Abrogation Of Article 370: A Necessary Step For Kashmir’s Development

Ankit Raj Shrivastava

5 years ago

August 5, 2019, will be a memorable date in the history of modern India and a red-letter day in the political history of the world. On this day, the union of India witnessed the pronouncement of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India like any other state.

Modern India did not witness the eminent leaders’ fight for India’s freedom; they did not see how Sardar Patel managed to unify more than 500 princely states post Independence. The economic liberalisation of India in the ’90s had let the super-powers steer our economy, but the second decade of the 21st century has portrayed a different India to the world: an India which takes its own decisions upholding its sovereignty, and brings it to the centre of the world, making the citizens think of the nation first.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the resolution to scrap Article 370 and Article 35A in Rajya Sabha on 5th August. Image via Getty

On the 5th of August, the government proposed to revoke Article 370 in Kashmir. Article 370 was supposed to be a temporary provision, but it became controversial. It provides special status to Jammu and Kashmir, which contains the provision for J&K to have a separate constitution and flag. Some of the provisions of J&K’s constitution are not in sync with the Constitution of India. It facilitates a kind of separation or alienation from the whole country, and hence, it remained to be a challenge for the Union of India.

The youth today has seen the elections, the democratic procedure of forming a representative government and power transfer. This procedure might appear undemocratic to some, but if the principles of administration are taken into account, we may find that to run a system, the territory has to be defined and the authority has to be deployed. The revocation of Article 370 and 35(A) has been carried out with a proper parliamentary procedure. Keeping the sensitivity of the situation in mind, the central government deployed the army personnel in the state. After all, it was an intervention in the most volatile territory of the world.

To better understand the followed procedure, we need to be aware of the constitutional provisions. To recognize any territory as a state, the Constitution says that the recommendation of the constituent assembly is ‘necessary’ for the President of India to give their assent. The Constitution also says—while defining the role of the centre—that the parliament of India has the power to make laws for a specific state. Now, in J&K, the government is being run by the Governor under President’s rule. Hence, there is no constituent assembly, which brings the passage for the central cabinet to take the Governor in confidence and purpose a bill for reorganization of the state.

Hence, the Reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir Bill was introduced in the parliament. It was passed in both the houses. The special status of J&K was imposed with a Constitutional Order by the President of India; hence,it can also be revoked in the same way. A constitutional order then followed it in the name of the President of India. There was a hype in earlier debates that it needs a constitutional amendment, but the Constitution doesn’t require any fundamental change for it. The change, in fact, is facilitated by Article 370 itself, as it is a temporary provision. The amendment in the Constitution nullifies Article 370 and bifurcates J&K.

Also read: Abolition Of Article 370 And 35A: How It All Started

What we need to focus on now is adapting to this change in a highly-charged atmosphere. The hidden players like global war traders, the terror sponsors and the selfish politicians will not overlook this situation. International media has already portrayed it as an undemocratic act. It’s not a surprise given the keen interest of the U.S. and China in the issue.

It will directly impact China’s ambitious OBOR (One Belt One Road) project and will minimise the existence of the U.S. as a facilitator of peace talks between India and Pakistan. The full control of the central government over Jammu and Kashmir will empower its local governance, and hence, the effectiveness of the system will push everything to move as per the common rule. It will break the neck of hidden personal operations, which have immensely impacted the peace and security of the territory so far.

It will delimit the territory and facilitate the development of citizens by engagement in basic citizen-centric government welfare schemes.

It will open the territory to establishing a connection with the rest of the world and be part of the mainstream. The establishment of peace and regular engagement with the rest of the world will bring in more tourists to this ‘heaven on earth’, and people will lead a dignified life. Isn’t it crucial to establish an appropriate system of the people, for the people and by the people?

Democracy is a system led by people, but we need to understand that it is one of the systems of governance which cannot function as per everyone’s will. It has to facilitate empowerment, development and peace for the citizens. If at someplace, people are not in a position to practice democracy, isn’t it the responsibility of an appropriate society to initiate the process and then hand it back to them?

Government of India has done the same in a well-planned manner. Now it’s time for the citizens of India to be empathetic and cherish the Kashmiris before Kashmir.