Naya Kashmir

Just a day before Bastille Day on the 13th of July 1931 the people of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir were involved in a mass protest against autocratic rule outside the main prison of the city of Srinagar the summer capital of the Jammu and Kashmir State.

[6].The demand for democratic rights was led by the Muslim Conference of which Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah soon assumed leadership.

[7] Sheikh Abdullah developed strong links with leaders from Jammu like Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas and those from Muzaffarabad and Poonch making the Muslim Conference a powerful party of the whole of Jammu and Kashmir State and not restricted to Kashmir valley alone He also became an important player in Indian politics and developed close links with leaders of the Indian freedom movement including Nehru and Gandhi.

Maharaja Hari Singh was a member of the Imperial War Cabinet and went to Britain to participate in its deliberations in April 1944.

As his cavalcade (consisting of a flotilla of boats on the river Jehlum) approached Mujahid Manzil the headquarters of the National Conference Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah along with his party members garlanded him with flowers and bouquets were given to him.

Attached with this document was an economic plan projecting a humanistic view of development far in advance of the times.According to Rasheed Taseer the Kashmiri historian and editor of the weekly "Muhafiz" the idea of making a constitution for the Jammu and Kashmir State was born when a leftist leader Dr Kanwar Ashraf who had recently come from the U.S.S.R to Srinagar mooted the idea that the National Conference being the largest political party should take a lead in formulating a socialistic constitution for the State.

This idea was strongly supported by a leftist group within the National Conference which included a noted Kashmiri journalist Sat Pal Sawhney.

Sheikh Abdullah however has not mentioned the name of Pandit Jia Lal Kilam or Hafeez Jullundhri among those who assisted in drafting the manuscript.

[14] Thus it seems that Rasheed Taseer has confused Hafeez Jullundhri who wrote poems with themes related to Islam with another poet Ihsan Danish who was well known for his progressive views.

Sheikh Abdullah as the leader of the National Conference remained in power for a brief period as Prime Minister till his arrest in 1953 under orders of the "Sadr e Riyasat (Head of State in lieu of Governor as specified under Article 370 conferring special status on Kashmir) Karan Singh following instructions from Nehru the Prime Minister of India.

[19] and he was refused permission to attend the constituent assembly out of fear that his presence would turn the tables against Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammed who had been appointed as Prime Minister in his place by the Karan Singh under instructions from the Indian Government.

[20] The National Conference subsequently made a comeback and reemerged as the ruling party under a vastly different geopolitical situation.

The Naya Kashmir memorandum along with the attached economic plan however remains a beacon light for not only the National Conference but all progressive people of the State even today.

The All Jammu And Kashmir National Conference is committed to fight for the rightful place and status of women in society.

Apart from having the right to avail ordinary holidays like men they will have the following special privileges: 1.No woman will be employed for night shifts in industries.

The Jammu and Kashmir national Conference considers the house and the family as the basic social unit and accepts the right of every citizen and every child to enjoy its benefits.

This principle demands that: A.The status of a woman receive legal protection and any offender who is guilty of excesses towards women be awarded deterrent punishment.

C.The economic and physical causes that result in prostitution be addressed and such women brought back into the mainstream by education and persuasion.

The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference is committed to the principle of equality of men and women in legal matters.

They include Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in the past[21] and just a few years back Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who in his Convocation Speech at the University of Jammu on 15 July 2007 said: "My vision, I have stated many times before, is to build a Naya Jammu and Kashmir which is symbolized by peace, prosperity and people’s power.

"[22] This testifies to the strong hold that the vision of "Naya Kashmir" has on the public mind even today more than six decades after it was conceived.

Sheikh Abdullah with other leaders of the 1931 agitation. Sitting R to L: Sardar Gohar Rehman, Mistri Yaqoob Ali, Sheikh Abdullah, Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas. Standing. R:Molvi AbdurRahim, L:Ghulam Nabi Gilkar
Page from Civil List of 1945 shows at Sr. No 5 that Abdur Rahim(Molvi Abdul Rahim in photograph at left) one of the leaders of the 1931 agitation was appointed as a judge by the Maharaja in 1934.This proves that the agitation was for democratic reforms and not directed against the Maharaja. Even "Naya Kashmir" memorandum envisages a constitutional monarchy with the Maharaja as the head of State
Scanned picture of notes on the margin of Kant's “Prolegmena” written by Molvi Abdul Rahim. The leaders of the 1931 agitation were Avant Garde lawyers and philosophers like Molvi Abdul Rahim M.A.(Phil)LL.B and scientists like Sheikh Abdullah M.Sc.(Chemistry). The agitation was for political and social empowerment for the subjugated majority( 80% of the subjects happened to be Muslims) of a feudal State and had no religious underpinnings or bias.(See Pandit Gwash Lal's Clarion Call in Talk:Naya Kashmir)That is why the name of Muslim Conference was later changed to National Conference.The scanned pages are from a copy of the book belonging to Molvi Abdul Rahim which is in my possession.