Thank you, Schroedinger’s Cat:
It has been over a week since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right hand man from Gujarat, Amit Shah who is now the home minister changed the constitution of India with little debate in the parliament. Modi government has abrogated Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian constitution. The state has been under curfew and a strict communication blockade for the last eleven days. Former Kashmiri chief ministers are under arrest.
Article 370 concerns the accession of Kashmir to India, while 35A granted the state of Jammu and Kashmir a degree of autonomy to make laws governing the citizenry of the state. They have been revoked by the government in New Delhi with no input from the citizens of Kashmir. Constitutional scholars can argue about the legalistic validity of these moves, but these actions are undemocratic and unworthy of a constitutional democracy. They blatantly disregard the will of the people of Kashmir. The central government is acting as a colonial power within its own boundaries. Muslim majority Kashmir has been reduced to little more than a colony of Hindu majority India. You can see the population breakup from the 2011 census in the table that I have included. These were the fears that lead to the partition of India. This move reopens the wounds of partition which in Kashmir’s case were never healed.
What this does in practical terms is it strips of Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood and partitions it into two administrative regions. Jammu and Kashmir being the first region and the Buddhist majority Ladakh being the other.
It also means the death of the Indian Republic as it was conceived by the generation that fought for Indian independence. The ideological ancestors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were nowhere to be found in the freedom struggle. Instead, they were busy criticizing the Indian National Congress and collaborating with the British.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir, independent India’s only Muslim majority state, was guaranteed limited autonomy when they agreed to become a part of India instead of Pakistan after the partition of India. This has been an anathema to the Hindu right since India’s inception. A thorn in the side of their dream of a muscular Hindu state where other religions are not equal but merely tolerated.
Modi and Shah’s actions betray India’s founding principles, and undermine both federalism, religious freedom. The intellectual heirs of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassins are enacting their vision of India. That the BJP did this after getting a brute majority in the elections held earlier this year is not surprising. The Rashtriya Swayam Sevaksangh (RSS)’s agenda on this issue has been clear since India’s independence when their political arm was called the Jan Sangh.
What has been rather disappointing and sad is the feeble to non-existent opposition response and sycophancy of India’s prestige media like the Times of India, the Hindu and India Today. Most of the Indian media is either not covering this major story or giving cover to the government in New Delhi.
One has to go the web-only outlet, The Wire to find Kashmir covered in detail. This story is still developing and I will post updates.
Table I : Population Breakup of the Jammu and Kashmir from the 2011 census
Source: Wikipedia
JPL
I saw some of this earlier and thanks to Schroedinger’s Cat for giving us additional information. We are fortunate to have her.
zhena gogolia
Thank you — it’s very sad and upsetting.
schrodingers_cat
@JPL: You are so nice. Thanks I don’t know if I deserve that praise but I will take it.
If you have questions comment here or on my blog and I will try to answer.
Yarrow
Would bet that Trump’s traitorous crew is taking notes.
Who owns those news organizations? Are they beholden to big money or powerful people in government? Sure seems like toady media is a problem worldwide.
JPL
@schrodingers_cat: The area has been volatile since I can remember and your voice adds to what is going on now. I appreciate that.
schrodingers_cat
@JPL: It has been contested by both India and Pakistan since 1947.
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: I don’t know the answer to that. I do know that BJP is the biggest source for ad revenue for TV.
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat:
I remember reading about it in “My Weekly Reader” when I was in 2nd or third grade — a long time ago.
JPL
@schrodingers_cat: Yup older than I can remember.
Roger Moore
Am I right in reading that table to say that the majority of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir are in the Pakistani administered part?
schrodingers_cat
@Roger Moore: No the table is for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the census data of 2011.
* Jammu has Hindu majority
* The Kashmir valley is Muslim majority
*Ladakh is Buddhist majority
Mary G
Do you have any sense that Putin or China is behind this, SC? It seems like too much of a coincidence that so many countries around the world have made the hard right turn in the past couple of years. I assume that Pakistan will be furious; should we worry about a shooting war? Greatly increased terrorism? Thanks for providing this explanation.
