The Autonomy. Committee Report unleashed a virtual avalanche of press comment, and the overwhelming opinion in the country is clearly against reversion to 1953 ... There are three distinct dimensions to the entire matter which have to be handled separately though in a coordinated fashion ...

The first dimension is the contlict with Pakistan ... One half of the original area of (their) State, which was over 84,000 square miles, is not under our control at all -roughly 32,000 sq. miles (is) under Pakistan ... and 10,000 sq. miles (under) China ...

The Pakistan factor cannot, therefore, be ignored because as over the last half century, that country has been making repeated attempts to break the Kashmir Valley away from India ...

In the final analysis, with both countries now equipped with nuclear weapons which Pakistani spokesmen from time to time threaten to use, it is essential that sincere efforts be made to come to a negotiated settlement. As Kennedy said, "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate." The argument that we should not talk to ... a military dictator does not hold water. On this front, therefore, bilateral talks should begin soon.

... India's destiny as a truly great nation can unfurl only when we have a strong SAARC and have succeeded in sorting out our regional problems ...

The next dimension is the ... question of the relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India ... The facts are that ... the Instrument of Accession ... was identical with those signed by other princes, the ...merger (of the State) did not take place ...

The State already has a separate Constitution, a separate flag and a special dispensation under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. What has happened is that under the constitutional provisions, a large number of Central Acts have been extended to Jammu and Kashmir over the last half century. It is this process that the State Autonomy Committee seeks to reverse by going back to the pre-1953 position ...

Whether it is constitutionally, legally, administratively, financially or politically possible to turn the clock back by half a century is a moot point. But it should be recalled that ... in 1956 ... the J&K Constitution (was signed) into law. In 1953 that Constitution did not exist ... The Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi Agreement in 1975 along with the Sarkaria Committee Report provides a more viable starting point for negotiations.

Then there is the third dimension revolving around the multi-regional nature of the State ... There were the vast northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, which are now directly administered by Islamabad; the predominantly Punjabi Muslim strip on the western side which we call PoK: the huge, sprawling region of Ladakh with its , Tibetan and Central Asian cultural influences; the Jammu region and, finally, the glorious Kashmir Valley with its. unique cultural and historical heritage.

Two of these five regions, as I have mentioned, have been under Pakistan control for over half a century (so is a larger part of Ladakh under Union), although our legal claim over them ... need to be reiterated. This leaves three clearly demarcated regions of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh which are very different in their cultural, linguistic and geographical situations.

The problem of Jammu and Ladakh was studied in depth by the Gajendragadkar Commission (1967) and the Sikri Commission (1977), both headed by retired Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, their recommendations were never properly implemented and seem to have faded from public memory.

These regions are not based on re(li)gion. Ladakh is 50 per cent Muslim and Jammu around 35 per cent Muslim. In the Valley also, there was a five per cent Pandit population which has left en masse, but should one day be able to return. However, it must be recognised that the political aspirations of the majority of the people in these three areas are sharply divergent ... and these will have to be addressed in the context of our well-established democratic traditions.

The idea that the present status quo is satisfactory is erroneous, and a reversion to the status quo (ante) is also unrealistic. Now that the State Autonomy Committee has opened the mythical Pandora's box, the task is to seek a new dispensation for all the people of the State keeping in view demographic, linguistic, geographical and political factors. The recommendation of the lesser publicised Regional Autonomy Committee Report to subdivide Ladakh into two and Jammu into three regions, virtually on religious lines, has added to the widespread concern and resentment there and has led to growing demands for separate status.

What is needed is a mature and sober consideration of the entire matter in an integrated and dynamic frarnework. Unfortunately, such a framework does not seem to exist.

The way in which the autonomy resolution was bulldozed through the State Assembly and then unceremoniously rejected by the Union Cabinet does not speak of any great political wisdom on either side. The position as of now is that on all the three levels,  new possibilities have opened up which need to be thoroughly explored in a calm and non-confrontational manner in the broader national interest, and in the interests of (the people of) J&K who have been going through a baptism by fire now for over a decade.

The wounds inflicted as a result of militancy and anti-insurgency operations will take years to heal, but the sooner the process starts the better it will be for the nation. (Source: The Hindustan Times, 31 July, 2000)