ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370 – STIRRED UP A HORNET’S NEST

Kashmir has changed forever and everyone in the subcontinent knows it. After the abrogation of Article 370 there has been a seismic change in the geopolitics of this region and it has sent all the stakeholders – India, Pakistan and China back to the drawing board. The people of Kashmir will benefit the most as they get truly integrated in the intricately woven tapestry of India.

What is this Article 370?  

Article 370 was drafted under Part 21 which deals with "Temporary, Transitional and Special” provisions and under the Constitution of India gave special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It came into effect in 1949, two years after independence. By this article all the provisions of the Constitution which applied to other states did not apply to J&K until and unless the state legislative assembly separately passed such provisions. Except for defence, foreign affairs, finance, and communications, Parliament of India needed the state government's concurrence for applying all other laws. The residents of the state of Jammu & Kashmir lived under a separate set of laws including those related to Citizenship, Ownership of property and Fundamental rights. The Directive Principle of State Policy and Fundamental Duties did not apply to the state of J&K. This Article was further strengthened by Article 35A in 1954 by which no outsider could buy property or get a state job in J&K.

What does the abrogation of Article 370 mean?

1. J&K will no longer enjoy special status now
2. The Indian Constitution laws will be 100 percent applicable to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.
3. Part 4 of the Indian Constitution, the Directive Principle of State Policy and Fundamental Duties will now apply to the state of J&K
4. There will be no separate flag for J&K now
5. Article 360 (Financial Emergency) of the Indian Constitution will now be applicable
6. Minorities (Hindus & Sikhs) will have 16% reservation now
7. Right to Information & Right to Education will be applicable now
8. The duration of the legislative assembly will now be five years instead of six
9. Article 35A will be nullified. A woman from J&K can still retain her rights and citizenship even if she marries someone out of the J&K state 
10.  The Panchayats will enjoy the same powers as in other states.

11. Indians can buy land and migrate to do business in J&K. The cost of land will increase several times and can be put to better use. The standard of living of J&K is going to rise when Indian MNCs invests in hotels, resorts, factories, industries and businesses.
12. The Dalits and backward caste individuals can get their legitimate rights given to them by the constitution of India, which were denied in Kashmir by their local government.
13. Financial institutions will be subjected to Indian laws and appropriate measures to control corruption can be taken now by the central government.
14. Foreign Investments can now flow into J&K so rapid economic growth is expected.
15. Separatists cannot even talk about azadi in which case sedition law will be unleashed. The authorities are in a better position to curb terrorism now

By this one stroke of legislation the government of the day has achieved its mission of One Nation One Constitution. This will instill the feeling of unity among all citizens of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. It will open doors for private sectors to invest in J&K. This will boost the economy of the state. There will be the scope of other job opportunities now apart from tourism. Kashmiri youth can be trained on technical skills and be gainfully employed instead of collecting Rs 500 for stone pelting from terror outfits. Additionally the centre will be able to provide better medical facilities to citizens of J&K now and the shameful neglect of Ladakh by the state government will now come to an end as it becomes a separate Union Territory. Article 370 was exploited by only 3 families, the dynasties who had hijacked the fate of Kashmiri people for 72 years. This will now stop. Pandering to the secessionist elements and giving pension to those who plot against us will now stop once and for all.

Why is Pakistan disturbed by abrogation of Article 370?

Since August 5, 2019 Pakistan is in a state of status epilepticus. It is having repeated convulsions not only in its politics but also in social life and the news media both print and television is having a field day! They have forgotten everything about their depleting coffers, their corrupt politicians, and religious fanaticism and have dived into the whirlwind of Kashmir head on to save the poor ‘Muslims’ in Kashmir! Yes, their secular soles, which easily tolerated the gradual disappearance of their own Hindu population from 23% in 1947 to 3% in 2019, and did not raise the alarm when Hindus were cleansed out of Kashmir by their terror sympathizers, are now concerned about the ‘Muslims’ in the valley! This in a country which has had innumerable Muslim Presidents, Governors, Chief Ministers, Vice Chancellors, Army Generals, Police Commissioners and business icons!

Ironically Pakistan never supported 370 because support would mean accepting Kashmir integration to Indian union. Now it seems to be last straw for them in their Kashmir based foreign policy. Their Prime Minister spent his entire 45 minutes on the U.N.G.A podium lamenting about an Article of the Indian constitution which till August 5, 2019 was not even recognized by them! Pakistan never acknowledged this arrangement giving defining unique relation of Jammu and Kashmir with India. For Pakistan, the main objection was to the fact that Article 370 declared that entire Jammu and Kashmir belonged to India, and the merger of Jammu and Kashmir with post-Partition India was valid. The same was held in the first UN resolution as well which Pakistan never showed intent to implement. Now, by resorting to an aggressive campaign for restoration of the pre-August 5 status of Jammu and Kashmir, the Imran Khan government of Pakistan has officially admitted to the validity of Article 370. This translates into an acknowledgement that Jammu and Kashmir legally belongs to India and hence, it does not have a locus standi, a stand that Pakistan never took in public view. That the real focus of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan now shifts on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that includes Gilgit and Baltistan is going to embarrass them even further.

There are no changes in geography of the region; POK still remains in their illegal occupation. Only administrative changes and removal of special status has sent shockwaves down their spine. After the surrender of 94,000 plus army men in 1971 Pakistan changed the rules of the game. Their new game plan was of hurting India with thousand cuts. This game plan was immensely helped by Article 370 and this has been threatened by its abrogation. Political entities along with traditional separatist outfits were brought in synchronization in last four decades. 40 years of hard work in Kashmir by Pakistan has been nullified in single parliamentary decision.

What is the Chinese interest in J&K?

China, the third party in Kashmir is too taken by surprise. It has invested heavily in Gilgit and Baltistan and is in a peculiar position today. By demanding the restoration of special status under Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has also challenged the occupation of Aksai Chin by China. This move thus makes the Pakistani gift of 5,882 sq km of land in Shaksgam Valley to China illegal. The area is now known as Trans-Karakoram Tract of China. Though Pakistan has supported separatism and sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, this unstated policy now becomes a confessional statement of interference in other country's essentially internal matter in the view of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his ministers batting for restoration of an Indian law in an Indian state!