It’s also puzzling how ineffective the opposition has been both in Britain and India. At least we are fighting back here.
kindness
Modi is India’s Trump. The citizens around the planet are all suffering from a disease. It must be contagious.
debbie
NPR just interviewed a freelance journalist who had snuck out of Kashmir. I believe he’s India-based but he was very clear about what was going on.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: Thanks.
Bill Arnold
@schrodingers_cat:
Where does BJP get its money? Is it public or secret information?
(Thanks for the post BTW.)
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
First, let me add my thanks and appreciation for your insights on this sad situation. I hope you’ll keep commenting on Kashmir whenever circumstances change.
Not strictly about Kashmir, this, but when I was around eight years old — 1950 or so — I had a colouring book about Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world. There were outline maps, national flags, a paragraph or two of potted history, and drawings of the official Scout/Guide uniform in each country. At the time, Pakistan was “West Pakistan” and Bangladesh was “East Pakistan.” I remember being excessively confused by the maps, and a bit pissed off that the countries had been all carved up like that (I didn’t know the word “partition” then, of course, let alone the bloody and imperious history behind it). But I did admire the attractive uniforms worn by Girl Guides of both India and Pakistan.
patrick II
@Yarrow:
They are already sneaking changes to the constitution at White House.gov. They have replaced “people” with “citizen” in their description of the Bill of Rights. That is pretty much in concert with how they act.
And so on.
Cacti
@kindness:
The last generation to squash fascism is mostly dead now.
Not a coincidence that it’s slithering out from the sewer again.
schrodingers_cat
@kindness: He is worse.
Mary G
O/T, but this is a wonderful thread about kindness and gratitude:
Gin & Tonic
Thank you for this, S_C. As someone who also occasionally posts on contested areas that are foreign to most of the B-J readership, I am very glad to see this.
trollhattan
Thanks!
I couldn’t read this [The intellectual heirs of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassins are enacting their vision of India.] without borrowing it and adapting thus:
The intellectual heirs of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassins are enacting their vision of Israel.
Plus nukes. What a mess!
Bill Arnold
@patrick II:
They use “citizens” in the the wayback machine’s first copy of that page (Dec 16, 2017)
https://web.archive.org/web/20171216032911/https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-constitution/
Relevant bits:
The Second Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms.
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure.
The Fifth Amendment provides that citizens not be subject to criminal prosecution and punishment without due process.
Any lawyers care to inform us on the current state? I’m pretty sure documented immigrants have some of these rights.
Raven
This is so helpful, thanks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: The intellectual heirs of Lincoln’s assassin are enacting their vision of the United States.
Plus nukes!
tokyokie
@trollhattan: And when you get right down to it, the intellectual heirs of John Wilkes Booth control the GOP.
Never mind. Bill in Glendale beat me to the point.
Matt
So basically just like our neoconfederates.
Said it before and I’ll say it again: as a species, we’re either going to destroy religion or it’s going to destroy us. It’s winning so far.
patrick II
@Bill Arnold:
Just to be clear, the original “Bill of Rights” says “people” or “persons” not citizens, and that Dec 2017 was during the first year of the Trump administration, so they are the ones who wrote this.
I think the Trump administration is actually fairly sophisticated about gaslighting. People who visit the White House site will just breathe in the word citizen and are less likely to think of immigrants with any rights under the constitution. I don’t know what lawyers have to say, but the first step is just to spread the meme. Not all memes are obvious.
Peale
I’m not certain where this ends. My guess is that either the Muslim Kashmiris are driven out like the Rohingya in Myanmar, or India follows the model of China in Tibet and the Uighurs and everyone is incarcerated. India I think wants the land, not necessarily the people on the land. There isn’t much that is going to be done diplomatically to save them if it comes to that. I think there’s a lot of backscratching on the UN human rights commission.
Cermet
@schrodingers_cat: And China as well – yet I never understood why China decided to invade and seize control as it did. Historically, was China ever in control of those areas? And from a military standpoint does it make sense?
As for why the world is turning towards fascism one need look no further than peak liquid oil (and the only reason it isn’t obvious is that both tar sand and ‘tight’ oil has enable use to continue production); and AGW with its stress upon food production. These two factors have put great pressure on driving food prices up. As tight oil is used up and AGW gets worse, look towards far more conflicts and more fascism developing. The world is both figuratively and literally burning.
