Investor Presentaiton
Raising the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir
Crisis Group Asia Report N°310, 5 August 2020
Page 8
III. Unilateral Change of Status
A.
Abrogation of Article 370
On 5 August 2019, after winning an overwhelming majority in the May general elec-
tions, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party fulfilled its longstanding pledge
to revoke Article 370, which underpinned Jammu and Kashmir's semi-autonomous
constitutional status. 37 The government also rescinded Article 35A that gave perma-
nent residents sole ownership rights over immovable property and the exclusive right
to employment in local government. The decisions were executed through a presiden-
tial order a manoeuvre that New Delhi's November 2018 dismissal of the Jammu
and Kashmir legislative assembly made feasible.38
The next day, the federal parliament approved a bill dividing India's only Muslim-
majority state into two entities - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh - and down-
grading both to the status of "union territories”, an administrative classification
hitherto reserved for much smaller territories, which places them under New Delhi's
permanent direct control. 39 While Jammu and Kashmir, unlike Ladakh, retained an
elected legislature, it lacks the powers of a full-fledged state assembly.
The government's stated justifications for these drastic moves ranged from pre-
venting terrorism and safeguarding India's unity to promoting economic development
and ensuring democratic governance in Kashmir. Home Minister Amit Shah told
parliament: "As long as there is Article 370, terrorism cannot be wiped out". He add-
ed, "Due to Article 370, democracy did not percolate in Jammu and Kashmir. Due to
it, corruption flourished and grew", as did poverty. 4º Prime Minister Narendra Modi
held Article 370 responsible for "secessionism, terrorism, nepotism and widespread
corruption" in the state. He claimed that fully integrating Jammu and Kashmir into
the country would promote economic development and restore Kashmiri youth's
faith in the Indian state. 4¹ New Delhi's justifications have, however, found few takers
among Kashmiri Muslims.
37 The 2019 BJP manifesto said: "We reiterate our position since the time of the Jana Sangh to the
abrogation of Article 35A, Article 370". Business Today, 8 April 2019. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh
was the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a hardline Hindu nationalist
organisation. It was later replaced by the BJP.
38
Jammu and Kashmir was placed under New Delhi's direct rule in June 2018 after the BJP pulled
out of the regional coalition government with the PDP it had formed three years earlier. The assem-
bly was dissolved the following November.
39 Union territories are directly administered by the central government through an appointed lieu-
tenant governor. "Explainer: The major changes to Jammu and Kashmir as it becomes a union ter-
ritory", The Wire, 18 August 2019.
40 Shah's notification of Jammu and Kashmir's reorganisation said it was being done, keeping "in
view the prevailing internal security situation, fuelled by cross-border terrorism in the existing state
of Jammu and Kashmir". "Article 370: cause of corruption and terrorism: Amit Shah", The Eco-
nomic Times, 6 August 2019.
41 "PM Narendra Modi's address to the nation: abrogation of Article 370 in J&K", Rajya Sahba TV,
8 August 2019.View entire presentation