Issue of Article 370 is almost dead at national level now
My kite, my memories
Shishir Prashant
Undoubtedly the chief architect of the Article 370 was late Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. But in his own conscience, he too was not in favour of the continuation of the Article 370 for a longer period. He had made it clear that it was a temporary measure which would end one day. “Yeh ghis ghis ke khatm ho jayega (it will erode with the passage of time),” Nehru once said on the Article370. The exact words can be different but the gist remains the same. But those including my father late D C Prashant, ex MP, who heard Pt Nehru speaking on this issue, remembered that he never liked a discussion apparently because of its sensitivity.
When this Article was being enacted in the Parliament Nehru was not present on that particular day. He had left the responsibility on the shoulders of Home Minister Sardar Patel for its smooth passage.
When I grew up, I started hearing discussions on the Article 370 between my father and my mamaji late Hari Ram Sharma, a close friend of late Sheikh Abdullah. They used to have very intense discussions on this issue at our home in Jammu. I used to enjoy hearing both of them. My father used to be a strong opponent of Article 370 and my mamaji a strong supporter of the article.
One day, former Premier late A B Vajpayee came to Jammu for a rally at Parade Ground in early 1980s. He spoke against the Article 370 and called for its abrogation. I was told that BJP is a strong opponent of this Article. Since then, I heard many times when Vajpayee and L K Advani called for the abrogation of the Article 370. But when Vajpayee became PM in late 1990s, I was quiet hopeful that the abrogation of this article would be a top priority of the NDA government headed by him. But obviously under the pressure of the NDA partners, Vajpayee could not muster any courage to take up the issue at the highest level.
And when Narendra Modi became PM in 2014, the issue had become a bit weaker. But I was surprised when after the second term; the Modi government suddenly repealed this controversial measure on Aug 5, 2019. After the Supreme Court’s verdict on Monday, it is virtually curtains for the Article 370. At the best, the regional parties like National Conference and PDP in Kashmir can make it a big issue during the coming assembly elections, the deadline for which has been set by the apex court before September next year. Otherwise, at the national level, the issue is almost dead now. Remember Congress has only opposed the manner under which this article was deleted. Ends