Regional Aspirations
Class 12 Political Science1980s may be seen as a period of rising regional aspirations for autonomy, often outside the framework of the Indian Union. These movements frequently involved armed assertions by the people, their repression by the government, and a collapse of the political and electoral processes.
It is also not surprising that most of these struggles were long drawn and concluded in negotiated settlements or accords between the central government and the groups leading the movement for autonomy. The accords were reached after a process of dialogue that aimed to settle contentious issues within the constitutional framework. Yet the journey to the accord was always tumultuous and often violent.
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir had a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. However, in spite of it, Jammu and Kashmir experienced violence, cross border terrorism and political instability with internal and external ramifications. It also resulted in the loss of many lives including that of innocent civilians, security personnel and militants. Besides, there was also a large scale displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley.
Jammu and Kashmir comprises three social and political regions - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The Jammu region is a mix of foothills and plains. It is predominantly inhabited by the Hindus. Muslims, Sikhs and people of other denominations also reside in this region. The Kashmir region mainly comprises of the Kashmir valley. It is inhabited mostly by Kashmiri Muslims with the remaining being Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others. The Ladakh region is mainly mountainous. It has very little population which is almost equally divided between Buddhists and Muslims.
Roots of the Problem
Before 1947, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was a Princely State. Its ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh did not want to merge either with India or Pakistan but to have an independent status for his state. The Pakistani leaders thought that Kashmir region ‘belonged’ to Pakistan, since the majority population of the State was Muslim. But this is not how the people of the state themselves saw it - they thought of themselves as Kashmiris above all. This issue of regional aspiration is known as Kashmiriyat.
The popular movement in the State, led by Sheikh Abdullah of the National Conference, wanted to get rid of the Maharaja, but was against joining Pakistan. The National Conference was a secular organisation and had a long association with the Congress. Sheikh Abdullah was a personal friend of some of the leading nationalist leaders including Nehru.
In October 1947, Pakistan sent tribal infiltrators from its side to capture Kashmir. This forced the Maharaja to ask for Indian military help. India extended the military support and drove back the infiltrators from Kashmir valley, but only after the Maharaja had signed an ‘Instrument of Accession’ with the Government of India.
External and internal disputes
Since then the politics of Jammu and Kashmir remained controversial and conflict-ridden both for external and internal reasons. Externally, Pakistan has always claimed that Kashmir valley should be part of Pakistan. Internally, there is a dispute about the status of Kashmir within Indian union.
Punjab
The decade of 1980s also witnessed major developments in the State of Punjab. The social composition of the State changed first with Partition and later on after the carving out of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. While the rest of the country was reorganised on linguistic lines in 1950s, Punjab had to wait till 1966 for the creation of a Punjabi speaking State. The Akali Dal, which was formed in 1920 as the political wing of the Sikhs, had led the movement for the formation of a ‘Punjabi suba’. The Sikhs were now a majority in the truncated State of Punjab.
Political context
After the reorganisation, the Akalis came to power in 1967 and then in 1977. On both the occasions it was a coalition government. The Akalis discovered that despite the redrawing of the boundaries, their political position remained precarious. Firstly, their government was dismissed by the Centre mid-way through its term. Secondly, they did not enjoy strong support among the Hindus. Thirdly, the Sikh community, like all other religious communities, was internally differentiated on caste and class lines. The Congress got more support among the Dalits, whether Hindu or Sikh, than the Akalis.
It was in this context that during the 1970s a section of Akalis began to demand political autonomy for the region. This was reflected in a resolution passed at their conference at Anandpur Sahib in 1973. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution asserted regional autonomy and wanted to redefine centre-state relationship in the country. The resolution also spoke of the aspirations of the Sikh qaum (community or nation) and declared its goal as attaining the bolbala (dominance or hegemony) of the Sikhs. The Resolution was a plea for strengthening federalism in India.
The North-East
In the North-East, regional aspirations reached a turning point in 1980s. This region now consists of eight States. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya, which earlier constituted the North-East region, are often called “the seven sisters”. Sikkim, which has been added to the list is - referred to as the ‘Brother’ to those seven states.
The region has witnessed a lot of change since 1947. Tripura, Manipur and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya were erstwhile Princely States which merged with India after Independence. The entire region of North-East has undergone considerable political reorganisation. Nagaland State was created in 1963; Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya in 1972 while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh became separate States only in 1987.
The Partition of India in 1947 had reduced the North-East to a land locked region and affected its economy. Cut off from the rest of India, the region suffered neglect in developmental terms. Its politics too remained insulated. At the same time, most States in this region underwent major demographic changes due to influx of migrants from neighbouring States and countries.
Demands for autonomy
At independence the entire region except Manipur and Tripura comprised the State of Assam. Demands for political autonomy arose when the non-Assamese felt that the Assam government was imposing Assamese language on them.
There were opposition and protest riots throughout the State. Leaders of the major tribal communities wanted to separate from Assam. They formed the Eastern India Tribal Union which later transformed into a more comprehensive All Party Hill Leaders Conference in 1960. They demanded a tribal State to be carved out of Assam. Finally instead of one tribal State, several States got carved out of Assam. At different points of time the Central Government had to create Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh out of Assam. Tripura and Manipur were upgraded into States too.