Vantage | How Jammu & Kashmir has changed after 2019

On Monday, the Indian Supreme Court had the important issue of Kashmir and Article 370 on its docket. The case was made up of around 23 petitions that dealt with a lot of complicated questions, but the most important was the Article 370 abrogation. The five-judge bench unanimously upheld the abrogation as constitutional, which means it did not violate Indian laws or the Constitution. Background Article 370 gave special powers to Jammu and Kashmir like which laws would apply there, and so on. But in 2019, the Union government abrogated it. Also, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was split up into two union territories. namely—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Two basic facts However, some critics say this move was unconstitutional, which is why they approached the apex court And on Monday, the court gave the verdict upholding the move as legal meaning that the abrogation of Article 370 and the division of the state into two Union Territories were all valid. And this verdict was based on two basic facts: First, Article 370 was temporary that wasn’t meant to last forever. And second, Jammu and Kashmir does not have sovereignty of its own. Yes, it had a special arrangement but that arrangement did not mean any sort of sovereignty. Hence abrogation of Article 370 was constitutional as per the court. Reactions Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the verdict calling it a declaration of hope and progress but the political parties in Kashmir have expressed disappointment. Most of them said that the fight for statehood and special powers will continue. Kashmir since 2019 But let’s not dwell on the politics and look at Kashmir’s journey since 2019—the good and the bad . First, the economy, in 2019, Jammu and Kashmir’s economic output was Rs 1 lakh crore which is more than Rs 2 lakh 27 thousand crore today which is more than double. The economic survey is predicting another bump stating that the output will double again in five years. Around 18 million tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir in 2022. It was an all-time high. But it looks like this year will be even better as the footfall is expected to be 22 million by the end of 2023. Foreign investments are also trickling in. Earlier this year, the UAE’s Emaar group, who are the makers of Burj Khalifa, struck a deal. They will be investing around Rs 500 crore in Kashmir. The plan is for a shopping mall near Srinagar. It could generate up to 10 thousand jobs. So the economy is doing well. Second, Security, which has always been a big issue in Kashmir. Well, the numbers from the Home Ministry are positive. A comparison between 2016 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2022 shows terror attacks are down by 32 per cent. Civilian deaths are down by 14 per cent, and deaths of security officers have fallen by 52 per cent. Even stone pelting is down. More than 600 pelting incidents were reported in the first half of 2019 but by 2021, the number has fallen to 76. So the overall security has improved though it is yet not perfect. Targeted killings have emerged as a problem, Kashmiri Hindus and non-Kashmiris have been targeted. The question of elections also remains an issue as Jammu and Kashmir’s last legislative polls were in 2014 and it has been nearly a decade. There is talk of an election next year, but no dates have been set, which is why the Supreme Court waded in. SC has issued a directive to the Election Commission asking them to hold elections by the end of September 2024, the bench has directed the Union government to restore J&K’s statehood soon. And that was the promise made in 2019 that the post-abrogation period would be used to do important works on security, economy and the politics. But after that the statehood would be restored. So the top court wants the government to follow through. Now, this judgment will be talked about in the future, lawyers will quote it, political parties will campaign on it, but it’s important to remember one thing that this verdict isn’t the end but just a part of Kashmir’s long and rich history. The end of which would be a prosperous and safe Kashmir—the one that was promised in 1947, and again, in 2019. 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.