India’s Home Minister Amit Shah proposed in the Rajya Sabha today morning to remove all provisions of the contentious and anti-people Article 370 of the Indian constitution. Article 370 was a Temporary Provision in the Indian Constitution for Jammu and Kashmir which gave it a special status. Using the provisions of this Art 370 a separate Constitutional Order was introduced on 14th May 1954, popularly known as the Article 35A.
Both these articles were responsible for the ongoing problems in Jammu and Kashmir, especially the Kashmir Valley. All welfare provisions of Indian Constitution could not be applied in the state due to provisions in these two articles. By revoking these two articles Prime Minister Narendra Modi has corrected a historical wrong which was initiated by Sheikh Abdullah and the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Provisions of Art 370 and Art 35A were cemented by local politicians of Kashmir Valley and a section of politicians from New Delhi. These politicians and the Valley-based separatists had turned Kashmir into an “industrial enterprise” such that “Kashmir issue” continued to hog limelight across the world even as common man in the Valley, Laddakh and Jammu regions continued to suffer.
Using the provisions of Art 35A several thousand crores of rupees (billions of dollars) were sanctioned for the “welfare” of Kashmir, which never reached the common man in the state. While the politicians built palatial bungalows for themselves and settled their children aboard the gullible Kashmiri teenager was made to chant Azadi slogans and become a stone pelter or a terrorist.
All this will change now. With the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A there will be a plethora of options for employment and divisive politics will die its natural death. The welfare provisions of Indian Constitution such as relief to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) will now be implemented across the state. Big industries and services sector will now be able to set foot in the Valley which will create employment opportunities for the young and restive population.
The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019 will usher in a new era of peace across Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Laddakh.
[…] changing political narrative with removal of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories has necessitated a state of high alert. […]