New Delhi: The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) has said in a “white paper” on the “assault on the autonomy of Jammu & Kashmir” that a canard was created about misgovernance in the erstwhile state to justify the reading down of Article 370 and J&K’s “dismembering and downgrading”.The document, titled “The Betrayal”, has claimed that it was in “flagrant disregard of the pledges made, the essence of National Emblem, the letter and the spirit of the Constitution and violation of its basic structure, that the State of Jammu and Kashmir was in August, 2019 denuded of its special constitutional status”.`Course correction needed, restore autonomy’While giving a detailed account of why Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed a special status and how it was deprived of the same through “mistruths and untruths” and a “propaganda smokescreen”, the PAGD has demanded that the Government of India undertake a dispassionate appraisal of the August 2019 decision. Also, it has called upon the Centre to “urgently undertake an exercise of introspection and course correction, revoke all the decisions taken in August 2019 and restore the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir”.“The least, the Government of India could do, is to grant real autonomy to the J&K state as envisioned by the Constituent Assembly of India and ratified by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir,” it has said.Tracing the background in which Jammu and Kashmir was granted autonomy except in the matters conceded to the Union and the constitutional mechanism devised to guarantee its autonomy or special status, the white paper has, as per the preface to the document, made an endeavour to “contest, on the basis of legal-political arguments and reliable and convincing data, the mistruths on which the August 2019 unconstitutional and unethical decisions are marketed”.J&K was only state to have negotiated terms of accessionIt said “the State of Jammu and Kashmir was the only State amongst the princely States that negotiated terms of accession with the dominion of India.” The Constituent Assembly with complete consensus incorporated Article 370 in the Constitution to govern the relations between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union. “The constitutional provisions restricted jurisdiction of Parliament to legislate as regards Jammu and Kashmir to three subjects namely External Affairs, Defence and Communications. The State Legislature was to have power to legislate on all other matters.”Also, it said, “any constitutional provision beyond these three subjects could be made applicable only with concurrence of Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. Consequent to the Accession and Constitutional Framework of J&K with the Indian Union, the Constituent Assembly adopted a separate Constitution for Jammu and Kashmir.”`State was promised limited or residuary sovereignty’Stating that apart from Article 370, which is a self-contained code, Article 1 was made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, the white paper recalled how the Delhi Agreement 1952 between the Union and the state government reaffirmed that while in case of all other states the residuary powers vested with the Centre, for Jammu and Kashmir the residuary powers would vest with the state. “The State was, thus, promised limited or residuary sovereignty,” it said.The Delhi Agreement 1952, it said, also reaffirmed the constitutional position that the special status guaranteed to the state could not be interfered with, except with the concurrence of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. Thereafter, the citizenship law was extended to the state and all other measures provided under the Agreement were taken. And Article 35A was incorporated to provide a protective umbrella to existing and future laws conferring special rights.Gradual and arbitrary erosion of Article 370However, the white paper pointed out that over the years, Article 370 was arbitrarily eroded and this encroached on the agreed autonomy of the state. “To illustrate, the President of India issued an order in July 1986 extending Article 249 of the Constitution empowering Parliament to legislate on state list through the resolution of Rajya Sabha. Centre’s own appointee Mr Jagmohan, the then Governor of J&K gave the concurrence to such an assault on State autonomy. Thus from a special status Jammu and Kashmir was eventually deprived off even those rights and powers which are provided to other states,” it said.Such a gradual and arbitrary erosion of Article 370 has had implications on the political landscape and resulted in alienation, which became a fundamental reason for the political uncertainty in the state, the document said, adding that “the contraction of autonomy provided an opportunity to those who wanted to undermine the relationship of J&K state with the Union”.Developments of 2018 were a “breach of the promise”The white paper said when the president imposed presidential rule in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2018, it was the eighth such occasion in the state. With this, it said, the powers of Jammu and Kashmir Legislature were made exercisable by or under the authority of the Parliament. This also suspended operation of the first proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution that relates to the reference by the President to the Legislature of the State and the second proviso to the article 3 that makes consent of the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature necessary before its area, boundary or name of the State is altered.