Irrelevance of Article 370 tribe in the current environment

Let Jammu and Kashmir lead the way in building of a new future for India – Pranab Mukherjee, 13^th President of India

Introduction

1. The Union Territory(UT) of Jammu and Kashmir with its location at the apex of the Indian landmass, blissful climate and flora and fauna remains a symbol of pride for the nation. The manner in which the state acceded with the Union of India and the un-benign designs of our unrelenting Western Adversaryleaves much to be achieved before we attain an ideal state of affairs in this volatile and dynamically evolving region.
2. When the erstwhile state joinedIndia in 1947, it was widely felt that substantial ground would required to be covered before the state was truly integrated with the country owing to the unusual conditions prevailing at that time. Article 370 was thus christened to accord special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1949.
3. Having said the above, the UT has experienced phenomenal positive transformation across multiple spheres ranging from overall development to security situation over the last seven decades to say the least. Relevance of article 370 in the current times thus became a relevant question for the government of the day. In search for a pragmatic solution to the issue as also to bring about a paradigm shift in dealing with the prevalent situation in Jammu and Kashmir from a position of advantage, the government of India abrogated Article 370 on 5 august 2019.
4. While, the widespread protests and agitations witnessed in the aftermath of abrogation tested the resolve and grit of the government to its hilt, the manner in which the issue was deftly handled both domestically and internationally remains a prodigyof balanced statecraft. Two years hence, as visible normalcysets in the region, vested interests with evident and active support from our Western Adversary are making all out efforts to keep the pot simmering by exploiting the innocent psyche of local populace. The aim of this article is hence to establish the irrelevance of this Article 370 tribe and highlight certain imperatives towards favourably shaping the ground narrative and realities in Jammu and Kashmir.

PART1- ARTICLE 370: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

5. Article 370, as highlighted earlier, came into effect in October 1949 as a temporary provision granting special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Aim of the statute being two fold at that time. Firstly, to preserve the distinct identity of the people of J& K and secondly, to assuage the feeling of uncertainty prevalentamong Kashmiris. Except Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance and Communications, the Indian parliament needed the concurrence of state government for applying all other laws. In addition, the state was allowed to have its own flag and constitution. Also, no one from outside could purchase property in the state. Subsequently, the jurisdiction of Supreme Court was extended over J &K as a functional requirement.

PART 2- ARTICLE 370 TRIBE: FACTORS OF IRRELEVANCE

6. While the abrogation ofArticle 370 has ushered an era of hope and progression in the UT, substantiated by quantifiable as well as non quantifiableparameters, there is a distinct and desperate cry from the local political class and secessionist elements towards reinstating the act. Reinvigorating domesticopinion towards projecting the issue as a mass movement remains the central agenda of this group. A well calibrated approach to undermine the dubious intent of this group requires a two pronged strategy of exposing their selfish goals coupled with deliberate and exhaustive efforts to showcase the gains made in the period after abrogation of article 370.
7. Firstly, talking of the intent and unanimous rigidity of the local political leaders on abrogation of Article 370. There is an outright denial of the incremental development and reduction in violence and Bloodshed affected in the region post abrogation. Such absolute negation of a visibly evident fact highlights perceptible narrow motivations. Also, the frequent open references to China, seeking its support and intervention on the issue showcases their desperate and un-nationalist designs. Can such personalities be trusted with their motives and assessments of the ground situation.
8. Secondly, an objective assessment of the improved socio-economic and ground security calculus indicates tangible results reinforcing the pragmatism in abrogating Article 370. Given below are certain aspects which have attained promising progressive trajectory since 5 august 2019.

(a)       Neighbouring Country Sponsored Violence Machinery/Ecosystem. The violence ecosystem sponsored by our Western Adversary has received a severe jolt owing to the focused and unambiguous counter violence strategy adopted by security agencies under the central government mandate. As per the official data of Ministry of Home Affairs, there has been a reduction of approx 60 per cent in violence incidents when compared with data of 2018. According to South Asia Portal (SATP), an incident tracker website, only sixty two security personnel were martyred in 2020 as compared to ninety one in 2018. These figures depict aquantum improvement in ground situation bringing peace to the lives of common people.

