By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: Veteran political and human rights activist, Altaf Hussain Wani urging world human rights bodies to take effective notice of India’s constitutional terrorism against Kashmiris, has vehemently criticized Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification regarding amendment in Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Act and termed it as a deep rooted conspiracy intended to dilute Kashmir’s distinct identity as a Muslim majority state.
Altaf Hussain Wani said, “The anti-Kashmir law is a part of the BJP government’s sinister design to fulfill the RSS’s long-pending demand of mainstreaming Kashmir by changing the demography of Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir.†It is worth to mention here that, under this act, anyone who has resided in J&K for 15 years or has studied in the state for seven years, and appeared in either the Class 10 or the Class 12 examination, will be eligible for domicile certificates. As per the notification, this would allow them to apply for gazetted and non-gazetted government jobs.
Terming MHA order as a continuation of the abrogation of article 35A & 370 Wani, who is also senior vice chairman of Jammu Kashmir National Front (JKNF) said that the recent amendments in the Kashmir’s domicile law was tantamount to open up floodgates for non-Kashmiris (Indians) to settle in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir state, which until August last year had enjoyed special status under the Indian constitution.
Referring to India’s motive behind the abrogation of Article 35A, Wani said, “So far as the Indian plan to settle outsiders in the state is concerned the article 35-A was the only constitutional and legal barrier that stood as a strong and effective deterrent against Indian intrigues†. “By the virtue of this fresh order, India has virtually paved a way for outsiders to get settled in the state permanently besides enabling them to be the claimants of the already existing jobs in Jammu & Kashmir, where there is a massive unemployment problem†, the JKNF leaders said adding that the act was against the interests of the local youth who were facing a number of daunting challenges out of which unemployment has been the main problem they have been facing over the past several years.
Under the pretext of new law Wani pointed out that those outsiders who get jobs in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir will also claim the right to purchase land in the state. Terming it as a beginning of demographic change in the state he said that the amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Act would rendered thousands of Kashmiris jobless. About amendments in the J&K Property Rights to Slum Dwellers Act 2012 he said the words “permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir” have been deliberately omitted in the Act, which means that slum dwellers can get proper houses in Jammu & Kashmir.
