Problems and Prospects of Federalisation-The Case of Jammu and Kashmir

Problems and Prospects of Federalisation The Case of Jammu and Kashmir Balraj Puri THE process of Indian federalisation has had many vicissitudes in Jammu and Kashmir since independence. It had a glorious start when a Muslim majority state, which had long borders with and all communication outlets to Pakistan, opted of its free will to accede to India. The process suffered a dramatic reverse in 1953. The reverse trend continued to worsen and reached its nadir in 1965. The reintegration process started thereafter and took a qualitative turn in 1971. By 1977, the course of federalisation had completed a full circle when secessionist movement in the state had lost all incentive and its raison d' etre. All the political parties of India:, including the erstwhile Jana Sangh, which became a constituent unit of the Janata party in 1977 and reincarnated itself as the Bharatiya Janata party in 1980, are now reconciled to continuance of Article 370 of the Constitution and the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Even the demand for further revision in this status by a Kashmiri leader in order to enlarge its autonomy, though generally not favoured, does not provoke suspicion about his patriotism in the rest of the country.