“The Presidential proclamation of 19th December 2018 thereby laid foundation for the constitutionally impermissible, division and downgrading of the State that was to happen a few months later,” it added.`President’s August 5, 2019 order was in violation of letter and spirit of Constitution’Then, it said, after the President’s Rule was on July 3, 2019, extended for a further period of six months, the President on August 5, 2019 passed The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019 C.O. 272 which superseded the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954 thereby making the Constitution of India applicable in its entirety to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.This 2019 Order, the white paper said, was “in clear violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution”. The purpose of adding Clause (4) to Article 367, the Interpretation clause of the Constitution, it said, was obviously “to obviate the requirement of `recommendation’ by the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly” under clause (3) of Article 370.The same day, on August 5, the white paper said, Rajya Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019. It said this Bill “in gross violation of the letter, spirit and mandate of the Constitution and the State Constitution, downgraded the State of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union territories.”A Kashmiri woman feeds pigeons at a street during restrictions after the scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the government, in Srinagar, August 11, 2019. REUTERS/Danish SiddiquiFurther, it said, the President on August 6, 2019 while making use of this “unconstitutionally acquired” power under The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of the previous day and on the recommendation of the Parliament declared that all the clauses of article 370 shall cease to be operative except the clause making all provisions of the Constitution applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.Thus, it said, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was “not only denuded of its special status and autonomy but downgraded and fragmented into two parts.”J&K Reorganisation Bill was ultra vires the ConstitutionThe white paper said, “the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 downgrading and dividing the State into two Union Territories is without jurisdiction and ultra vires of the Constitution, in as much as Article 3 does not provided for or allow division of a State into Union Territories.”The paper said “the failure to seek consent of the State Legislature before the Bill was introduced in the Parliament may be attempted to be explained, unconvincingly though, on the ground that in the wake of President’s rule the State Legislative Assembly was dissolved and that the Proclamation of 19th December 2018, by the President in exercise of powers under article 356 imposing President’s rule on the State of Jammu and Kashmir also suspended “so much of the first proviso to article 3 of the Constitution as relates to the reference by the President to the Legislature of the State and second proviso to that article” and therefore compliance with Proviso to article 3 was not required.”However, it said, the president’s rule has inherent limitations as it is limited in time and scope and normally is to end within six months – by the time the democratically elected government is to take the reins and run affairs of the State. As such, the white paper said, “the constitutional functionaries therefore cannot take policy decisions for the State with far reaching consequences much less downgrading and dividing the State during the Presidential rule.”`Centre weaved mistruths, untruths around decision to strip J&K of its special status’The white paper said “the Central Government, fully conscious that August 2019 decisions stripping State of Jammu and Kashmir of its special constitutional status and downgrading it and dividing into Union Territories was constitutionally impermissible and morally un-condonable, weaved a number of mistruths, untruths and half- truths to justify and market the unconstitutional decisions.”It said one of the mistruths was that Article 370 that embodied constitutional guarantees to the State was of a “temporary” nature and so it was not an impediment in changing the constitutional status of the State. The paper said the “argument is specious” because J&K was the only state to negotiate terms of its accession to the dominion of India and got this advantage because of its historical background and the events at the time of Partition.It said the chain of events would indicate that the decision as regards grant of special status to the State of Jammu and Kashmir was negotiated and settled alongside the accession and it was agreed that the special status would be constitutionally guaranteed by incorporating a provision in the Constitution of India being discussed in the Constituent Assembly and also allowing the State to have its own Constitution, defining its relation with the Union.The document added that “the people of J&K had opted to become a part of secular India not simply by virtue of the Instrument of Accession, which is the legal basis of the association of the state with India, but also because of those promises of building a