at ADDRESSING a public rally in his home state of Gujarat on Sept 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed that his govern- ment drew inspiration from Vallabhbhai Patel’s vision for the moves it had made on Aug 5 to reduce Kashmir to a union terri- tory; in effect, a colony. The disclosure is as revealing as it is belated. A Muslim-majority Kashmir was an eye- sore to the RSS’ political wing, the BJP. So, it was also to India’s deputy prime minister and home minister, Vallabhbhai Patel. His favourite was the Dogra ruler of Kashmir, Hari Singh. Two letters he wrote reveal his outlook. On June 16, 1946, while the Congress was supposedly still committed to the Cabinet Mission’s plan for a united India, Patel wrote to a Kashmiri Pandit Jiyalal Kaul Jalali: “I realise the difficulties and hard- ships of a small community like yours in Kashmir. I understand that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is himself coming there as a messenger of peace to bring about hon- ourable settlement of this vexed question. After all, he is also a Hindu and ... a Kashmiri Hindu.” Three days later, Patel wrote to C. Parmeshwaram, a businessman in Srinagar: “The Kashmiri Pandits and the Hindus form a very small proportion of the popula- tion, and as they are comparatively better off, the poorer majority which is getting con- scious, is trying to assert itself. ... The state, being a Hindu state situated in Muslim sur- roundings, finds itself in a very delicate and BY A.G. NOORANI The BJP’s desigr Nehru’s line — development an power. The leader of the Communist India (Marxist) Mohammed Tarigami said on Sept 17 in New L the people of Kashmir were “dyir death” due to the clampdown sinc He is no secessionist. Nor was Dr Farooq Abdullah; th chief minister and once union min: Tamil leader Vaiko invited him to to deliver an address. The official that the doctor was a free man, wh was de facto a prisoner. Vaiko m supreme court for a writ of habea The centre acted swiftly. On Mondz the court could hear the petition, i his detention under the draconia Safety Act, 1978. He is alleged to bi to ‘public order’. The 83-year-old ailing Abdullah. under house arrest, was now confin room; his family cook was taken daughter is prevented from meet She is ai neighbour Modi’s looked afte ing octo recent father. A di disclosure is", nat as revealing all-party m 1. is he lawns as it is Tones on belated. Road. It belated unidifficult position to take strong action against revolt or lawlessness.” ‘After the partition of India, that ‘separa- tist’ sentiment became stronger still. The RSS-BJP & Co had no use for appearances or, for that matter, respect for the people’s views. Abrogation of Article 370 was one of its three major demands since 1951 when the BJP’s ancestor, the Jan Sangh, was established. The other two were Ayodhya, where it demolished Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992, and a uniform civil code, ie abolition of the Muslim Personal Law. It has moved in that direction by making the hideous triple talaq a criminal offence. This entire political scheme shows that Modi sought to fulfil the three-front agenda and proclaim that he had succeeded where the BJP’s earlier prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had failed. But like all Indian leaders, Nehru, Indira Gandhi and others, Modi did not reckon with the views of the real masters of Kashmir — of its peo- ple. Sheikh Abdullah realised that they were not with him. He moved to find a solu- tion acceptable not only to them but also to Pakistan and India. Nehru had him put in prison for 11 years. His successors toed that alarm Delhi and helps to explain the cla unheard of in British Administratively, Kashmir is a Jal Bagh. A respected columnist ¢ Valley “India’s West Bank”. Pockets of resistance have opene brave monthly Caravan publisl month a telling picture of Kashmi: shouting slogans during a protest in on Aug 11. There were public pre next day, on Eidul Azha. Soura in has become a no-go zone for securit Haseeb A. Drabu has documer the “grassroots of democracy are k gated with cash”. Election to the will not be held before 2021, itis sai the constituencies are ‘properly’ New Delhi’s plans will fail. Inte criticism will grow. So, too, Kashmiris’ spirit of resistance. C will get worse next month when laws come into operation. Protests} New Delhi is grooming new stooge the place of old. That is the plan. m The writer is an author and a lawyer b Mumbai.