Bill Arnold
@patrick II:
Oh yeah agreed. Was just briefly dissecting it. The intent is clear and nasty.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Bill Arnold: (Checks to see if it’s still live on the White House site) Yup.
OK, went back and checked the wayback machine for the Obama website, it says ‘citizens’ too. This is not new.
ETA: Wrong, but not new.
patrick II
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Thank you BillinGlendaleCA. I’ll have to learn to use the wayback machine.
Guess I’m just paranoid.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@patrick II: Basically, I went to the main White House site on the Wayback Machine and then went back to the Obama White House pages and just followed the links to “Our Constitution”. The text and even the formatting is exactly the same, the Trump folk haven’t changed it at all. Though as I noted in my ETA, it’s still wrong.
Bill Arnold
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
That’s surprising. Link? Wonder how that happened.
Bill Arnold
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Ah, thanks.
rikyrah
I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter. Now that you have so clearly explained it, I understand why you are so upset. This is not a good thing, and only adds to more turbulence in the world. Folks are too blind or ignorant to see the hornets nest that has been started here.????
TS (the original)
Thank you Schroedinger’s Cat – much appreciate the explanations/understanding
chopper
to seattle area jackals: can’t make the meetup tonight, wifey has to work late and i’ll have the kiddos. hoist one for me.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Bill Arnold: The formatting is different but here’s the link to the site from Obama’s first term(March 2012): https://web.archive.org/web/20120301111514/http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/the-constitution
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Wanna bet it started from the Bush Error?
?BillinGlendaleCA
Looks like it’s an addition when Obama came into office(I can’t find it on the Bush White House website). Here’s May 2009: https://web.archive.org/web/20090501220106/http://www.whitehouse.gov/our_government/the_constitution/.
The Obama folk dropped the ball on this one.
@TenguPhule: Sure I’ll take that bet.
CaseyL
@chopper:Well, damn. I’m sorry you won’t be joining us.
We will hoist one for you. Try to, anyway: between all the memoria and drinking to absent friends, we may be under the table before dessert!
Baud
Thanks, SC.
oatler.
@kindness: Yes, the human race is crushing itself to death. Call it planned obsolescence. Those damn dinosaurs…
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Slightly off topic. For an excellent history of the internal Pakistani conflict, as well as India’s and the US’s roles in it, I highly recommend The Blood Telegram.
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Telegram-Kissinger-Forgotten-Genocide/dp/0307744620/ref=sr_1_1?crid=179JH79GVSCOX&keywords=the+blood+telegram+nixon%2C+kissinger%2C+and+a+forgotten+genocide&qid=1565827758&s=gateway&sprefix=the+blood+telegram%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-1
Adam L Silverman
@patrick II: That’s got to be a Stephen Miller special.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Nope, one of Obama’s folk. As I noted above, it’s unchanged from the Obama White House website.
(Though I’d image that Stephen Miller approves.)
Adam L Silverman
@trollhattan: Not even the heirs. Bibi actually set the conditions for Rabin’s assassination. He produced and prominently displayed at his rallies imagery of Rabin’s face superimposed on Arafat’s. I think at one point they did the same thing with Hitler’s, but quickly stopped because of intense pushback. He also ran ads and made speeches that accused Rabin of trying to kill Israelis and Jews by seeking peace.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman:
It worked for him.
Adam L Silverman
@Bill Arnold: They do. Non citizens are allowed to buy, keep, and use guns in the US. Similarly fourth and fifth amendment protections are supposed to apply to citizen and non-citizen alike. Basically, anyone in the US is supposed to be protected by the Bill of Rights and, where appropriate/necessary, the rest of the Constitution. There are some exceptions. Most notably for undocumented immigrants. For instance, they do not have the right to an attorney, which is now considered a constitutional right.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Thanks, Adam. I’ll put it on the list. Sounds fascinating — disturbing, but fascinating.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: Very much so.
TenguPhule
Another shooting in Philly.
Six cops wounded.
Steve in the ATL
Need guidance here: is it appropriate or inappropriate that I had Tandoori chicken for dinner tonight?
