On the third anniversary of undoing the special status of Jammu Kashmir and its downsizing into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh, the supporters and the opponents of this historical decision, taken three years back, have been responding to the issue differently within Jammu and Kashmir and out of it.
The holders of politico-ideological narrative of 1947 and 1953 like National Conference and Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) have upped their ante for reversing the watershed and stunning decision while the Bharatiya Janata Party and other local political and social outfits have been celebrating what they call the ‘total integration of the state with the rest of the country.
It has been common understanding that the slow growth of the state of J&K had been attributed to various factors. The climate of terrorism in Kashmir during the past decades has been a major factor. Low productivity in agriculture and allied sectors has impeded employment and income generation. Poor industrial infrastructure, along with meagre investment, has left the industrial sector in its infant stage. There has not been any suitable strategy for the potential sectors to achieve higher economic growth. Lack of good governance and good fiscal management has also been responsible for the poor economic growth of the state. Kashmir had been away from the mainstream for decades as it was treated differently from other states of India. As per the provisions of Article 370, the Parliament had the right to enact laws with regard to defence, external affairs, and communication for J&K; but to make laws related to any other subject, the centre had to seek the consent of the state. The Parliament of India could enact laws only on limited subjects in connection with J&K.
Due to Article 370, most of the sections of the Constitution of India did not apply to the state of J&K. The people of other states could not purchase land in J&K. Similarly, the provision of financial emergency as enshrined in Article 360 of the Constitution of India did not apply to J&K. The Central RTI Act also did not apply to Kashmir. The tenure of the Legislative Assembly of J&K was 6 years, whereas the tenure of Legislative Assemblies of other states was 5 years.
Soon after the issuance of the notification, J&K and Ladakh were reorganised into two separate UTs from 31st October 2019. With this, 170 laws of central government, which were not applicable earlier, have been applied in this region. Now the local residents and the residents of other states enjoy the same rights. Out of the 334 State Laws, 164 laws have been repealed and 167 laws have been adapted, according to the Indian Constitution. For the people living in areas adjoining the international border, a provision of 3 percent reservation in jobs and educational institutions has been affected.
Over and above, there has been tremendous investment pouring into Jammu and Kashmir that has huge potential of employment opportunities and versatile development that the erstwhile state has been deprived off.
