Four years of Article 370 revocation: Kashmir, Islamist terrorism and the idea of India

Four years after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 on 5 August 2019, the restoration of peace and developmental activities were its most notable achievements. It is reported that:

• According to government figures, 124 people were killed by police and security personnel during protests and stone-pelting incidents from 5 August 2016 to 5 August 2019. No such incident was documented in the previous four years. In 2023, from January 1 to August 5, security forces killed 35 terrorists in separate operations, compared to more than 120 at the same time last year. In 2022, the security forces killed 186 terrorists, including 56 Pakistanis.
• According to official data, multiple infiltration efforts have been prevented this year, and only 12 locals have joined terrorism as of the end of July. It has reduced the number of active militants to a single digit.
• J&K has received barely Rs 14,000 crore in private investments since Independence. However, with the repeal of Article 370 and the implementation of the new Industrial Development Scheme, the Union Territory has received investment offers totalling Rs 81,122 crore during the last two years.
• Tourism in J&K is reaching new heights with an increasing number of domestic and foreign visitors, making the UT one of the top attractions in the country. The UT attracted 1.88 crore tourists last year, which is a large figure for any region, but the administration anticipates that the number will exceed two crore this year.
• There are no takers for separatist and militant strike calls in Kashmir anymore, as the common man has begun to reap the benefits of peace. Prior to the repeal of Article 370, the education sector in Kashmir suffered greatly as a result of regular strike calls, stone-pelting incidents, and violence.
• Women’s safety is improving consistently with the decline in terror attacks. Combining it with the fact that new employment opportunities are emerging due to various government schemes, the overall atmosphere for women is becoming much better and more conducive.
• It is worth noting that prior to August 2019, if a woman from Jammu and Kashmir married a guy from outside the state, she could not buy property in the state. Because their spouses were not regarded as being from Jammu and Kashmir, they were unable to inherit or purchase property there. As a result, it jeopardised women’s rights by restricting their ability to pick a life partner.

American philosopher George Santayana famously remarked, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. If one contemplates the massacres and exodus of Kashmiri Hindus—one of India’s oldest living indigenous populations—in 1990 to be the first in line, one would be badly misinformed. Possibly evasive of historical facts and data to the point of perplexity. This was plainly and conspicuously the seventh—“the last one”, they say. Although no one knows how long the valley’s inhumane, cruel, vile, macabre “onslaught” on minorities will continue, With the arrival of Islam around 1389-1413, the first exodus took place in the fourteenth century. The second exodus occurred around 1506–1584, the third between 1585 and 1752, and the fourth in 1753. While the fifth migration took place between 1931 and 1965 and the sixth in 1986, the most infamous, awful, and horrifying appears to have been the final exodus of Kashmiri Hindus on 19 January 1990. Despite efforts to make Kashmir a safe sanctuary for people of all religions, little to no progress was made. It is important to note that the slogan “Raliv, Galiv, Chaliv” is not a one-time occurrence in Kashmir. The world community has also experienced and witnessed the menace of “jihadi terrorism” as well as the “humanitarian crisis” it produces, the most recent example being Afghanistan. It just took a few days to wipe out a trillion-dollar investment and a decade’s worth of humanitarian work in Afghanistan. Jihad will be democratised as a tool to return humanity to the Stone Age in Kashmir and elsewhere until we get the maturity to recognise the dangers of being blind, dumb, and silent about this threat. A five-judge Supreme Court Constitution Bench, presided over by none other than the CJI, D Y Chandrachud, began hearing a number of petitions on 2 August contesting the repeal of Article 370 and the division of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. Former Union minister, Congress veteran, and senior attorney Kapil Sibal argued before the Supreme Court on 3 August that the Legislature lacked the authority to suggest the repeal of Article 370 under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Constitution. Sibal further cited the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Orders of 1950 and 1954, claiming that a ‘solemn guarantee’ was made that no legislation intended to modify the boundaries of J&K could be approved without the J&K government’s approval. Though Article 370 has been titled “Temporary Provisions with Respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir” in Part XXI of the Constitution, the anti-India forces are vying in the apex court against the Modi government to reinstate the draconian Article 370. Kashmir cannot—and should not—go back to the pre-2019 era. The author is an independent journalist and columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.