07081952  Sheikh Abdullah s speech at Jammu and Kashmir State People s Convention

Sheikh Abdullah's speech at Jammu and Kashmir State People's Convention

It is a matter of great privilege and pleasure for me to welcome you all here today on this historic occasion when we are meeting at a crucial period of our long and chequeen history, marked by many vicissitudes, and ups and downs but also by a fair modicum of successes, which God in his great wisdom and bounty had bestowed upon some of our labours. I see before me today a distinguished gathering belonging to the various segments of our society and representing diverse thoughts and opinions in our body politic. That indeed is a measure of the value which this meet carries and earnest of efforts to explore the situation to the best of our ability.

This is no occasion to dig the past for its own sake, to indulge in recriminations or rancor, as we bear ill-will to none. If we in this convention seek to do any post-mortem of the past events we are solely motivated by our desire to find a way out of our present impasse. In doing so I hope and pray that we shall not be guided by any narrow or parochial considerations but by the larger interests of our people; and we may therefore bring to bear on our task that catholicity and urbanity of outlook, a dispassionate consideration of our problems and an objectivity which is both-informed and constructive and is free from any taint of malice, ill-will or disaffection in our attempt to get down to the heart of our problem, where there is no place to apportion praise or blame for our present malaise.

The task that I have indicated above is, therefore, one of stock taking, of heart searching, of turning to God for His gracious guidance, so that no words that may fall from our lips may wittingly or unwittingly wound any susceptibilities or arouse any passions; but in a calm, cool and calculated manner we may proceed to our task not deflected from our course by the provocations that have been hurled at us or still may be hurled at us, even questioning our very bonfires and our credentials.

We, who have laboured so long in this great adventure for our People's freedom and emancipation from tyranny, have not a clean slate to write upon. To quote the words of the great departed leader, Mr. Nehru, who had stated as far back as June 26th, 1952:

"Who has not got a clean slate to write upon; we are limited, inhibited by our commitments to the United Nations, by this, by that. But nevertheless, the basic fact remains that we have declared-and even if we had not declared the fact would remain-that it is the people of Kashmir who must decide. And I say with all respect to our Constitution that it just does not matter what your Constitution says, if the people of Kashmir do not want it, it will not go there. Let us suppose there was a proper plebiscite there-and the people of Kashmir said, "We do not want to be with India." Well, we are committed to it, we would accept it. It might pain us but. we would not send an army against them; we might accept it, however much hurt we might feel about it, and we should change our Constitution about it."

In another speech in the same vein on August 7, 1952, he had stated:

"It is an international problem. It would be an international problem anyhow if it concerned any other nation besides India, and it does. It became further an international problem because a large number of other countries also took an interest and gave advice.... So while the accession was complete in law and in fact, the other fact which has nothing to do with the law also remains, namely, our pledge to the people of Kashmir-if you like, to the people of the world-that this matter. can be reaffirmed or cancelled or cut out by the people of Kashmir if they so wish. We do not want to win people against their will and with the help of armed forces, and if the people of Jammu and Kashmir State so wish, to part company with us, they can go their way and we shall go our way. We want no forced marriages, no forced unions like this....

So, we accept this basic proposition that this question is: going to be decided finally by the goodwill and pleasure of the people of Kashmir, not, I say, by the goodwill and pleasure of even this Parliament if it so chooses, not because this parliament may not have the strength to decide it I do not deny that-but because this parliament has not only laid down in this particular matter that a certain policy will be pursued in regard to Jammu and Kashmir State but it has been our policy.

But whether it is a pain and a torment, if the people of Kashmir want to go out, let them go because we will not keep them against their will however painful it may be to us. That is the policy that India will pursue and because India will pursue that policy, people will not leave her. People will cling to her and come to her. Because the strongest bonds that bind will not be the bonds of your armies or even of your constitution to which so much reference has been made, but bonds which are stronger than the constitution and laws and armies-bonds that bind through love and affection and understanding of various peoples. Therefore, we must be clear in our minds, that this question in regard to the future of Jammu and Kashmir State can ultimately only be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir State. Having I come to that conclusion then, let us fashion our other policies accordingly, then let us not find fault with something here and there because it does not fit in with our wishes".

Gandhiji made the following observations on August 5th, 1947 are as relevant today as when they were made.

"He had no hesitation in saying that the will of the Kashmiris was supreme law in Kashmir and Jammu.... Common sense dictated that the will of Kashmiris. should decide the fate of Kashmir and Jammu. The sooner it was done, the better."

India will be free on 15th August, what of Kashmir ? A deputation of workers asked him that question at Jammu. "That will depend on the people of Kashmir". Gandhiji replied: They all wanted to know whether Kashmir would join the Union or Pakistan. "That again answered Gandhiji: "should be decided by the will of the Kashmiris."

On the conclusion of his visit to Kashmir he wrote to Pt. Nehru :

"that both (Maharaja and Maharani) admitted that with the lapse of British Paramountcy, the true Paramountcy of the people of Kashmir will commence. However much they might wish to join with the Union, they would have to make the choice in accordance with the wishes of the people."

May I say in all humility that Gandhi and Nehru, the twin stars that have shone on the firmament of India and who had dominated the scene for over half a century are synonymous with India and that not only their honour is bound up with their word but the honour of India is likewise bound up with their word, and any attempt made to wriggle out of any solemn pledges given by them would tend to sully the image of India and tarnish it as nothing else would do..

