The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is a political alliance between the several regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir campaigning for autonomy for the region by restoring

special status Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

along with Article 35A of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Farooq Abdullah Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician who was Ex. President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982, and as the union minister f ...

is the president of the alliance.

Background

On 5 August 2019, the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

revoked Article 370 of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

, the temporary special status of Jammu and Kashmir, thereby ending the limited autonomy the state enjoyed in affairs other than foreign affairs, defence and communication, etc. Further, the state was re-organised and evolved into two new union territories, Jammu and Kashmir in the west and

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

in the east. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

had placed separatist leaders under house arrest and suspended internet services to maintain law and order for civilians and to tackle militancy.

Member parties

Current members

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of , ...

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

* Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference

Former members

Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference The Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference is a political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India, founded by Abdul Ghani Lone and Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari in 1978. It is currently led by Sajjad Lone. It won two seats in the Jammu and Kashmir ...

(2020–2021) * Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement (2020–2022)

Gupkar declarations

First declaration

On 4 August 2019, the following leaders met at ''Gupkar Residence'': The first Gupkar Declaration was unanimously passed by all present as a baseline:

Second declaration

The second Gupkar Declaration, was signed on 22 August 2020 by seven

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

, including National Conference,

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

, Awami National Conference,

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement. The signatories once again asserted that they were bound by the status quo of August 4, 2019. The Gupkar declaration and parties would strive for the restoration of

Article 370 Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pa ...

and Article 35A. On 17 November 2020, the

denied their involvement with the PAGD. Their Jammu and Kashmir leadership claimed that they may pursue a state-level electoral alliance but denied that they are signatories of the proclamations. The Congress Party also condemned

Mehbooba Mufti Mehbooba may refer to * ''Mehbooba'' (1976 film), a Hindi-language film * ''Mehbooba'' (2008 film), a Hindi-language romance film * ''Mehbooba'' (2018 film), a Telugu-language film *Mehbooba Mahnoor Chandni Mehbooba Mahnoor Chandni, known as Chan ...

's comments on abandoning the Indian Tricolour as well as

's statements asking for foreign interference into India's internal matters.

Later developments

On 19 January 2021, the

announced that it was pulling out of the alliance, citing differences with the member parties. On 4 July 2022, Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement left the alliance citing lack of a clear roadmap.

Symbols

The alliance uses the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the former

State of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019, constituting the southern and southeastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and ...

as an official symbol.

References

{{Reflist

External

Official Twitter feed
Srinagar Organisations based in Jammu and Kashmir Politics of Jammu and Kashmir 2019 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Political parties established in 2019