(b)       Extremists Activities. The firm approach adopted by the government against Extremists post abrogation has put them in complete disarray. Seizure of their bank accounts and assets has forced them to a shell. This, coupled with an over arching public understanding of the bleak prospects of Extremist strategies has brought about approx 70 per cent reduction in protests and stone pelting incidents in the valley, thus paving route for constructive engagement of youth.

(c)        Violence Recruitment. Another quantifiable parameter of improving normalcy is the reducing numbers of violence recruitments wherein there has been an almost 40 per cent reduction with only about 150 recruitments in 2020. Since the focus of Neighbouring Country’s proxy war has shifted towards transforming it into an indigenous movement with attempt to recruit maximum youth, this appears a fairly bright indicator for the region.

(d)       Development and Infrastructure Enhancement. With impediments to the overall developmentof the region having now been removed, J &K has embarked on a journey of unprecedented prosperity. Post abrogation, theJand K administrationis reported to have signed 168 MOUs worth Rs13,600 crore for investments in the UT. In addition, the government has acquired about 6000 acres of land for setting up industries as part of the development road map. All such steps are harbinger of a better future for the people of the area.

(e)       Adhocism vs Long Term Planning. Lack of coherence between the centre and UT political hierarchy prior to abrogation often resulted infractured and adhoc planning on aspects of institutional capability building. Abrogation of Article 370 has set in motion the practice of long term planning towards meeting the fundamental needs of the people of J & K like higher education, employment etc, adopting an all inclusive and holistic approach.

PART 3- DOORWAYS TO LIGHT IN J&K

9. Having established the irrelevance of Article 370 tribe in the current environment, it is pertinent that the issue is logically concluded by suggesting certain Lines of Efforts towards imparting undisputed success to this constitutional endeavour. While strong political will supported by deft diplomacy and matching military support may have contributed to initial successes on the front, long term victory shall undoubtedly lie in early delivery of results promised at the time of abrogation. Towards this end, the following issues merit priority attention:-

(a)       Reinforcing Pride. For long, Article 370 remained an innate point of pride for the people of J&K. Abrogation of the same was seen as loss of pride by people of the region. This sentiment has to be addressed in the earnest and at the earliest. Replicating pride in 370 with pride in association with India is necessary and shall only come when there occurs a positive material change to the lives of people in times to come.

(b)       Higher Education and Employment. Both these issues have to be simultaneously tackled. Every successive generation that goes uncared, uneducated and thus unemployed is vulnerable to exploitation by inimical elements.

(c)        Fast Tracking Investment and Development. There has been considerable loss of time due to the ongoing pandemic in achieving tangible progress on this front. Almost all the development projects are lagging behind schedule. The trend needs to arrested at the earliest through innovative measures lest it causes loss of patience among the locals.Finally peace rests in prosperity.

(d)       Counter Radicalisation and De-Radicalisation Endeavours.Pre –empting radicalisation of uneducated, unemployed and vulnerable youth by inimical agents and concurrentefforts towards mainstreaming dis-illusioned youngsters needs our prime attention. Security agencies and NGOs operating inthe area have to continue their excellent efforts in engaging with such subjects.

(e)       Credible and Focussed Psy/Information Warfare. Making effective information operations our national strength will ensure that we dominate our adversaries in the influence and perception battle beforehand. Victory will thus be attained without fighting.

Conclusion

10. Abrogation of article 370 on 5 august 2019 laid the foundation for everlasting peace and prosperity in the UT of J&K. There is no doubt that the step has met with resounding initial success on every account. It is now time for us to assiduously build upon these gains and transform them into comprehensive decisive victories at the national level. At the same time, people with vested interests need to be isolated and discredited by unmasking their myopic motivations through deliberate information strategy. Beyond all, our national efforts should focus on securing enduring peace, prosperity and well being for the people of J & K facilitating their seamless integration with the union of India.