India passes 2 controversial orders for Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - The Indian government Thursday approved an order giving reservation benefits to people of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Jammu and Kashmir.

The order was approved by the Union Cabinet headed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and it will soon be issued through an executive order by the president.

The order is seen in Kashmir as a violation of the region’s autonomy especially when there is no elected government in place. The region is at present under the rule of Indian president.

Speaking after the order was made public, Arun Jaitley, India’s Finance Minister, said the order will provide persons residing in the areas adjoining International Border within the reservation area with equal opportunities in jobs and education with persons living in areas adjoining Actual Line of Control (ALoC).

In another important development, Indian Home Ministry banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir, a social, religious and political organization, calling it a danger for India’s security.

The government order banned the organization for a period of five years saying that if it was not banned, “it was likely to escalate secessionist movements, support militancy and incite violence” in India.

The order also said that Jamaat was “likely to continue advocating the secession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India.”

The two orders passed by the Indian government in New Delhi are likely to cause protests in the region in the upcoming days.

Over the past week, the Indian forces in Kashmir arrested over 300 leaders and activist of the organization, including its top leadership.

Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir was created in 1942 and differs significantly from Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (India) and Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in its orientation and ideology.

From 1965 to 1987, the organization participated in elections from Kashmir including the assembly as well as parliamentary elections. In 1990, soon after the armed rebellion began against Indian rule in Kashmir, Jamaat joined the "resistance politics". Believed to be the political center of the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, Jamaat distanced itself from the outfit in 1997.

Banned for the first time in 1975 and then in 1990, this is the third time the organization is being banned.

Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.