Throw some light

Internally, there is a dispute about the status of Kashmir within the Indian union.Kashmir was given a special status by Article 370 in our constitution. Article 370 gives greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir compared to the other States of India. The State has its own Constitution. All requirements of the Indian Constitution are not appropriate to the State. Laws passed by the Parliament apply to J&K only if the State agrees.

Another section mostly Kashmiris, believe that the autonomy conferred by article 370 is not enough. A section of Kashmiris have expressed at least three grievances in this regard:

• First, the promise that accession would be referred to the people of the state after the situation created by tribal incursion was normalized has not been fulfilled. This has generated a demand for Plebiscite.

• Secondly, there is a feeling that the special federal status certain by Article 370 has been eroded in practice. This has led to the demand for reinstatement of autonomy or ‘Greater State Autonomy’.

• Thirdly, it is felt that democracy which is experienced in the rest of India has not been similarly institutionalized in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

OR

The growth of the Bharatiya Kisan Union has gone through many severe challenges and great movements.

• The social discontent in Indian society was since the seventies were various. Even those sections that partially benefited in the process of development had many complaints against the state and political parties. Agrarian struggles of the eighties are one such example where better off farmers protested against the policies of the state.

• Bharatiya Kisan Union is an organization of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana regions. The BKU was one of the leading organizations in the farmers' movement of the eighties. The farmers of the organization were protesting against the government decision to increase electricity rates. The farmers camped for about three weeks outside the district collector's office until their demands were fulfilled.

• The BKU demanded higher government floor prices for sugarcane and wheat, the abolition of restrictions on the interstate movement of farm produce, guaranteed supply of electricity at reasonable rates, waiving of repayments due on loans to farmers and the provision of a government pension for farmers.

Characteristics

• Activities conducted by the BKU to pressurize the state for uncomplaining its demands included rallies, demonstrations, sit-ins, and jailbharo(courting imprisonment) agitations. These protests involved tens of thousands of farmers – sometimes over a lakh – from various villages western Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions.

• Another narrative feature of these mobilizations was the use of caste linkages of farmers. Most of the BKU members belonged to a single community. The organization used customary caste panchayats of these communities in bringing them together over economic issues.

• The BKU could maintain itself for a long time because it was based on clan networks among its members. Funds, resources and activities of BKU were mobilized through these networks

• BKU has been worked as a pressure group in politics with its strength of sheer numbers. The organization, along with the other farmers'organizations across States, did manage to get some of their economic demands accepted.