Harwan: Voices in support of extending Article 371 to Jammu and Kashmir dominated Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s visit to Srinagar where he met with around a dozen civilian delegations Tuesday.
Article 371 grants special provisions to a number of states, a majority of them in the Northeast, which allows them to protect their economic and cultural rights as well as their customary laws.
Naqvi’s visit came at a time when parts of Srinagar remained shut to mark the 30th anniversary of “Gaw Kadal massacre”, when around 50 people were allegedly killed by security forces in the erstwhile state’s summer capital.
The shutdown and Naqvi’s visit had prompted massive security deployment in Srinagar, especially in the Harwan area, where police diverted civilian vehicles away from the road leading to the venue where the union minister was supposed to speak and meet local delegations.
In his speech, Naqvi promised more scholarships for Kashmiri students and said all applications filed from the Valley to perform Haj would be entertained.
Delegations that met with Naqvi, however, seemed to have a different focus.
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Article 371, land rights and jobs dominate discussions
Members of the delegations told ThePrint that they spoke on extending Article 371 to Kashmir and protecting local land and jobs.
Members of the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, who were part of the delegations, submitted a memorandum to the union minister asking the central government to issue a domicile certificate to protect land rights and jobs of locals in the Kashmir Valley.
Chowdhary Manzoor, a Gujjar community leader who was part of the delegation that submitted the memorandum, said they told the minister that they would take to the streets if local jobs and land are not protected.
“We told the union minister that no one from outside (Kashmir) should touch our jobs and land,” Manzoor said. “If any harm comes to our lands and jobs we will be forced to take to the streets.”
He added that his delegation also spoke about extending Article 371 to the state. “When Article 371 is in place for the Northeast why can’t it be extended here?” he asked.
Manzoor, however, said the delegations stressed on jobs and land. “We don’t know if Article 370 was good or bad. It was exploited by the political class. We have suffered enough. The nearest college is 35 km away. The health facilities are bad and there is hardly any electricity,” he said.
“We spoke about these issues too but jobs and land rights are more important than anything else. The government should remember that people are like a river. They make their way wherever they go. Our hands should not be forced.”
Chowdhary Altaf, who led the Gujjar Youth Delegation, told ThePrint that he spoke to the minister about Article 371. “I told him that Article 371 should be extended to Kashmir. He just said that local jobs and lands will be protected,” Altaf said.
He added that his community was willing to die to protect the lands of Kashmir. “We are nomads, so we told the minister that our grazing rights should not be fiddled with,” Altaf said. “Our forests must be protected from outsiders.”
The delegations were part of around 250 people who attended an official function organised by the civil administration in Harwan area of Srinagar to mark Naqvi’s visit. The function was attended by panches, sarpanches and BJP workers.
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Modi govt will reach out to more people in Kashmir: Naqvi
After his address, the union minister said that he had met with 10-11 delegations and that his government would reach out to more people in Kashmir to understand their pain and anguish.
“The bug of corruption had damaged heaven on earth and now we have to make (Kashmir) heaven on earth again,” said Naqvi, who is part of 36 ministers visiting J&K this week.
Of the 36 ministers, 31 will only visit Jammu where there is growing concern that after the abrogation of Article 370, non-state residents will be able to buy land and take up government jobs.
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