So in 1954, the union government eviscerated Article 370, passing constitutional amendments which expanded its jurisdiction to all subjects in the Union list of powers and giving the Governor, rather than the council of ministers, the final authority to interpret the constitution.
Later in 1958, when Kashmir passed its own constitution, these powers would see India integrate Kashmir in all but name. From the constitution’s chapter on fundamental rights, to the jurisdiction of the central services, Election Commission and Supreme Court: India would exercise ever-tighter authority.
More than six decades later on 5 August 2019, the Government of India revoked the special status, granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir, and divided the state into three parts with a lowered status of Union Territory. This action of the Modi Govt has vastly angered the Kashmiris and has led to a dangerous political drift. However, Kashmiri Pandits were the happiest lot over this move. The mass exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, also known as Kashmiri Pandits, began after the series of anti-Hindu attacks and Pogroms took place shortly after the inception of the Muslim-dominated insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989. It eventually forced native Kashmiri Hindus out of the Kashmir Valley.
Now almost 21 months after the revocation of J&K special status. Prime minister Modi is meeting Kashmiri leaders today later in the day ( at 3PM) in New Delhi in an apparent move to end the drift. And Kashmiri Pandits are upset that they have been left out of the meeting whereas they are the real victims of the violent Kashmir.
As of now, the situation is too explosive. After the scrapping of article 370, the so-called pro-India political parties like the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party have become increasingly discredited. That's why Mehbooba Mufti, BJP ex-ally in power and leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still asking to engage Pakistan in the dialogue. BJP is also a discredited party in Kashmir valley.
The meeting has been called as New Delhi’s efforts to foster the emergence of a new political leadership since 2019 have had little success.real story.
However, the real issue is: can this meeting serve the very purpose it has been called for, and on what terms? Both GOI and Kashmiri leaders hold diametrically opposite views. While the Kashmiri leaders have made their stand clear that they want article 370 and full state status back, the Modi govt is not as yet prepared for that. The people of both the Jammu and Ladakh regions are satisfied under the present dispensation.
A great tide of blood has washed Kashmir since August 2019. The figures from the Jammu and Kashmir Police tell the real story. Last year, in spite of a grinding internet shutdown and Covid lockdowns, as many as 184 new recruits were added to Kashmir-based terrorist groups. This year, the number has already gone up to 90. As many as 174 Kashmiri terrorists or jihadists were shot last year, up from just 34 in 2016.
It is to be noted that only half of all terrorists killed in 2020 had a personal assault weapon. Yet they succeeded in staging several attacks, targeting police patrols and political opponents. In several recent counter-terrorism operations, clashes have broken out between stone-throwing mobs and police, reminiscent of the situation before 2019.
Moreover, little success has been registered, in transfiguring Kashmir’s administration. Complaints of unresponsive "babus" and poor execution are replete with instances. Kashmir’s economy has come under severe pandemic-linked pressure. Hopes of rapid development have been belied.
So it is obvious that the new framework in Kashmir hasn't worked. As such risk remains, in the absence of a viable political framework.
Today's PM Modi’s meeting with Kashmir leaders seeks exactly to end this drift. But a million-dollar question is: will it?
(Chander Sharma)
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