Mary G
@TenguPhule: Philadelphia resident:
Somebody else said that this disproves “the good guy with a gun” theory.
Another Scott
OT – Barricaded shooter situation in Philadelphia near Temple University medical campus.
:-(
[ See Adam’s new thread upstairs. ]
Cheers,
Scott.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Was just getting the post up.
patrick II
@SiubhanDuinne:
If you are a less ambitious reader (like me) there is also this New Yorker article:
Unholy Alliances
Nixon, Kissinger, and the Bangladesh genocide.
By Pankaj Mishra
September 16, 2013
And thank you, Adam, for pointing this out. I had no idea, but with Nixon/Kissinger I am never surprised.
Amir Khalid
@Steve in the ATL:
In my experience, tandoori chicken is never inappropriate. But was it made in a proper tandoor, and what else did you have with it?
waratah
@Gin & Tonic: I think you might be interested on Beto’s plans for the Ukraine. I tried to post a link but could not get one.
The Council on Foreign Relations invited him and the other candidates to give their positions on twelve critical foreign policy issues.
I hope you can look it up I was wondering when I read it what your thoughts would be.
chris
Thanks for this, SC. This is an ugly situation and, from my reading, Pakistan is probably not going to make it better.
On another note, the boys taking a breather on our postprandial stroll earlier. We could all use a breather.
waratah
Thank You SC for writing this.
Adam L Silverman
@patrick II: That’s a good article.
bluefoot
@patrick II: Whoa, the f*ck? I was always taught that the Constitution applied to everyone in the US. If I recall correctly, there has been recent jurisprudence that has called some of this into question, but still….
Gin & Tonic
@waratah: Found it. Pretty much boilerplate.
p.s. “Ukraine”, not “the Ukraine.” Please.
waratah
@Gin & Tonic: sorry I was going to try not to do that.
Thank you for answering.
FelonyGovt
Thanks for this, SC. Now I understand what a huge and unlawful change this is and why you were so upset. Like here, more laws and norms that are being shredded.
I’ve been interested in Kashmir since I read a Salman Rushdie novel about it (can’t remember which one). And when I was a little girl ( a LONG time ago) I remember on my maps that “Jammu/Kashmir” was always striped, to indicate disputed control.
MomSense
This is excellent, SC! Thank you for writing this for us.
AThornton
Whoever controls the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir controls the headwaters of the Indus River.
The Indus River is Pakistan’s primary source of fresh water which is the basis for 90% of the country’s food supply.
Further:
The river is just as important to India.
The Problem: the amount of water flowing in the Indus has been decreasing due to the affects of Global Warming which is a big source of the increase in tensions between India and Pakistan.
So by grabbing control of the Indus river system Modi and His Merry Band have put Pakistan under a state of siege.
Prognosis: 5th India/Pakistan War is very, very, likely unless China can talk down the Pakistanis and Russia the Indians. With Donald in charge I doubt the US has much leverage over either country
Omnes Omnibus
@patrick II: @bluefoot: The actual Amendments say “people” or “persons” not citizens. The actual Amendments are the documents that have the force of law. Changing words on a website doesn’t change the law. That being said, whoever changed it was being a fucking idiot. Pretty much the only people who are within the US who are not covered by the Bill of Rights are foreign diplomats who are not considered to be under the jurisdiction of the US until/unless diplomatic immunity is waived.
schrodingers_cat
@AThornton: Ladakh has always been under Indian control since independence and has never been a bone of contention unlike the valley of Kashmir.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: It is indeed
@TS (the original): Thanks.
@Cermet: It is more a strategic acquisition, it is unpopulated/sparsely populated high altitude area.
schrodingers_cat
@Bill Arnold: The information is not public AFAIK.@SiubhanDuinne: Thanks. The bleeding wounding of partition has never completely healed. These actions by Modi is just going to make things worse.
schrodingers_cat
@Peale: I am afraid you may be right. What you outline is not the worst case scenario. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world.
schrodingers_cat
@Mary G: This has been on the Hindu Right wishlist since India’s conception. And yes Putin’s propaganda shops are active in India too. Husband kitteh’s aunt just sent him a slickly produced video yesterday.