Jammu and Kashmir has attained a significant geo-political status in the region owing to its shared borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, China and Tibet. This requires continuous vigilance and has made the state crucial from a geographical, political and military perspective. Jammu and Kahsmir acceded to India post partition in 1947. Prior to this, the British had taken away Gilgit in 1946 from Maharaja Hari Singh on lease for thirty years to monitor any encroachment of Russia towards India. (Raina, 2002)

As of the 2011 census, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has a population of 12.5 million. The breakup on male and female population shows 6,640,662 of male population and 5,900,640of female population.Sex ratio is the number of females per thousand males. The sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir according to the 2011 census is 889. The female literacy rate is 56.43%, which is much lower than the male literacy of 76.75%. Out of the total 7.07 million literate population, 4.26 million are male whereas only 2.8 million are female. (census 2011)

 

Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India that has a Muslim majority. As per the 2011 censes, 68.3% of the states total population is Muslim and 28.4% is Hindu. In addition to this there are small minorities that follow Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.9%) andChristianity (0.3%).

The Kashmir valley has had a homogeneously Muslim population since the Hindu exodus in 1989. 96.4% of the population in the Kashmir Valley is Muslim, 2.45% are Hindu and 0.98% is Sikh. The total population of Kashmir is 6.89 million.In the Jammu region, 62.55% of the population is Hindu, 33.45% Muslim and 3.3% Sikh.The total population of Jammu is 5.38 million.The third region is Ladakh with a population of 274,289. Shia Muslims dominate Kargil and constitute about 46.4% of the population. Buddhists dominate Leh and constitute 39.7% of the population. Hindus form 12.1% of the population in Ladakh. (Indian Express, 2016)

 

525,000 Indian refugees, predominantly from the Jammu province migrated to Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir is 1947-48. 226,000 refugees from the Pakistan side migrated to India out of which many settled in Jammu and Kashmir and have come to be known as West Pakistani Refugees. An estimated 50,000-150,000 Kashmiri Muslims and 150,000-300,000 Kashmiri Pandits have been internally displaced due to the conflict. (Evans, 2002)

The state has an array of main languages that comprise of Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, Dogri, Punjabi, Pahari, Ladakhi, Gojri, Balti, Shina and Pashto. The official language of Jammu and Kashmir is Urdu written in the Persian script. Urdu is widely used in the media, education, political and religious discussions and the legislature of Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from Urdu, Hindustani is widely understood by the population.

Though the population of Jammu and Kashmir has increased since the 2001 census, the employment opportunities in the state have not been successful in matching up to the increasing population. The work participation rate in Jammu and Kashmir as per the 2011 census was estimated at 34.5%, falling short of the all India figures of 39.8%. The total number of workers was 43.23 Lakhs. Female workers formed 26.09% of the workforce. The issue of unemployment is rampant among the educated youth of the state. Agrarian and allied activities form the main subsistence sector of Jammu and Kashmir with 70% of the population being directly or indirectly dependent upon this sector. A large number of these marginal workers in the agriculture industry contribute to very marginal produce hence giving rise to the concept of disguised unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir and have the potential to contribute positively instead of marginally if they are shifted to another sector rather than working in the agro based sector. (Nengroo, 2015)

2.2 Hypothesis

The hypothesis of this dissertation is that Article 35A of the Indian Constitution has a negative impact on the lives of the women of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

2.3 Methodology

 

The methodology is broadly based on collecting and consolidating primary and secondary data relating to the topic. The research began with extraction of secondary data from articles and opinion pieces relating to Article 35A. After getting a general understanding of the issue at hand, the researcher travelled to the field to gather the primary data.

The researcher spent four days in Jammu where she engaged with the communities affected by Article 35A who are the subjects of this research. The first on-field day was spent interacting with the West Pakistani Refugees, a community consisting of 1.5 Lakh people who are denied the Permanent Resident Certificate in Jammu and Kashmir. The researcher mainly conversed with the women of this community. Thereafter, The researcher visited a village inhabited by the West Pakistani Refugees to get a first hand look at the living conditions of the community. This gave the researcher insight on just how drastic the consequences of not having a Permanent Resident Certificate is in Jammu and Kashmir.

The second day, the researcher visited the Valmiki Basti, which is the colony inhabited by the Valmiki caste in Gandhi Nagar in Jammu. Talking to this community gave the researcher comprehensive knowledge about the condition of this schedule caste in Jammu and Kashmir and how they are only permitted to take up the profession of sweepers in the government offices no matter how qualified they are. Walking around the colony the researcher witnessed the congested and unhygienic living condition of the Valmiki Samaj.

