A year has passed in the valley since Article 370 was removed from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This is the time to review the situation.
People in the region, along with rest of India, want to know the matter. Besides, the entire political fraternity of the world is also interested on this issue. They want to know the development, peace restoration process, and geopolitical changes in the region.
On August 5, 2019, Union Home Minister of India announced in the parliament, the introduction of the bill for the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir. The key step was removing Article 370. Let’s see what thinkers and intellectuals are thinking about the matter.
The step leads bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Opposition political counterparts criticized the matter at that time. However, major political analysts counted the stone in positive note.
After a year of that crucial announcement, we asked political analysts to put their views on the issue.
Sandip Mukherjee, a political analyst who follows the issue closely, said: “The refugees from the West Pakistan were deprived of citizenship rights and were not issued the permanent resident certificate (PRC) of the state. Similarly, the sanitation workers brought in the state in 1953 to quell protests were also deprived of their citizenship rights.”
They were unable to get employment in the state and were also deprived of the admission into the state run educational institutions, and hospitals due to lack of citizenship. Oppositions also have understood the fact and that is why they are mute, he said.
Arindam Chatterjee, a professor and a geopolitical tracker, explained the issue very positively. He said the newly carved union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an unprecedented level of growth and development in multiple sectors since the abrogation of article 370. In the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the women, deprived classes and other backward castes of the society were subjected to inhuman behavior and were denied even the basic rights.
He pointed the development of entrepreneurship. Huge investments are coming from lots of private sector companies in the field of IT, hotel and other industries.
Munmun Roy, a teacher of political science, told about new era of politics in J&K. She said that monopoly in politics in J&K ended. The cult political faces of the region now have to compete with new and young political leaders.
Roy pointed to another important issue. She said with the scrapping of the controversial Article-370, women would no longer be deprived of their property rights in J&K if they get married to a non-resident. Article 35A, which emanated from Article 370, prohibited them to be property owners if they marry an outsider. In her view, it is a win for women of the region.
BDST: 1736 HRS, AUG 05, 2020
AP
