ART 370 TO PULWAMA: KASHMIR IN HEADLINES

A 70-year-old provision in the Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir and extra protections for land and ownership rights to its citizens never sat well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. But no one could predict the swiftness with which the government moved to effectively revoke the sensitive provision on the morning of August 5. The groundwork had been laid two days in advance – tourists asked to leave the state, curbs on movement and assembly of people enforced and communications shut down. Union home minister Amit Shah’s legislative plan nullified Article 370 and 35A, and bifurcated the restive state into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without one.

The decision was cheered in various parts of India, and by many experts who called it a bold move to end terrorism and usher in development and economic progress. But in the Valley, it was met with quiet fury and anger. Opposition parties have decried the continued detention of a number of leaders and politicians. A number of migrant labourers and truck drivers have also been targeted by terrorists, driving fear into the hearts of many outsiders. The jury on whether this new chapter in Jammu and Kashmir’s turbulent history will manage to curb terror and improve the lives of ordinary people is still out. Earlier in the year, two events shaped the discourse around Kashmir. On February 14, suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Kashmir’s Pulwama killed 40 troops, drawing condemnation by world powers such as the US and China.

India’s retaliation was swift. Indian Air Force warplanes entered deep inside Pakistan;s territory and struck a JeM training camp near Balakot early on February 26. India said a large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders were eliminated. The next day, Pakistan said its air force had locked on to six targets in Kashmir. It said its aircraft did not enter Indian airspace, and that it captured an Indian pilot. Later it emerged that seconds before his MiG-21 was hit by a missile, wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman downed an F-16. He bailed out of his aircraft and was taken captive by Pakistan. He was returned after nearly 60 hours in captivity.

As tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours spiralled, the world community asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint.