Demographic change stricto-senso refers to spatial or temporal changes in population in response to birth, migration, ageing or death.
The factors responsible for demographic change may be natural such as rapid birth rate or deaths due to different natural or human follies such as wars etc. The demographic changes may affect the population numerically, ethnically, culturally, psychologically, economically besides many other ways.
In the case of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the demographic change is not the current agenda to suppress the Kashmir freedom movement but a well designed, deliberate and malicious policy of the Government of India right from the day of partition of the subcontinent through different manners including annihilation of the Muslim populace of the State and submerging the survivors by drastic constitutional and administrative measures to suppress the freedom movement fearing to lose the State in case the numerical demography continued as such and  fair and impartial plebiscite takes place in the meantime.
The first onslaught was genocide of lakhs of Muslim in Jammu followed by forced migration of lakhs of Muslims to take refuge in Pakistan.

To add insult to the injury, lakhs of west Punjab Hindus were settled in Jammu. The Muslim population of the State was 77% in the census of 1941, while it is reduced to 68.2% in 2011 census. It is consistently being reduced by forced migration of Muslims due to the State oppression and settlement of non-Muslims under different pretexts, be it the business or industry, employment in the federal services and their trickled down affects.

The demography is affected innumerably by administrative measures of prolonging the stay of Military personnels, originally allowed as 12 to 18 thousand personnels under UNSC Resolution dated 23 Dec 1952, to more than one million now, with concentration in the Valley and the Muslim majority belt of Jammu and Kargil leaving worst effects on economy and culture.

After suffering humiliation in an attempt to settle Hindus under the garb of Shrine board land allotment, the plan is under way to construct housing colonies for retired army personnel and separate colonies for the purported residence of Pundit migrants. Hindu temples are constructed around the Valley in all military and paramilitary camps stationed in all most every second village of the Valley, besides cantonments spread over hundred of kanals of land to give a false impression to look as if 99% Muslim land of the Valley is culturally Hindu; Milestones, billboards, buildings of official and commercial nature, besides historical monuments are displayed by signboards in Hindi language with mutilated Urdu words somewhere to supplement this impression and psychologically and culturally brain wash the youth on these lines.

Central educational and vocational institutions in the State are flooded by non-Kashmiri students leaving a marginal space for Kashmiri students, conversely the Kashmiri students in Indian states are harassed, threatened and expelled from the educational institutions, dramatically traumatizing the Muslims by conveying a massage to follow the Hindutta philosophy of BJP and other Hindu fundamentalists.

Educated but unemployed youth is being recruited in central reserve police, Boarder security force, territorial army. It is over and above the task force . The object is to gain their loyalty and use them against their own people without any blame against the GOI.

Under sadh-bhawana scheme (good will scheme) the army schools provide education to teenagers and send them on all India tour to interact with hard core Hindus , brain washing to indianise them. Hospitals and other welfare schemes are over and above.

The constitutional invasion on the demography is multiplied by extension of 260 Articles out of 395 and 95 entries out of 97 of the Indian constitution, holding in strong grip the local population and governance through IAS and IPS officers, thus, practically reducing nominal autonomy guaranteed by Art 370 of the Constitution, as nonexistent.

As if it was insufficient, the BJP is hell bent to withdraw the hollow shell of Art 370 which has till date retained only Art 35-A, the only psychological solace to the people of Kashmir. As against it, Ten Indian States which are allowed similar or alike safeguards under Art 371 to 371-I of the Indian Constitution, are not even mentioned, not to speak of touching them.

Even the (Autonomy Report) of National Conference and “Self Rule” demand of People Democratic Party, the pro-Indian Kashmiri parties, are deemed as an embargo in the way of Indian designs to change the demography of the State.

The latest venom in contemplation is proposed bill to punish people and institutions for not showing J&K as part of India and lodge them in jails to be specially built for them on the pattern of Guantanamo Bay for which Rs.7 crors are initially allocated. It is in effect and extraterritorial legislation, speaking of hegemonic designs of India vis-à-vis Kashmir and Arunachal Perdesh.

There are reverberations in the power corridors of India demanding and intimidating to take over AJK and GB claming as their part under the hoax instrument of accession by the defunct ruler of the State followed by purported ratification by so-called constituent assembly of the State, inclusion of theses areas in their constitution followed by the unanimous resolutions of Indiana Parliament, brazenly ignoring the UNSC resolutions for plebiscite which have rejected the accession and ratification.  This poses a trans-boarder threat to the security of Pakistan besides a blatant contempt to the UNSC resolutions.

These are a few, out of many overt and covert actions having caused and continuously causing threat to the demography of the State in different forms and manifestations.

Under the circumstances, I feel advised to suggest that:

1)  Government of Pakistan should play a proactive role to sensitize the issue of demographic change in the State by India by, calling the attention of the UN in continuation of its resolutions on the State;

2)  Appropriate legal measures be taken in consultation with the jurists expert in international law to take the matter to the ICJ and other world bodies;

3)   Pakistan should assert its claim on whole of the State under its constitution as “disputed territory of Pakistan subject to its final disposition in accordance with UNCIP resolutions” on the basis of spirit  of  Indian Independence Act 1947, stand still agreement by the ruler of State duly accepted by GOP, the resolution of All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference dated 19th July 1947( which was a sole representative of the Muslims of the State), vocal vice for Pakistan hoisting Pakistani flags around the State;

4)   Pending that, the AJK and GB be placed as “special territories” in the constitution of Pakistan, as a model of empowerment, with all the constitutional rights, without making them part or provinces within the spirit of the GOP’s Cabinet Division notifications dated 11 May 1971 and 6 Jun 1988, so that they appear as national horizon as representatives of the State in Pakistan;

Or

5)   The responsibilities of the projection and propagation of the UNCIP     resolutions be devolved to AJK government to pursue it on behalf of the people of the State around the world.

by Justice(r) Manzoor Gilani

This paper was presented to the  Technical Group of Kashmir conference  organised by the National University of Science and Technology (NUST )on 1-2 June 2016 at Islamabad.