0.1611
900 319 0030
x

J&K Leader Farooq Abdullah Detained

iasparliament Logo
September 20, 2019

Why in News?

On 16th September, 2019, the National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah was detained under the Public Safety Act.

What does this detention mean?

  • Farooq Abdullah’s detention marks a new, dangerous low in the overreach of state power to curtail liberty in Kashmir.
  • He has been thrice Chief Minister (CM) and 5 times Member of Parliament (MP). He is currently an MP from Srinagar.
  • His father and NC founder, Sheikh Abdullah led Kashmir’s Muslim population in rejecting the two-nation theory that led to Partition and the formation of Pakistan in 1947.
  • His son, Omar Abdullah, former CM is also under detention since August 5, 2019 when the Centre abrogated Article 370,  it ended J&K’s relative autonomy and reorganised J&K into 2 Union Territories.
  • The Centre has claimed massive public support for these moves but the Kashmir Valley has been in shutdown since then.
  • Despite his declining popularity in the Valley, Farooq continued to argue that Kashmir’s destiny was with secular, pluralist India.
  • To treat him as a threat to public safety is a travesty of justice and an assault on democratic principles.

How was Farooq Abdullah detained?

  • The manner in which he was detained smacks of complete disregard for the rule of law and accountability.
  • His detention was announced hours before the Supreme Court was to consider MDMK chief’s plea seeking a directive that Mr. Abdullah be produced before it.
  • In Parliament (August 2019), Home Minister had said the NC leader was not in detention but was staying at home on his own volition.
  • The detention has now been legalised under a stringent law that allows limited remedies and could be extended to as long as two years.

How the political vacuum is created and why is it dangerous?

  • The moves to silence and humiliate Kashmir’s senior-most politician betray a dangerous tactic of marginalising the mainstream politicians.
  • Almost all Kashmir’s political leaders are in jail, including former CM Mehbooba Mufti and the IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal.
  • They have kept the political process alive in Kashmir against all odds and despite threats even as some sections of the population remained aloof or hostile to India.
  • The argument that Kashmiri politicians used the State’s special status to shield their corruption and nepotism is disingenuous, as these problems are endemic to Indian politics.
  • The amorality of the government’s treatment of pro-India forces is certainly dispiriting, but dangerous is the vacuum this is creating.
  • The void will be filled only by forces contrary to India, if the government removes politicians from public spaces by wrongly labelling them anti-India.

 

Source: The Hindu

Login or Register to Post Comments
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to review.

ARCHIVES

MONTH/YEARWISE ARCHIVES

Free UPSC Interview Guidance Programme