Finally, the researcher had the opportunity to interview women who were Permanent Resident Certificate holders and lost their certificate after marrying men who were not permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. This policy of state subjects for women being valid only till marriage will be the focus of this dissertation. The researcher even got to meet the son who is currently studying law. He has no right over the Permanent Resident Certificate or the property. The researcher aims to convey the helplessness and frustration of these affected communities by this policy through this research.

While interacting with these communities, the researcher conducted surveys through questionnaires. These questionnaires were formed systematically, keeping in mind the hypothesis of this research. The first few questions collect the details of the subjects- their age, area of residence, educational qualifications, occupation, monthly income etc. The women were asked if they are mindful of the Permanent Resident Certificate while choosing a life partner. They were questioned on whether they were aware of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court judgment in the Susheela Sawhney vs State of Jammu and Kashmir case of 2002 that prohibits the state from writing ‘valid till marriage’ on the state subject certificate and if they knew of women who have benefitted from this judgment. Lastly, they were asked if they considered moving out of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to enjoy a life where they did not have to compromise on their rights.

During the visit to Jammu, the researcher also interviewed some experts on the matter of 35A. This allowed the researcher to gain in depth comprehension of the technical aspects of 35A as well as where it stands in legal terms. An interview with a lawyer and professor at Jammu University allowed the researcher to get an educated perspective of the impact of Article 35A on the women as well as a legal understanding of the Susheela Sawhney 2002 court case and judgment.

The researcher had the opportunity to meet Mr. Daya Sagar, a respected public figure in Jammu who has written several books and articles on 35A as well as Article 370. Speaking with him allowed the researcher to learn more about the history of Jammu and Kashmir as well as 35A. It even broadened her understanding of the political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lastly, the researcher met a journalist Mr. Dinesh Malhotra who gave her the media’s perspective of 35A and how open the media is in covering the topic of 35A. It also helped her gauge local public opinion surrounding the controversial article and possible solutions to the issues that arise from 35A.

The researcher also faced few limitations while conducting primary research. Firstly, the women in Jammu were not completely willing to talk about the consequences of choosing a life partner who did not hold Permanent Resident Certificate. They were shy or felt it was inappropriate to discuss personal and family matters with a complete stranger even for the sake of the research. Thus, the sample size was restricted to a couple of women who were former Permanent Resident Certificate holders, around 20 women who were West Pakistani Refugees and 10 young girls belonging to the Valmiki Samaj. There was not much choice available while selecting the sample size and the variables for the research. The variables chosen were age, marital status and educational qualifications to study the impact of Article 35A on these women.

Secondly, the researcher was keen to file an RTI to investigate how many women got the ‘valid till marriage’ removed from their state subject after the 2002 Susheela Sawhney judgement. However, the researcher found out that only Permanent Resident Certificate holders can file RTIs in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and even this procedure is very diluted. Thus, the researcher was unable to file the RTI to supplement her research.

After returning from Jammu, the researcher dove into gathering secondary data to substantiate the primary data collected on the field. The secondary data will form the literature review of this dissertation. The researcher started off by reading a couple of book written by Mr. Daya Sagar on Article 35A and Article 370. To give context to 35A and 370, she also read up on the political history of Jammu and Kashmir. The researcher followed this up by reading several EPW articles relating to Jammu and Kashmir and the women in the state. After which, the researcher went on to study the Susheela Sawhney court case in detail and through this she collected information on examples of other court cases surrounding women who have lost their rights or property because of having lost Permanent Resident Certificate after marriage. These cases will be elaborated upon in the literature review in the following chapter. The next chapter will include information gathered through the extensive reading conducted during this research.

References

Raina, A.N (2002) “Geography of Jammu and Kashmir State” Kashmir News Network, retrieved from: http://koausa.org/geography/doc/geography.pdf

Jammu and Kashmir population census data 2011, retrieved from: https://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/jammu+and+kashmir.html

Shaikh, Z (December 30, 2016) “Share of Muslims and Hindus in J&K population same in 1961, 2011 Censuses”

Indian Express, retrieved from: http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/share-of-muslims-and-hindus-in-jk-population-same-in-1961-2011-censuses/

Evans, Alexander (1 March 2002). "A departure from history: Kashmiri Pandits, 1990–2001"Contemporary South Asia Vol 11(Pp. 19–37)

Nengroo, A (2015) “Employment and Unemployment Scenario of Jammu and Kashmir” International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and TechnologyVolume 1, retrieved from: