August 5 is a momentous date for the people of the country in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular. It was on this day, six years ago, that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre abrogated the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Basically a temporary provision in the Constitution, it was thought to be “permanent” which could not be repealed. Over the years, a narrative had been built that Article 370 is a permanent feature of the Constitution like the “basic structure”, when actually it was only a temporary provision.
The abrogation was challenged in the Supreme Court of India as well. The apex court upheld the abrogation, thus the artificial barrier, both legal and psychological, between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country was permanently removed. The abrogation of the article has enabled people from the rest of the country to buy immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir. Quite a few people have bought such properties, despite strong resistance at the local level, particularly from the administration.
On August 5, 2019, besides the abrogation of the Article 370, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and the UT of Ladakh. It was for the first time in the country's history that a state was downgraded to the status of a union territory. The Supreme Court of India, while upholding the abrogation of Article 370, had directed the restoration of statehood. But there has been no timeline set for that. The Government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, has also promised to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
On Monday, August 4, the eve of the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of the Article 370, speculations were rife in the national capital as also the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir that something big was going to happen. The suspense got further complicated when a letter about the scheduled meeting of the NDA partners was circulated before the Parliament would meet on August 5.
The imagination had a free run. Some suggested that the Jammu region, which is culturally, linguistically and geographically quite distinct from Kashmir region, will be made a separate state, while Kashmir will continue to remain a union territory. This was a highly improbable proposition with a strong potential of alienating people of Kashmir. And the general anticipation was that the Parliament may pass a law to grant statehood to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Interestingly, nothing happened. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had, however, dispelled any such apprehensions in advance. He wrote on ‘X’, “I’ve heard every possible permutation & combination about what to expect in J&K tomorrow so let me stick my neck out and say nothing will happen tomorrow - fortunately nothing bad will happen but unfortunately nothing positive will happen either. I’m still optimistic about something positive for J&K in this monsoon session of Parliament but not tomorrow. And no, I haven’t had any meetings or conversations with people in Delhi. This is just a gut feeling. Let’s see this time tomorrow”.
Suspense prevailed and there was no surprise even at the end of the day. Abdullah’s “gut feeling” proved correct. It was so characteristic of the Kashmiri rumour milling and mongering, which is legendary. Much before the age of social media, even centuries ago, Kashmir has an inglorious and distinct tradition of “rumour milling and mongering” and precisely that happened on August 4, when the wild and weird fancy had a free flight on the wings of social media platforms.
Also read: Time to restore J&K statehood
Rumour mills apart, the issue of restoration of the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir should be a top priority for the Government of India. As Abdullah expressed great optimism in the same post where he dispelled “rumoured apprehensions”, there are great expectations among people in the entire union territory that the restoration of statehood is just a matter of time. Sooner it happens the better it will be.
There is no reason for the Government of India to delay its restoration, as it has to restore it in any case, not just because of the Supreme Court’s direction, but also because of the Prime Minister’s commitment about its restoration.
While the Congress had made the restoration of JK statehood a priority agenda ahead of the monsoon session, it has not been able to raise the issue so far. The party has instead stuck to the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
Chief Minister Abdullah has maintained a tactful distance from the Congress on the matter, probably for two reasons. One, he does not want to antagonise the Central government knowing well it can only delay the restoration of statehood. Two, why would he like the Congress to share the credit for the restoration of statehood?
Politics, after all, is a game of “credit scoring”. The National Conference and the Congress may be alliance partners right now, but ultimately it is the Congress, which is the main political challenger of the National Conference in the Kashmir valley. The National Conference cannot afford to concede any space to anyone, much less to the Congress and that too in Kashmir, its traditional stronghold.
The Congress in order to convey its “sincerity and seriousness” about the restoration of the JK statehood, has not joined the Jammu and Kashmir government despite being the alliance partner of the National Conference. The party has taken a high moral ground and “resolved” that it will not join the government till the statehood is not restored. Surprisingly, the party, despite making it a priority agenda, has not raised the issue in the Parliament, although the monsoon session is in progress for over three weeks now.
As for the people of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned, it is another “uneventful” anniversary that has passed off, without any event despite strong speculations about “something” going to happen. Happen, it will, but nobody knows when.
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