBI will present him at the court today for further orders.

Missing elements from defunct J&K constitution: Secular govt, equality of status and opportunity, assuring integrity of nation

Saket Suryesh
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Missing elements from defunct J&K constitution: Secular govt, equality of status and opportunity, assuring integrity of nation

If one goes by the reports on abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, as represented in the global media, two things stand out. One, the official word is overwhelmingly in favour of India and Two, the international media is overwhelmingly against India. The difference between the international agencies and international media seemingly arise from the difference in the knowledge of the facts regarding Kashmir. In an official position, for a nation, it is not possible to be standing with fake rhetoric, unless, of course, if you are Pakistan. Media reports filed by journalists with questionable integrity often stay clear of facts and use typical keywords which are appealing to their unsuspecting young audience. So we often find the terms being used against the abrogation of Article 370 are ‘attack on democracy, secularism’ and such. These are modern symbols of liberal thoughts and when any action is interpreted as the attack on the twin towers of Democracy and Secularism, one is tempted to oppose it. With logic and sanity against the continuance of Article 370, the Islamic State of Pakistan which wants to annex Kashmir on the grounds of religious Muslim majority will use these terms more and more in the rhetoric they are attempting to build around Kashmir.

Articles in Washington Post, New York Times and such media houses are deep on rhetoric and weak on facts. The slant is quite obvious when they never mention Pakistan as the Islamic State of Pakistan and always mention Bhartiya Janata Party, the ruling dispensation in India as the Nationalist Hindutva Party. They are wise people and have wily writers. They know to keep Islamic part of Pakistan hidden and to falsely manufacture Hindutva part of BJP is the only way to wrap up the intended balkanization of India on religious grounds in the fine dressings of democracy and secularism. How else can you defend the attempt of an Islamic state to attempt to annex a part of secular nation merely on the ground of commonality of religion?

As the Cambridge Analytica spokesperson in the Netflix documentary, The Great Hack, says that they built their strategy in Trinidad around the laziness of the youth. The same is being attempted here- counting on the laziness and lack of knowledge of the youth to build a world opinion in the favour of a farce. Siddarth Bhatia of The Wire, in an interview with Gregory Wilpert on The Real News, claims that “It’s going to have an impact on India’s secular tradition and India’s secularism”. The interview is headlined as “De Facto Annexation of Kashmir means the end of India as a Secular State.”

The CPM leader, Sitaram Yechury, with 3 seats in 542 Seats in the Lower House of Parliament (5 together with CPI), claimed that the abrogation of Article 370 is an assault on secularism. The president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan claimed that “India is playing with fire by revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and same fire will burn its secularism”. In an article co-authored by NYT journalist Suhasini Raj, published in The Irish Times, titled “Modi’s Kashmir move places India’s secular status in doubt”, she quotes the PM of Islamic state of Pakistan, Imran Khan, “lashing out at Modi, accusing him of promoting an ideology that puts Hindus above all other religions and seeks to establish a state that represses all other religious groups.”

Let us see how the State of Pakistan is envisioned in the constitution of Pakistan, the same state which is represented by Imran Khan as PM and by Arif Alvi as the President, both expressed great worries about how secularism will be negatively impacted by abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir, which would mean the applicability of Indian constitution in full, in Kashmir, like any other state of secular India. I am reproducing the Preamble of Pakistan Constitution, the country which claims that Kashmir is a part of their territory and how supporting this foolish dream of theirs will be supporting Secularism.

“Wherein the State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people; Wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed; Wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah;” –  Preamble to the Islamic State of Pakistan, which is worried over secularism in Kashmir, post abrogation of Article 370.

Now, after the abrogation of Article 370, the Indian Constitution will apply in full, in the state, at par with any other state. Under Article 370, there were provisions of the Indian Constitution which were not applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. India took the shape of a secular nation in 1947 when the Partition of India happened on the basis of Jinnah’s Two-Nation theory and the Islamic State of Pakistan was carved out of it. The secular and democratic principles applied equally across the length and breadth of the nation, except Kashmir, which was allowed to have its own Constitution, even after a legitimate accession, so that it ripens up for full integration. Through 42nd Amendment, the word ‘Secular’ was introduced by Indira Gandhi while India was under Emergency (Ambedkar had opposed it saying that the idea of secularism was anyway inherent in our constitution and imposing it goes against the idea of democracy). The way it stands post-amendment, the Preamble defines India as :

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens – JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this  26th day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

This is what is now applicable to the state of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Under the limited sovereignty granted to Jammu and Kashmir, article 370, the state could make changes about the extent of applicability of the Indian Constitution and have its own constitution. J&K Constitution officially omitted the applicability of “Socialist, Secular” and “Integrity” of the nation. Thus, the independent constitution of Jammu and Kashmir denied the applicability of “Socialism and Secularism” in the state and refused the obligation to work for the Integrity of the nation. So this is what was applicable in the Kashmir before abrogation-

WE, THE PEOPLE OF the state of Jammu and Kashmir, having solemnly resolved, in pursuance of accession of this state to India which took place on Twenty-Sixth of October, 1947, to further define the existing relationship of the state with the Union of India as an integral part thereof, and to secure to ourselves – JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; and to promote among us all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this  17th day of November, 1956, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Between the Constitution of India and the Constitution of Kashmir, the missing parts are:

  • Secular Government
  • Equality of Status and Opportunity
  • Assuring Integrity of the Nation.

Since the minds of the people cannot be moved to support a constitution, a law of exclusivity merely based on the religion of the majority, the same is being attempted to be done in the name of democracy and secularism. As we can see, abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir is the first step toward the restoration of democratic and secular principles by ensuring its applicability. Those fanning separatism today and fanaticism under the garb of democracy and secularism will not tell you the truth, nor would they take you to the abandoned and closed theatres of Kashmir. The dynasties which ruled over Kashmir as if it was some fiefdom from the middle-ages, were prompt to pick the central directives which suited them, like extending the term of assembly from five to six years and never rolling it back. It is for the sake of secularism, we must ensure that any exclusivity based on religion must never come back and the state of Kashmir where a Pandit converting to Islam continues with his Hindu heritage, calling himself Ayyub Pandit is never allowed to drift into the Islamic theocracy called Pakistan.

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