Imlisanen Jamir
They shut down an entire state, put political representatives under arrest, increased militarization, and forced people to remain indoors and shut up. Then they checked in to a sleepy Parliament in the morning and unilaterally announced a decision to scrap a Constitutional article of tremendous historic significance. While at it, the state was also wiped out from existence in the Indian Union bifurcating it into two Union Territories.
And they did it for the good of the people?
What the central government has done by scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which provides special provisions to Jammu and Kashmir, sends a dangerous precedent for the rest of this republic. The democratic process has been completely manipulated and the federal nature of India, which the country has always taken pride in, has been dismembered.
The step by step processes by which this government’s stealthy mechanizations have come about sends a caution to all states in the country—dissolve an elected legislative assembly; deploy a complying Governor to take over; clamp down on opposing voices; subvert parliamentary processes; and do as you please because you have the numbers in Parliament.
As the people of Jammu and Kashmir grapple with this unilateral move by the central government regarding their history and identity, Nagaland should heed the warning too. Is Article 371 A in this central government’s sights too?
Legal experts will now have a field day interpreting the legality or illegality of what the central government has done today. Strategists will concurrently forecast if the move will indeed usher in peace, development and ‘integration’ as the government claims. What all should agree on for the moment is that the way in which things have happened is a stain on the democratic process.
For now, Nagaland state has a government in alliance with the centre. It’s not farfetched to assume that this could change, given how politics works. What happens when this happens? While Jammu and Kashmir receives the bulk of coverage as far as conflict zones are concerned, Nagaland too hangs by a thread in its relationship to the Indian Union. It will now be interesting to see how the government from Nagaland State reacts. As inconsequential as their votes are in Parliament, do our MPs support the move? Do they even squeak one voice of dissent at this domineering method?
And while we wait, consider this quote by Ranbindranath Tagore: "When this idea of the Nation tries to pass off the cult of collective selfishness as a moral duty, it not only commits depredation, but attacks the very vitals of humanity."
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