Alleging that “politics of communalisation” hasbecome a “fact of life” in Jammu and Kashmir, the CPI(M) on Mondaybatted for inter-regional dialogue and autonomy in the state.
Talking to the media, Communist Party of India (Marxist)leader M Y Tarigami said the state needed a “new culture ofgovernance”.
“All the regions (Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir) should getautonomy (to fulfil the aspiration of the people of these regions,”Tarigami said, adding that the state’s autonomy has been eroded over the yearsand must be restored.
An irreversible movement for a genuine sharing of power andself-governance is the only means to put together the state of Jammu andKashmir, considered to be a variant of sub-continental diversities, with itsmulti-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural polity, he said.
Claiming that communalism was increasing its footprintsleading to trust deficit among the people of the three regions, Tarigami saidinter-regional dialogue was the need of the hour.
“There is urgent need for inter-regional dialogue amongthe people of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh to end this menace and mistrust,”he said, adding that there should be an apparatus to deal with the process ofregional dialogue.
Politics of communalisation is now a fact of life in thestate and has been smuggled here by the dominant forces of our country as wellas Pakistan.
Warning political leaders not to practise politics ofcommunalisation and play with the future of state, Tarigami said Jammu andKashmir, as a political entity, owes its growth to various historical andpolitical factors.
“Undoubtedly, its historical unity, integrity orcohesion cannot be negotiated or compromised, except at the cost of its socialand political stability,” he said.
The CPI(M) leader said the existence of diverse ethnicitiesin different regions of the state, which constitutes its strength, rather thanweakness, needs to be recognised.
“It means carving out a political structure thatrecognises the need to preserve the unity of the state, while fulfillingaspirations of its diverse regions,” he added.
The twin commitment to the unity of the state and to itsdiverse aspirations is not a mere pious wish or a fashionable clich but asocial, political and historical necessity, carrying with it a long unifyingprocess, which has gone into the welding together of the distinct and diverseregions and the ultimate formation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, he added.