A bold move by the Centre to set things right in long-ailing Jammu and Kashmir was in the offing. The preparations to beef up security in the troubled state had led to speculations that Article 370 of the Constitution would be abrogated along with Article 35A, and a bifurcation was contemplated. Both have happened in a jiffy on Monday. Jammu and Kashmir has been fully integrated with the nation. The autonomous status for the state, which curtailed the authority of the Centre is now a thing of the past.
Ladakh region has been turned into a separate entity with Union Territory status, as does Jammu and Kashmir. The promise from Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament was that the suspension of state status for Jammu and Kashmir is temporary, and the UT badge would continue only until the law and order remained tense.
This was a natural progression of the promise the ruling BJP had made in the election manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha polls which saw a resounding victory for the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The call for such Constitutional changes had been underfoot for many years from the RSS and some other entities. These have come to fruition now. With the Centre having more say in the state and taking ownership of land, citizens from outside the UT can now move in to permanently settle there.
There are of course several ifs and buts. The legality of the present steps could be challenged in Indian courts even while Pakistan made it clear it would go to the UN with a complaint. All the same, this was time for bold action. Amit Shah has stated in Parliament that Article 370 was the single factor that promoted terrorism. He put the blame for the present troubles on the monopoly of “three families”, like the Abdullahs and Muftis. Added to this was the instigations from Pakistan which fuelled militancy and terrorism.
Controversial Article 370 came into being in 1954. The special status meant the Centre had limited roles in the state even in curtailing acts of terrorism. The political process repeatedly proved to be a failure there. Even the involvement of the BJP in a ministry led by PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti did not help. With Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan confabulating with US president Donald Trump and seeking US mediation on Kashmir, the scenario turned worse. The threats from IS, Taliban and other terror outfits added to the strains. For the Centre, this was time for bold action. How that action will play out in the long run is unpredictable.