Gentlemen, I am circulating a copy of an Article that I contributed to the "Foreign Affairs Journal' of America at their request which deals briefly with the genesis of the Kashmir question. It is, therefore, not necessary for me to refer in this address to any of these matters in detail. Suffice it to say that it embodies some suggestions which had been canvassed to settle this much vexed question of the State, which I commend to your consideration While I have no desire to prejudice your consideration thereof, I wish to say that the Dixon Plan referred to therein suffers from the obvious defect that it denies to the areas other than the "Valley and adjoining areas" what it concedes in the case of the Valley and its adjoining areas.

It is, however, noteworthy to add that there is the International aspect of the problem, the guarantees given to the International Community and more particularly to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, guarantees and pledges which were rooted in their hoary past and were sanctified by the blood and sweat and the tears that went with them. These tears continue. to be shed; and though about a quarter of a century has passed, when freedom dawned on the Sub-continent the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to toil and labour under unmitigated suffering patiently borne for the vindication of their just rights and fair play and justice as God's great dispensation to them. While we pay lip service to these great principles and ideals, we do precious little to further the realisation of these objectives, but relentlessly pursue courses leading to the opposite direction and to the denial to them of the fruits of their portion of freedom. I do not think I have over drawn the picture. The State of Jammu and Kashmir continues to be divided and to remain mutilated and truncated and large sections of its people have been separated over the years, driven from their homes, with no immediate prospect of being reunited or settled in their own hearths and homes or those of their near and dear ones. The movement across the two separate parts of the State is so meagre as to be non-existent. When some of us talk glibly of the economic regeneration of the State and consider that it is the only question to be tackled, they tend to lose sight of the trees for the wood. I had been away from the scene for 13 years, enjoying only an occasional spell of freedom, and during these long years those who have been at the helm of affairs or continue to be at the helm; had an unique opportunity to translate their past pledges into a reality. I blame no one for the present state of affairs; but with all the power of the State, the vast funds that had come into their possession, have they been able to ameliorate materially the condition of the masses? Have they succeeded in rehabilitating their uprooted brothers, in ushering in an era of comparative prosperity and happiness? Is it not a fact that the people of the State, particularly the people in the Valley, when it is snow bound, are denied the very elementary necessities of life ? Had not unemployment both among the educated classes of the people and otherwise, increased? Is not discontent mounting up everyday and the burdens of life instead of showing any signs of diminution tend to multiply? We have to find an answer to the questions that I have posed; and that needs a certain amount of clear thinking and a great deal of honesty of purpose. Is not all this symptomatic of a deeper malady which afflicts the body politic, the uncertainty, the suspense that has crept into and is eating the very vitals of the community, the uncertainty resulting from an uncertain future-a future which holds no promise of stable peace and security, particularly in the sub-continent as recent events had woefully shown. If I I have cried myself hoarse in the days after I regained my freedom since my last incarceration, I have been moved largely by the consideration that we may do our little bit to see that the events of the recent past are not repeated and that we are spared the horrors of another holocaust with all its hazards and perils to the safety of the teeming millions in the sub-continent a possibility heightened by the addition of stock-piling that is proceeding apace and the arms race that is going on around us. With the confrontation of rival armies on our borders, and their presence amidst us, can we, the people of the State, afford to be complacent and shut our eyes to the lurking dangers inherent in such a situation, which may well spell our doom and of the generation yet unborn and seal our fate irrevocably. If we counsel the resolution of the disputes amongst the neighbours. as the best way of preserving our own existence, is the labour and time spent on such confabulations wasted in any manner? Our men, I repeat, we the people of the State have had an agonizing time. There have been eruptions of violence. women and children and particularly our boys and girls have had to face great suffering and tribulations. We must seek to end this unhappy state of affairs, and if we meet here today to consider this basic problem as to how best to alleviate the suffering of our people, what way there is out of the present imbroglio which would free them from their present shackles of poverty, ignorance and disease, and also from the crippling and corroding influences which are at work, so that they are able to face their future with confidence, I think the attempt is well worth being made; for it is their welfare, their happiness which should in the ultimate analysis count, and the world community and particularly the two great countries, India and Pakistan, should see our plight and lend a helping hand, so that we may fashion our destiny according to our wishes and the genius of our people in a free atmosphere not vitiated by force or coercion but assisted by the mutual good will of the two great neighbours and others in whose interest also it is that all irritants between them should be eliminated quickly to enable them not only to better the lot of their people, but to be able to pull their full weight in the comity. of nations to which they are fully entitled by the compulsions of history and geography.

Gentlemen, I have permitted myself a few reminiscences in the hope and belief that God in His Infinite mercy may guide our labours here so that it may never be said that we failed ourselves and our people at this supreme hour of our destiny. May the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the people of the sub-continent, and the people of the world at large, be able to live a life free from fear and exploitation, and may all nations, big or small, be able to fashion their lives according to their own needs without let hindrance by others! May we her in this Convention be influenced not by petty fogging, but by a sense of high purpose and the vision of larger human causes which transcend and cut across all barriers of caste, creed, colour, race, language and the like and underline the universality of human brotherhood and the oneness of the family of man on God's earth.

Before I conclude, I must express my profound gratitude to Shri Jayprakash Narayan for having inaugurated this Convention. This I know he did at a great personal inconvenience to himself and inspire of a great deal of pressure on his time and also some uncharitable view taken of his action in certain quarters. His presence amidst us will, I venture to think, fortify and sustain us in our work. I must also thank all the participants in the Convention and observers, for having taken the trouble of attending this Convention, particularly those of you who have come from long distances. My thanks are also due to the gentlemen of the Press for she unstinted cooperation extended to us by them in our present task.

I cannot close this address without expressing my deep. sense of grief that the powers that be did not see the wisdom. of providing the requisite facilities to the nationals of the State from across the Ceasefire Line and others to attend this Convention. I have no doubt that their presence here would have been of invaluable assistance in furthering the cause that I had set out earlier. Thank You.