7 years after Article 370 abrogation, J&K still awaits statehood

New Delhi: It was on August five, 20219 that the Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir
was abrogated and the state was stripped of its statehood, being divided into two Union territories. The aim was to make the state peaceful, more secure and integrated into India. However, these objectives have not been satisfactorily fulfilled so far, though seven years have passed since the big political step taken by the Modi government.

No doubt previous magnitude of violence has come down, but terrorism is yet to be wiped out. Even if we leave out the Baisaran meadow massacre as one exceptionally brutal event, sporadic incidents of violence are still happening. Still there are a large number of people who have been put behind bars for national security reasons. Two migrant workers from Chattisgarh were killed by terrorists in Kulgam district on July 31, and  a police officer, part of Amarnath security team, was shot dead on July 22 in Anantnag.

Moreover, the hurt of the Kashmiri people over demotion of their state is there to be seen and felt by all. The government had while abrogating Article 370 promised that statehood would be restored soon but that promise does not seem to be near fulfilment in the near future.

Omar Abdullah, who was installed as chief minister after UT Assembly polls, wrote, on August five,  in a post on X, “7 years, we haven’t forgotten & we haven’t reconciled far less accepted our current circumstances. My party & I remain committed to reversing all that was done to J&K that took away our rights; threatens our identity. The woods are lovely, dark & deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep……..”

PDP chief and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti also held a protest on August five, calling for restoration of restoration of J&K’s special status.PDP is against the demand for just the restoration of statehood, as it maintains that this demand would legitimise  the abrogation of Article 370 and snatch away the special status of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

However, Abdullah says the larger issue was restoration of statehood, “People demand bringing back Article 370 or special status, but would they tell without statehood what meaning will Article 370 or Article 371 have? Whether it is called Article 370 or by any other name, the real issue is the constitutional sharing of powers between Jammu and Kashmir and the Centre.”

Political opponents of these parties may say that these parties are not reflecting the real will of the people or just playing on their sentiments to keep themselves politically relevant, but reports from the ground indicate that restoration of statehood would go a long way in regaining the trust of the people of the state.

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