SHILLONG: The banned HNLC has compared the NDA government with the dictatorial regimes of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussain in the wake of the decision of the Centre to abrogate Article 370 in Kashmir and has expressed apprehensions about the nullification of the fifth and the sixth schedules in the North East.
HNLC general secretary and publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw said the abrogation of Article 370 is “a pure act of forced integration as there was no difference in Kashmir before the abrogation of Article 370 in respect to the presence of the security forces”.
“The security forces had always enjoyed the freedom to shoot, violate human rights, arrest anybody under suspicion and even make people disappear. The Union Government had always had a strong grip over the people of Kashmir by torturing them… Even if Kashmir had special status, the Centre (Delhi) had ruled it for six continuous years starting from 1990. In the guise to fight terrorism the security forces had been creating nightmares. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed by security forces by way of fake encounters, cross firing etc,” HNLC said.
Alleging that the Kashmiris were always victims of the Centre’s political ineptitude and the Kashmir issue could have been solved if the people were taken into confidence, he said the Kashmiris were always alienated as compared to the rest of the country.
“Every Kashmiri is seen as a potential terrorist by the Centre. This attitude will bring in more bloodshed than ever before. Taking away people’s freedom and aspirations should be a rare phenomenon in a democratic setup. But in India this has been made possible by a few power monger politicians who do not respect the constitution, thereby making amendments every now and then by their whims and fancies. The note ban, the CAB, the UAPA and so many other amendments are designed to weaken the people who believe they can fight with the system. The HNLC has a soft corner for every oppressed people in the world,” Nongtraw said.
According to HNLC, whatever has happened in Kashmir now had happened here (Hynniewtrep) 71 years ago where the syiems were kidnapped at gunpoint and were made to forcibly sign the instrument of accession in 1948, thereby violating the standstill agreement which did not even complete two years.
The HNLC further alleged that the Government of India prevented the lone Syiem, Wickliffe Syiem, to set foot in the Indian territory. “It was Wickliffe Sing Syiem who did not pay heed to the Government of India to sign the IOA pact. During those days it was the Pakistan soil that had given him shelter to hide along with a job and a small handgun for self defense. Wickliffe Sing Syiem was in good terms with Pakistan president Ayub Khan and it was due to the sheer assistance of Khan that Wickliffe Syiem wrote a letter and went to the United Nations with his grievances. But till date we could not see any kind of development by the UN, neither to our cause nor to the cause of the Kashmiris,” Nongtraw said.
The HNLC pointed out that the Union Government did not come into existence in a day but was born out of various agreements with different communities through special provisions and arrangements, including the 5th and 6th schedules, which enable state legislations like the Land Transfer Act preventing land alienation, local traditional self governance systems etc, that protect our indigenous people from potential disruptive occupation by the majority people of mainland India.
“It is Article 370 now that has been axed. Later the fifth and the sixth schedules will also be axed by these so-called dictators without doubt. The CAB will be the first shocker to the NE states and the fifth and sixth schedules will come next. The false claims and assurances to protect article 371 and sixth schedule by the dictatorial Centre is just mere eyewash. If the political bigwigs can abrogate article 370 that was a brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru, then 371, 5th, 6th schedules can be wiped out in a single announcement,” the outfit said.