What are the suggestions for J&K and Ladakh made by e Home Secretary Gopal Pillai-led forum? | Explained
The Story So Far: On the seventh anniversary of abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which once granted autonomous status to the erstwhile State of
The Story So Far: On the seventh anniversary of abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which once granted autonomous status to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, in its annual report, strongly advocated the restoration of full Statehood and repealing of the J&K Reorganization Act 2019. The Forum has become the first major civil society group pitching for outreach to J&K, which has been in the throes of militancy for the past three decades. What is this Forum all about? The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir came into being after the Centre ended special status in 2019. At present, Gopal Pillai, former Home Secretary, Government of India and Radha Kumar, former member, Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir, co-chair it. Several judges — Justice Ruma Pal, former judge of the Supreme Court of India; Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts; Justice Bilal Nazki, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court; Justice Hasnain Masoodi, former judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court; and Justice Anjana Prakash, former judge of the Patna High Court are also its members. From the security side, Major-General Ashok Mehta (retd); Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak (retd); Lieutenant-General H.S. Panag (retd) and Colonel Yoginder Kandhari (retd) are its members.
It calls itself “an informal group of concerned citizens” who could flag human rights violations from J&K and Ladakh. The Forum has produced seven annual reports so far. What is the new revelation in the latest report? The report stands out for highlighting the 2025 Red Fort attack, which left eight civilians dead. The Forum suggested that it indicated that there was “scattered revival of homegrown militancy” in J&K directed against Indian citizens and infrastructure. It pointed out the failure to intercept Umar Un Nabi, a doctor from Kashmir, despite arrests and raids on his group in Faridabad. It suggests extremely poor coordination between the Delhi police and the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana police, “a fault that can be attributed to shoddy monitoring by the Union Home Ministry”. It said while vowing revenge on the Red Fort attackers, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took no responsibility for the lapse that allowed Nabi to drive to the Red Fort without being intercepted. The Forum’s report highlighted that there was considerable anger in J&K at the Union and Lieutenant-Governor administrations’ actions post the Red Fort attack. It said reportedly 500 were detained following the Red Fort attack. What headway is suggested for J&K? The Forum strongly advocated full Statehood for J&K. It pointed out that it was for the first time in independent India that an existing State has been demoted to Union Territory status.
The BriefWire