progressive, pluralist, secular India in which the people of J&K were to have a very special status and the maximum degree of Autonomy within the Union.”These these promises were reflected in Article 370 and contained in the Constitution of J&K itself, the document said. “There are constitutional obligations without which the Instrument of Accession itself is rendered meaningless,” it added.However, to deny this historical fact, it said the BJP and its affiliates undermined the functionally the Union itself. “The August 2019 decisions are marketed by the Union Government on the plank that the articles 370 and 35A put some segments of society to disadvantage. The special status, it is argued, in particular discriminated against the West Pakistan Refugees (WPR) and denied them constitutional rights.”To this end, the white paper argued that “the problem if any experienced by any segment of population can be addressed by employing the available legal device and not denuding 13 million people of the State of their identity and invaluable rights.”`Article 370 did not impede upon progressive, welfare legislation’It said another untruth that was propagated was that Article 370 stood in the way of progressive and welfare legislation. The assertion, the white paper said, is belied by the facts.Jammu and Kashmir, it said, had been ahead of all other states in legislation protecting rights of children, women, small farmers, workmen and other weaker sections and insular groups. Further, it said, in every aspect of human activity and any segment of society, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was more progressive and had more effective laws and institutions than any other state.The Jammu and Kashmir Big Estates Abolition Act 1950 brought an end to absentee landlordism and facilitated distribution of half a million acres of agricultural land under ‘land to tiller’ program without compensation to 7,50,000 small farmers and agricultural workers and the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act 1976 provided a land to tiller program and further reduced the ceiling area of land holdings.Citing other laws enacted by the State and the various Commissions it constituted, the white paper said, “the mistruths are cooked up and lies weaved to lay foundation of disinformation campaign that the State lagged behind in progressive and welfare legislation. The facts speak otherwise.”`Articles 370, 35A facilitated uniform empowerment’It added that another untruth around Article 370 causing disparity and administrative laxity was propagated whereas “Articles 35A and 370 by facilitating uniform empowerment of disempowered and deprived masses across the regions and communities promoted regional harmony and united the people.”It cited renowned economist and civil rights activist Jean Dreze as saying, refuting the claim that as Jammu and Kashmir was a backward State article 370 was required to be removed, by saying, “because of Article370, Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution and this constitution allowed distribution of land which the constitution of India would not have allowed. I think it played an important part in reducing poverty and in laying the foundation of a relatively egalitarian economy in rural areas”.Propaganda blitz launched by supporters of Centre, J&K administrationThe report added that “ever since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in August 2019, alongside the suppression of dissent and democratic functioning and partly to divert attention from that, the spokespersons and supporters of the government at the Centre and in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have launched a propaganda blitz.”It said these groups have been trying to paint a picture of poor economic performance in the state prior to August 2019 and argue that steps initiated since have been transforming the region, advancing economic development and improving the well-being of the people.The white paper said to this end selective or erroneous data is present to portray a poor picture of pre-2019 development. Secondly, a false story has been constructed that corruption in and mis-governance by consecutive state governments had damaged or contributed little to furthering the development of the state before 2019. This narrative also added that the Centre and the new administration in place after 2019 have initiated projects involving thousands of crores of public expenditure that would transform the state.The third impression being conveyed is that militant activity had worsened an already bad economic situation, imposing huge burdens on a population that was looking for peace and economic improvement as an integral part of the Indian Union.