The repealing of Article 370 in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has been splashed across thousands of headlines in the past month, leaving the world divided in whether it is for the better or worse. Article 370 made Jammu and Kashmir a special status state, meaning that the laws of India did not apply within that area; Jammu and Kashmir had a separate state flag, constitution, and autonomy over its own internal administration. When the article was implemented, it was to grant the citizens of the state some of their own right to govern as it was a territory disputed equally over by India, China, and Pakistan. However, with the recent repealing, much controversy has sparked. Therefore, it is important to understand how this law functioned within Jammu and Kashmir.
Due to differences in culture, a lot of progressive Indian laws were not enforced in Jammu and Kashmir, thanks to the freedom that article 370 allowed. For example, India has recently decriminalized homosexuality, but this change was not implemented across Jammu and Kashmir; it would still be legal to murder a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, child marriage was still legal in Jammu and Kashmir, meaning that children who did not consent to this marriage were forced into it, usually resulting in sexual relations between an adult and a minor. Furthermore, if a Kashmiri woman were to marry someone from outside the state, she would no longer be considered a citizen of Jammu and Kashmir and would have to forfeit all of her property within the state.
Many are upset with the fact that shorty, the Indian military, began to occupy the state after the repealing of article 370, imposing curfews and stationing themselves outside of Kashmiri schools and other establishments that are state property. According to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, this is necessary in order to quell any unrest or violence that could be instigated due to the repealing, but many are viewing it as a form of oppression. People are struggling to come to terms with the new reality that their identity and the state demographics are not shielded by a separate law. The lockdown imposed is alarming, as citizens were transported into an era where there were no working phones or internet; even landlines are of limited use. The state is now teeming with security barricades, and citizens can barely travel 10km without encountering several of them. Reports, albeit unconfirmed, state that large-scale protests are still being held in Srinagar. There have even been reports of deaths caused by these protests, although the government determinedly rejects these. Local newspapers are being heavily censored and simply transmit information that the government is trying to share with the people. Despite the government’s attempt to return the state of affairs back to normalcy, the situation at ground seems anything but normal.
The government refuses to release its strict control over the Kashmiri people in fear that demonstrations will spark and gain momentum; the last case of this was in 2016 when the militant commander Burhan Wali was killed, causing great unrest in the Kashmir Valley and resulting in the deaths of 100 people and the injury of 700 others. This is in large part due to the pellet gun, which was added to riot control police’s arsenal in 2010, when 120 youths were murdered in the third year of unrest; these guns are notorious for causing permanent blindness.
It is still largely unknown whether people will reconcile to this new condition of affairs - the dominant attitude in J&K shows that the people feel even more alienated from New Delhi than ever before. According to Naseer Ahmad, a columnist, “Kashmir hasn’t gotten used to New Delhi’s rule over the past 70 years. It is least likely this will happen now. Now, there is a grievance far bigger than there was at any other time in the past.”
However, Gowhar Geelani, a political commentator, disagrees vehemently, stating that “The scrapping of Article 370 has fundamentally altered the situation. It has put the identity and the demographic composition of the state on the line, something that has always been unacceptable to a predominant majority of the people of the state.” There is still a possibility that former J&K state ministers may launch a campaign to reimplement article 370, but as of now, the state will remain torn in conflict for an indefinite period of time, however long it may take to adjust to the fact that J&K is once again a part of India.
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