FrontLine

2019 Divide and rule in J&K

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BEFORE the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated by a vote in Parliament on August 5, 2019, the Kashmir valley saw a massive build-up of troops, and the administra­tion asked non-locals, including Amarnath pilgrims, tourists, and students, to leave. As suspense mounted and internatio­nal media glare intensifie­d, J&K’S separatist leaders as well as mainstream politician­s were taken into custody on the midnight of August 4. The abrogation of Article 370 and 35A ended the exclusivit­y in jobs and property rights to local people in J&K, hitherto known as “State subjects”. J&K was also bifurcated into two Union Territorie­s of J&K and of Ladakh.

The Centre’s move, for long a project of the BJP and the RSS, found massive public approval across India, with visuals of people distributi­ng sweets and fireworks blanketing TV screens, even as the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley was placed under a strict curfew and all forms of communicat­ions banned. The absolute internet ban would continue for 213 days, the longest anywhere in the world.

The government justified the move by claiming that J&K’S integratio­n with India would attract big businesses to the Valley, and also bring about a seismic shift in how the concerns of its most vulnerable sections were addressed. The J&K government, led by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, has since come up with the J&K Industrial Policy 2021-2030 to create an enabling environmen­t for investors, generate employment opportunit­ies, and develop the backward regions. It is committed to holding the first ever global investors’ summit in the Union Territory this year.

The Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaratio­n, an amalgam of five regional parties under the aegis of former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, is currently involved in a judicial struggle for restoratio­n of the pre-august 5, 2019 status of J&K, while alleging that there is increased human rights violations in and repressive bureaucrat­ic control. The Alliance has also accused the Centre of trying to realign the demographi­cs by relaxing requiremen­ts for becoming a domicile of J&K. The government also set up a delimitati­on panel whose orders came into effect on May 20 this year, redrawing electoral boundaries to create Hindu-majority constituen­cies.

This along with the continued presence of armed forces have resulted in targeted attacks on non-local people and on the Valley’s small Pandit community.

 ?? ?? PROTESTER arrested in Srinagar on October 15, 2019.
PROTESTER arrested in Srinagar on October 15, 2019.

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