JRL cranks up pressure over Article 35A warns of mass agitation

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Sunday threatened to launch mass agitation and called for two-day shutdown against any tinkering with Article 35A, which grants special privileges to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, Hurriyat Conference (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chief Mohammd Yasin Malik held a crucial meeting at Geelani’s Hyderpora residence today and deliberated upon serious challenges posed to Article 35-A, which grants special right to property to J&K residents.
On August 6, petitions challenging validity of Article 35-A would be heard by Supreme Court.
An RSS-backed non-governmental organization, ‘We the Citizens’, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India challenging the validity of article 35A.
“We believe that the agenda behind this petition is no secret but a ploy of BJP-RSS of changing the demographic nature of Jammu and Kashmir by doing away with the hereditary state subject law of the state and flooding it with people from India,” said a joint statement issued by Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik after the meeting.
They said the attempt to change the demography of J&K and insidiously destroy its disputed nature has always been on the agenda of BJP/RSS and the challenge to 35A in Indian Supreme Court is a serious part of that plan.
“Once hereditary state subject laws are done away with, it will pave way for settling outsiders in J&K in hordes. And as part of the BJP/RSS plan, Kashmiris will become a minority in their own land and that day will not be far off when like Palestinians, Kashmiris will be pushed to the margins of their land and rendered homeless,” they said.
The leaders said if any fiddling is done with Article 35A, its consequences would be entirely on those perpetuating such mischievous ploys against people of J&K.
“We want to make it clear to Government of India (GoI) that Kashmiris will not take this attack on them lying low. Any and every attempt made at changing the demographic nature of the state will be resisted. They can kill us or detain us but we won’t succumb to pressure tactics. We are even ready to sacrifice our lives and face detentions to safeguard peoples’ interests and the disputed nature of the state,” they asserted.
They said they are in touch with all segments of society including the legal fraternity, traders, civil society members, academia and others and there is complete unanimity and cohesion among all with regard to resisting and fighting this serious assault together.
Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik called for complete shutdown on August 5 and 6 against any attenpt to fiddle with the Article 35-A. “People will register their total disapproval and resistance to this politically motivated move.”
They also warned of mass agitation if any tinkering with 35A is allowed to take place under a legal garb.
Praising the resilience and courage of people, they asked masses to be ready as there is “every apprehension of mass crackdown against leadership and political activists. In that case, people must be strong and carry forward the agitation against this assault.”