`Even PM, HM engaged in false propaganda’The PAGD report said the human development indicators bust the myths that are being created. It said much of “the propaganda blitz, engaged in by even the Prime Minister and Home Minister,” can be laid to rest by examining the State’s pre-2019 record on the growth and human development front.It said from 2011-12 to 2018-19 the annual compound growth rate of the gross state domestic production in J&K was 10.5 per cent and this was higher than that in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Punjab. Also, in 2017, Jammu and Kashmir’s Human Development Index (HDI) was at 0.68, which was higher than most states, including Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Overall, the state ranked 12th among 29 states.In terms of the index of substantial human development over 1990-2017 of UNDP too, the report said the Economic Survey 2018-2019 had ranks J&K in the satisfactory category — much ahead of most states in India. Likewise, the NITI Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index classifying States and UTs based on a set of global goals and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030 had placed J&K in the “Performer” category alongside Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra and Punjab.Citing the state’s other development factors and figures on poverty rate, life expectancy, sex ratio, number of doctors to citizens, and even attendance of female children in schools to show its level of advancement, the report said despite the State doing well on all these parameters and more claims were made around Article 370 hampering development and encouraging terrorist activity.`Misplaced claim on economic backwardness led to terrorist activity’The report also said that not only is the claim that economic backwardness is responsible for whatever terrorist activity exists misplaced, but so also is the claim that J&K is economically backward. It said in spite of 30 years of turmoil, the state excelled in the areas of education, health, and infrastructural development.It added that the state achieved 100% goals in various schemes such as SAUBHAGYA that covered 3,57,405 beneficiaries; PM Ujjwala Yojana with 12,60,685 beneficiaries; UJALA with 15,90,873 beneficiaries; Mission Indradhanush (Jammu) that covered 1353 children and 381 pregnant women.Similarly, the report said, it was claimed that dynastic politics led to the loot of Kashmir’s wealth and Article 370 gave freedom to rulers to indulge in large scale corruption. “This is nothing but manufactured, false and defamatory propaganda,” it said, adding that the “the truth is that the state only received slightly more than per capita average given to special category states, and less than that given to Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.”`Indus Water Treaty is leading to economic distress’It went on to claim that “the major reason for economic distress in J&K is the Indus Water treaty”. This treaty, the report said, restricts J&K from making full use of its water resources, the only natural resource available in abundance. “J&K has a strong claim for compensation for IWT but in the meantime it is the responsibility of the Centre to provide adequate financial support,” it added.The white paper also stated that J&K was yet to receive much of the funds promised in relief packages. “The State has not received even 1/5th of the announced packages. The package announced after the devastating Kashmir flood package of 2014 is yet to be received in spite of the BJP sharing power for three years from2015-2018,” it added.Likewise, it said, while over six years have passed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a reconstruction programme of about Rs 80,000 crore under the Prime Minister’s Development Package, to strengthen the social-economic infrastructure and for the development of the state, “little was actually transferred”.But, now it said, it is being claimed that after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state, 53 projects of Rs 58,477 crores in J&K and nine projects of Rs 21,441 crore in Ladakh are part of the same PM’s 2015 package.Education has taken a hit over the past two yearsThe white paper charged that education has taken a severe hit over the last two years due to communication blockades as also the inability of students to attend classes.It said the arbitrary takeover of schools and colleges to accommodate the additional armed and paramilitary forces that moved into the valley has made matters worse.Health sector too has been a victim of propagandaThe report said the health sector too has been a victim of propaganda. It said “nothing can be further from the truth” that it was due to neglect by government prior to 2019 that the health sector in the state was in a poor shape.“J&K is ranked very high in the country in terms of health facilities and boasts of primary and secondary facilities in far flung areas across the state. Doctors from J&K enjoy a good reputation worldwide,” it said.The white paper insisted that it was the “undemocratic intervention by the Centre” that caused a setback to health provisions as patients were not able to access essential or emergency medical care due to communication and travel restrictions, complete or near total collapse of financial assistance schemes, and even assaults on doctors and medical workers.`Immediately restore autonomous status of J&K’Terming the developments of August 2019 an “assault on the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir”, the report said the Centre should without losing any time go for a dispassionate appraisal of the assault on the special status and territorial integrity of State of Jammu and Kashmir.It urged that the Centre revoke all the decisions taken in August 2019 and restore the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir. “The least, the Government of India could do, is to grant real autonomy to the J&K state as envisioned by the Constituent Assembly of India and ratified by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir. And work out legal mechanism in consultation with the J&K legislature of real political and administrative devolutions to the respective regions and sub-regions within the frame work of that autonomy.”