Jammu and Kashmir loses autonomy
J&K ASSEMBLY WILL CEDE CONTROL ON SECURITY
State formally split into two federal territories
India’s government will formally break up Jammu and Kashmir state into two federal territories on Thursday, as part of a sweeping move to tighten its grip over the restive region that is at the heart of more than 70 years of hostility with Pakistan.
The Himalayan state comprises the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley which is the bone of contention, the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and the remote, high altitude Buddhist enclave of Ladakh.
Under the new arrangement, Jammu and Kashmir will be clubbed as one union territory with some 12.2 million people and Ladakh, with a population of less than 300,000 spun off into another, both ruled directly by Delhi.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The Kashmir Valley region of the state is one of the world’s most militarised regions, where militants have waged a decades-long war against Indian rule.
It has long been one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoint. India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir in full but rule in part, and have fought two of their three wars over the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had long wanted to do away with the special provisions that had given Jammu and Kashmir its own constitution, a flag and the right to frame its own laws.
The provisions were granted to the state via the Indian Constitution’s Article 370, after Jammu and Kashmir’s Hindu king agreed to accede to India in 1947.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
On August 5, Modi’s government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions, passing a new law to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir.
Simultaneously, it locked the region down, detaining thousands of people, imposing movement restrictions and enforcing a communications blackout. Many of those detained have now been released and most curbs eased.
Headed by a lieutenant governor appointed by New Delhi, the new Union Territory
of Jammu and Kashmir will have its own elected assembly with a five-year term, but most powers will be retained by New Delhi.
Ladakh, a wind-swept high-altitude desert region that borders China, will be under the federal government’s direct administration with its own lieutenant governor.
Culturally, religiously and ethnically different from the Kashmir Valley, many Ladakhis have long wanted their land to be recognised as a separate union territory.
Today, Ladakh will separate entirely, with some hoping it will bring more development to the remote province.
Post-separation, Jammu and Kashmir will have five representatives in India’s lower house, while Ladakh will send one representative to the parliament in New Delhi.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
On the ground, the reorganisation will significantly dilute the ability of Jammu and Kashmir representatives to govern their own affairs by making 106 federal laws applicable to the region, including India’s penal code.
More than 150 laws made by the state government will also be repealed, and amendments made in seven other laws. Among those will be provisions that will lift prohibitions on leasing land to persons who are not permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
There has been apprehension, particularly in the Kashmir Valley, that the scrapping of Article 370 will lead to an influx of outsiders buying land and settling there.
The reorganisation specifies that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly will not be able to make laws on policing and public order, effectively ceding control of the entire security apparatus to New Delhi.