When it comes to the Centre's move to dilute Article 370 and bury Article 35A, what has come to the fore is intriguing. The decision was by and large reconciled by the people of the erstwhile state and celebrated especially by the Jammu and Ladakh divisions and taken as a victory by the rest of the nation.
However, what followed to the remarkable event was not in accordance with the genuine political and socio-economic aspirations of the locals. By a single stroke, the centre deprived the local people of their age-old important protections and some basic privileges of being the members of this unique and remote region.
On one side, as claimed by the government, the situation in the Valley has significantly improved, with a sharp decline in violence and increased confidence among the masses in the policies and plans put forth by the Union Government, especially in the context of development. However, on the other hand, the decision on the contentious Article 370 has had counterproductive effects. People in the Jammu region are facing numerous issues which they never anticipated, such as jobs and land protection, uncalled for jurisdictions, excessive toll tax realization, ambiguous process of change in electricity metering, imposition of pre-paid billing for power connections, property tax, and many more. In absence of popular political contact, this has led people to take to the streets to protest and put pressure on the government to reconsider these decisions. Addressing all these matters would require a comprehensive discussion due to their complexity.
The government's primary focus in its decision to dilute the mentioned Articles of the Indian Constitution was to curb Secessionism and terrorism. This approach has led to reduction in the level of violence in the Kashmir region to a large extent. This achievement is being highlighted by the government and has garnered support from citizens across the nation, regardless of their political affiliations. However, a significant consequence of this move has been the impact on the Jammu Division, which has borne the brunt of this decision.
Post the dilution of Article 370, there has been an alarming increase in terrorism in Jammu Province, particularly in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. This calls for the government's sincere attention. The rise in terrorism in Jammu can be seen in various indicators. Security forces, including the Army and police, have apprehended over 231 terrorists and overground workers (OGWs) from different terrorist organizations between August 5, 2019, and June 16, 2023. This is a substantial increase of nearly 71% compared to the period between October 27, 2015, and August 4, 2019. Additionally, there has been an increase in both grenade attacks (8) and IED attacks (13) in the Jammu region since August 2019, compared to the prior period, which recorded four 4 attacks and 7 IED attacks.
Of course no one can deny that reading down the Article 370 has proved benevolent for J&K and for that matter the entire country but had the government taken appropriate precautions, the negative outcome as mentioned earlier would not have dwindled the figures making the picture shabby and questionable as bringing peace in Valley at the cost of Jammu Division is not at all justified.
