Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has criticised the Central government’s move on Jammu & Kashmir, saying “I don’t think ultimately you will have any resolution in Kashmir without democracy.” Sen said this in an interview with NDTV.
Earlier this month, the Centre had withdrawn the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two union territories. The bifurcation bill was supported by several opposition parties and leaders, including a section of the Congress. They said that this had now put Jammu and Kashmir on the same footing as the other states in the country.
Sen said in the interview that “As an Indian, I am not proud of the fact that India, after having done so much to achieve as a democratic norm in the world… that we lose that reputation on the grounds of action that have been taken.”
On the possibility of people buying land in Jammu and Kashmir, Sen said that it should have been “something for the people of the state to decide”.
Some leading leaders from the state had been put under arrest during the implementation of the decision, and on it Sen said in the interview: “I don’t think you will ever have fairness and justice without hearing the voices of the leaders and the people… you are stifling the channel of democracy that makes democracy a success.”
On the preventive measures taken by the government to impose huge security in the area, Sen said, “The last thing that I expected when we got our independence… is that we would go back to our colonial heritage of preventive detentions.”
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