Most of J&K adjusted to Art 370 abrogation

It was a year back on August 5, 2019, that the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A was announced in Parliament, which led to the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories — Ladakh without a legislature, and Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature. It was a bold move, one which resulted in national and global reverberations as it came into effect on October 31, 2019.

We have grown so used to the status quo that a change of this magnitude challenges our intellectual faculties. But it is also a reality that much as many of us would like to ignore it, the status quo on Kashmir had become unsustainable long back. It was only the political and policy inertia that was keeping Indian policymakers from challenging it.

A year on, despite the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic, things are beginning to settle down in both Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. With the development and empowerment process underway in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, this is likely to become even stronger in the future.

At the domestic level, there has been a big change in the way governance has been ramped up and has started benefitting those who were not really part of the national and intellectual discourse – the under-privileged and marginalised communities like Valmikies, Gorkhas and Dalits.

With the new administrative arrangements ushered in last year, it is that silent majority that is regaining its voice and role in the regional and national matrix as central laws are starting to be implemented. New job opportunities have been opened up for weaker sections in the government.

This is also being reflected in the manner in which development projects which have been languishing have been energised. As of 2018, projects worth over `7,000 crore were stuck at various stages.

Even Prime Minister’s relief package for socioeconomic infrastructure announced in 2015 had not got the traction it deserved but in the last year various investments in infrastructure and other sectors has gathered momentum.

It is remarkable that while the critics continue to harp on a seeming lack of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, grassroots democracy has actually been thriving with Panchayati Raj elections of 2018 witnessing a voter turnout of 74.1 per cent followed by elections to the

Block Development Councils held for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir in October 2019 with a record 98.3 per cent voter turnout. This has brought in new voices and new actors into the political arena, away from the stranglehold of a few families who dominated local politics.

No wonder that few are calling for the restoration of Article 370 today.

The writer is a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).