Three years after the abrogation of Article 370 from J&K, lots changed

It has been three years since Article 370 & Article 35A was abolished from the constitution and a lot have changed in the Union Territory in these three years for good. It's now established that Article 370 & 35A was the biggest impediment for the growth and development of the people of J&K. With it's abrogation, 890 central laws have been made applicable to J&K and all the unjust, discriminatory laws have been removed while the National Flag has been unfurled on all government buildings. As many as 205 state laws have been repealed while 130 have been modified.

 

 

 

Government's primary grounds behind the revocation of special status was to "eliminate the threat of terror." Data provided by the home ministry shows that terror-related incidents have reduced drastically since the revocation of Article 370. With the sharp decline in terror-related activities and no protests and stone pelting incidents, the tourism sector in the Kashmir Valley has touched new heights. The number of Kashmiri youths joining terrorist outfits has dropped by more than 40 percent since August 2019.

 

 

Women have been amongst the most deprived sections of the former state.The property rights in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir were heavily discriminatory against the women. If they were to marry outside the State, they would loose all the property rights. Even their State citizenship was repealed once a woman married to an outsider. One of the major benefits of the abrogation of Article 370 has been the freeing of the chains of bondage for them as it has allowed them an equal social status in the society.Women in Jammu and Kashmir are now able to buy real estate and transfer property to children, even if they get married to a non-resident. In an added provision, the spouse of a Jammu and Kashmir domicile shall also be deemed as a domicile.

 

 

 

A new Domicile rule was implemented, which allowed all those persons and their children who have resided in the former state for 15 years or studied here for seven years and completed their 10th or 12th examination in an educational institution in the J&K to apply for domicile.

 

According to a report, 41.05 lakh domicile certificates have been issued in J&K including 55,931 certificates to the West Pakistani refugees. 2754 certificates have been issued to the Valmikis and 789 to Gorkhas.

 

 

 

Another section of the society, whose alienation continued unabated till the abrogation of Article 370, is the refugees from West Pakistan. They had been deprived of the citizenship of the state and had not been issued with the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC). Similarly, the sanitation workers (Valmiki community members), brought to the State in 1953 from Punjab to quell the unrest there, are given a new lease of life. No jobs were on the offer earlier to them nor were their children permitted to go to schools locally. Their 63-year- long battle ended with the revocation of this special Act. They no longer are forced to work as sanitation workers and can choose to live with equal opportunity as others in J&K.

 

In order to create a just and equitable society, reservation rules have been amended to extend benefits of reservation to left out categories like Pahari speaking people and economically weaker sections.

 

Laws such as the Right to Education, Prevention of Child Marriage, Untouchability Act and many others could be not be applied to Jammu and Kashmir because of the existence of Article 370. But, after its abrogation, all the central laws have been extended to Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

 

 

 

The Union Territory has received investment applications of more than Rs. 56,000 crores following the notification of a new central sector scheme for its industrial development in February 2021. Out of them, projects of over Rs 38,080 crore have been allotted industrial land. The UT administration has committedly worked towards generating employment and other avenues for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir. Pertinent to state here that since independence J&K had received private investments to the tune of Rs.14,000 crore only.

 

It's after the introduction of new Industrial Development Scheme, the UT J&K has received investment proposals worth Rs.56,000 crore in a short span of time after the abrogation of article 370. Investment in sectors ranging from tourism, health, automobile, steel fabrication, recreation, warehousing, and others will create job opportunities for over 2 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir.

  

According to the info provided in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, 53 projects worth Rs 58,477 crores in various sectors such as roads, power, health, education, tourism, agriculture, skill development is being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir under the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP). Investors from the rest of the country and even abroad have been showing keen interest in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

 

 

 

 

The J&K administration has decided that people involved in stone-pelting or anti-India activities won't be given Indian passports and will be barred from taking up a government job. The CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has ordered the denial of security clearance required for passport and other government services to all those involved in stone-pelting or subversive activities. Earlier before the abrogation of article 370, this scenario was completely different. Earlier people involved in stone pelting were caught and released at the behest of local leaders.

 

 

 

 

While people across India relished the right to elect local representatives, the same freedom was not utilised in Jammu and Kashmir. It is only after the abrogation of article 370, the Union Cabinet on October 21, 2020 approved adoption of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act 1989, paving way for local body elections in the Union Territory. It ensured establishment of all three tiers of grass root level democracy in the UT of J&K for the first time since independence.

 

 With the conduct of elections of the Panchayat Raj institutions such as Panches and Sarpanches, Block Development Councils and District Development Councils, the 3-tier system of grassroots level democracy has now been established in Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, all the rights enshrined in the constitution of India and benefits of all the Central laws that were being enjoyed by other citizens of the country are now available to the people of J&K. Following establishment of three tier Panchayati Raj system in J&K, Rs. 1727.50 crore have been devolved under MGNREGA, Mid Day Meal scheme and ICDS.

 

 

 

In another significant move, the Jammu & Kashmir cadre for All-India Services (IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service officers) were merged with the existing cadre of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT). The decision was taken to help tackle the shortage of All-India Services officers in J&K owing to an earlier UPA rule fixing the ratio of direct recruits in Civil Services to promotees from J&K state civil services (Jammu Kashmir Administrative Service) at 50:50 instead of the 67:33 formula followed in other states. As a result, any officer belonging to AGMUT cadre is now eligible to be posted in UT of J&K and vice-versa.

 

 

The Centre paved the way for people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to buy land in the Union Territory. In a gazette notification, the central government omitted the phrase “permanent resident of the state” from Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act that deals with disposal of the land in the union territory. However, the amendment did not allow transfer of agricultural land to non-agriculturists except in few cases.

 

 

Besides, aforementioned aspects, it above all diminished the sentiment of separitism which was the root cause of terrorism and law and order problem. Earlier separitist elements used to say, we are not Indians since we have our own constitution and own flag and by this sentiment they would lure innocent youth into terrorism by brainwashing them with the idea that India has occupied this territory and Islam is in danger and in order to free J&K from India's occupation, they must raise arms to resist. Abrogation of Article 370 erased this narrative and dream of one nation, one law and one symbol’ has been fulfilled .