Catherine Putz
On August 5, 2019, the government of India hollowed out Article 370 of the Indian Constitution with a presidential order, overturning a status quo that had lasted for nearly 70 years. The erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had been granted a special status under which it had its own constitution and autonomy in its internal affairs.
At the same time as scrapping Article 370, the Indian Parliament passed a bill reorganizing Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Unlike Indian states, union territories are federally governed. In essence, New Delhi had moved decisively to exert control over the region.
Five years later, there is considerable discontent in the Kashmir valley and Jammu, too. Security, a primary reason cited by the government for its decision to vitiate Article 370 and reorganize the region, has not improved significantly either. Civil society, independent media, and the local economy have all suffered under pressure, and although the worst has not come to pass – a resumption of widespread armed conflict as in the 1990s – the seeds of conflict may yet sprout.
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