There are few acts which are undertaken with a view to hurt your enemies and sometime to disarm them but they end up in destroying the coalitions built with great care and can even lead to fall of the Government. The present act of Jammu and Kashmir Government to introduce a bill to deprive women marrying non-state subjects fall in that category. It is an irony that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, J-K Chief Minister, has fallen in this trap. As he should have known better as he was a member of the V. P Singh Government, which engineered its own downfall by bringing in controversial Mandal report for implementation with a view to silence his critics but instead brought about immediate fall of his Government.

Sayeed may escape such a fate by making a last minute compromise by sending the Bill to the Select Committee of the House. It may also fail to get the approval of the Legislative Council it declared as a Constitutional Amendment Bill instead of being an ordinary bill requiring two-third majority. But it will certainly expose the coalition to lot of attacks in future. As by supporting such a measure Mufti Government has exposed itself to the charge of being anti-Jammu and one who instead of healing old wounds to make the unity between three regions of State more cohesive is guilty of dividing them.

Mufti Mohammad during his brief tenure had done lot of things to reduce tension between the three regions. The BJP, which before the elections was actively seeking a separate status for Jammu, was on defensive and had been put in that with few hopes of retaining its hold on two Lok Sabha seats from Jammu region. This single move has revived their hopes and given them an issue to revive their old demands and made their position in the coming elections much stronger.

The second party that is National Conference has also emerged as a winner. Abdullah was so far still licking the old wounds inflicted on him during the poll to Assembly and was spending more time outside the State instead of reorganising his cadre. His son Omar Abdullah was also sidelined as he has yet to overcome his handicap of not being able to speak Kashmiri fluently. Sayeed had also put the secessionist on the defensive by bringing the leading faction led by Molvi Ansari to the negotiations table.

More so, the Indo-Pak dialogue had given clear indications of changing situation in which Kashmir dispute was moving towards resolution instead of being a subject of armed conflict. In such a situation, Sayeed has obviously committed a great blunder which has surprised his friends as well as enemies. More so in the present situation there is no escape clause for him as he has opened flood gates making it difficult for him to contain flood waters for similar demands in future. The Chief Minister had so far played his cards well. His calculated moves like opening a dialogue with militants, plea for opening Uri link with occupied Kashmir were in line with Centre’s policy and also were popular in Valley.

The current move, however, is not likely to become a law as it is highly suspect because of its anti-gender bias and may even encourage BJP to revive its demand for revoking Article 370 providing for special status for Jammu and Kashmir. So far BJP has been forced by national mood and its own allies to keep their demand in abeyance, but such thoughtless actions can bring them running to fish in troubled waters. More so the purpose and the objective of the Bill are also highly suspect. For instance, the marriages between the girls hailing from Jammu and Kashmir with citizens living in other states are on the rise. It is a fact which cannot be ignored. May be to start with more girls from minority community were finding grooms outside the State, but it is now equally widespread among the girls from majority community. Sayeed’s two daughters as well as his son have found partners outside the State. Farooq Abdullah’s son and daughter have also done the same.

One can only wonder how educated and emancipated people like Abdullah and Sayeed become victims of narrow political considerations to win few seats and adopt such methods. With Governor’s approval yet to come the last word on this legislation has not been spoken even if the State Legislative Council gives its approval. As for the minority in Kashmir, the property rights make no sense as in any case they have been forced to either abandon them or make distress sales. Even Jammu will be able to find relief by taking recourse to courts where issue will be subject of debate for a long time.

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