Naya Kashmir

The document was produced by the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir’s leading political party National Conference (NC) headed by Sheikh Abdullah who presented it to Maharaja Hari Singh in 1944. It envisaged an independent, democratic and constitutional monarchy that promised uniform rights to its citizens and afforded equitable opportunities to women. It was conceived by BPL Bedii. Although the Naya Kashmir document was a rip-off of the 1936 constitution of the Soviet Union also known as the Stalin Constitution, it is considered as the ‘most important political document in modern Kashmir’s history’. Under Jawaharlal Nehru’s influence and guidance, Sheikh Abdullah rescinded his dreams for an independent country and joined India. For the rest of his life, Abdullah used the slogan and legacy of Naya Kashmir to concentrate power that was transferred to his son, Farooq Abdullah, and later his grandson, Omar Abdullah.