THE Centre is trying to convert Kashmir into India’s Palestine by removing Article 370, splitting it into two and converting both into union territories, said Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary earlier this week.

Hitting out at the Modi government for an ‘Israeli-model military occupation’ in Jammu and Kashmir, Yechury called on Indian patriots to join the battle for the soul and character of the country.

Delivering a lecture organised by the AKG Padana Gaveshana Kendram and the CPI(M) Trivandrum district committee on the centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and convert the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Yechury said that the centre’s action in J&K is unconstitutional, undemocratic and is against the federal structure of India. LDF convenor A Vijayaraghavan, CPI(M) Thiruvananthapuram DC secretary Ananavoor Nagappan, Prakash Babu, assistant state secretary of the CPI spoke at the lecture.

Yechury said all secular democratic parties in the country will organise protests on August 22 demanding release of political prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir.

"This (August 22 protest) will only be a beginning because we cannot allow J&K to be converted into India's Palestine. We cannot allow the same sort of treatment that Israelis are doing with people of Palestine in our own country… people’s fundamental rights are being violated."

He also alleged that disinformation and wrong propaganda are being carried out on the pretext of removing special status for J&K. "Apart from Article 370, there are ten other articles dealing with special status to different states of India. Most of the north eastern states, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat have certain special statuses,” Yechury said adding it is not correct to say that J&K is the only state with special status.

He also said that the special status was taken away from Jammu and Kashmir as it was the only Muslim-majority state in India. "It is not a question of special status of J&k being taken away as it is the only state in India with similar case. J&K was targeted because it was the only Muslim-majority state in India.”

He said government’s design is to change the demographic composition of J&K by settling more Hindus there. “They want to transform Muslim majority state to Hindu majority state. This is exactly the model that Israel follows today," he said. It is true that people from outside cannot buy land in J&K, but the same condition applies to states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim too, he said. “This is a direct attack on federalism. This is very dangerous for Indian democracy and constitution,” he noted.

“Kashmir chose to join India and not Pakistan because that country said it would remain an Islamic State with feudal control. India chose land reforms and a democratic structure. Sheikh Abdullah, who implemented land reforms soon after, was playing a progressive role, while the Praja Parishad, the predecessor of the current BJP, an opposite role,” said Yechury.

The move in Kashmir is the beginning of bringing India under military rule. The BJP's policy of one nation is to undermine secularism and federalism of the country.

People and leaders are imprisoned. Yusuf Tarigami, CPI(M) Central Committee member has been under arrest since August 5. Kashmir is today a valley of unrest. The Modi government has transformed Kashmir into one of the largest military bases in the world. This is a move towards military rule and the formation of the Hindu Rashtra. Kashmir has been reduced to two union territories, undermining all democratic and federal principles. Two weeks before that, there was an increasing deployment of troops.

The people of Kashmir had acceded to India in the face of invaders from Pakistan and a solemn commitment had been made to them by the Indian State to provide them with special status and autonomy which was embodied in Article 370. The Modi government has betrayed the people of Jammu & Kashmir by going back on this commitment.

As a run-up to these authoritarian measures, the centre has placed most of the leaders of opposition parties under arrest, deployed tens of thousands of troops, and curtailed communication facilities. Besides, it has also prohibited movement of the public. This shows the disregard the Modi government has for the consent of people and democratic values.

, I was a part of the central delegation to Kashmir. After the visit, the committee submitted that the people of Kashmir should be trusted and that peace should be restored through discussions with all communities. But the central government has increased its military presence in Kashmir on the Israeli model. The area was completely under military control. It pushed people into a horrible insecurity. All the politicians who were able to establish peace with Kashmir and make peace were arrested and imprisoned,” he pointed out.

strengthening of the bonds of the people of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of India should have been through the process of political dialogue with all stakeholders, as promised by the government three years ago. Instead, such a unilateral step will only deepen the alienation. This is harmful for the unity and integrity of India.

The CPI(M) denounced these measures taken by the Modi government. They are illegal and unconstitutional. This is not an issue confined to Jammu & Kashmir alone, they constitute an attack on democracy, secularism and the constitution itself.

“Reports in the international media condemn the government's claim that everything is normal in Kashmir. The government didn’t allow D Raja and me to visit CPI(M) leader and four-time MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami. This is a part of the schemes that the realities of Kashmir should not be known to the outside world,” Yechury said.

The people of India are being forewarned that such authoritarian attacks will take place on their democratic and constitutional rights.

This is the time to stand with the people of Jammu & Kashmir and mobilise the people to resist this onslaught on the constitution and federalism.

It is universally acknowledged that the unity of India lies in its diversity.  The BJP-RSS rulers cannot tolerate any diversity and the federal principle. They are treating Jammu and Kashmir as an occupied territory. Trampling on the constitution, they converted Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh as two centrally-ruled union territories.

is the biggest attack on national unity and the concept of India as a union of states. The strengthening of the bonds of the people of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of India should have been through the process of political dialogue with all stakeholders, as promised by the government three years ago.

Instead, such a unilateral step will only deepen the alienation. This is harmful to the unity and integrity of India. This is not an issue confined to Jammu & Kashmir alone, they constitute an attack on democracy, secularism and the constitution itself.

Yechury said the ‘undemocratic’ attempts by the government were not only confined to Kashmir, but was evident in the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. “More than 41 lakh people do not find their name in the register. No country in the world will accept them. Most of them are born in the country. Last week, a gazettee notification was issued to complete NRC across the country by 2020. They are also bringing in the anti-constitutional Citizenship Amendment Bill. What else is this but a sort of ethnic cleansing?” he asked.

The central government is implementing the BJP's communal agenda one by one, including triple talaq, Ayodhya and Article 370. When we gained independence they worked hard to make India a Hindu nation. It did not happen because of the strength and influence of the freedom movement. It was the rebellion that led to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Later, they also opposed the linguistic reorganisation of the country. The BJP has always been against the idea of ​​diversity. It seeks to establish totalitarian ideas such as one nation, single language, single constitution and single tax, Yechury said.