Opinion | The full integration of Jammu and Kashmir

On Monday, the Indian government moved to withdraw the “special status” conferred on the state of Jammu and Kashmir by Article 370. Home minister Amit Shah moved a resolution in Parliament to abrogate this provision that allowed the state to draft its own constitution and limited the Union of India’s legislative powers to three areas: foreign affairs, defence and communications. The Centre also revoked Article 35A, which gave the state legislature the power to define “permanent residents” of the state and grant them such benefits as the exclusive right to buy land. Shah also introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, which seeks to split the state into two Union territories. This involves carving out Ladakh as a Union territory without a legislature, while Jammu and Kashmir would have a legislative assembly. Soon after Shah’s announcement in Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, stating that the Indian Constitution will now fully be applicable to the state. The presidential order comes into force “at once” and shall “supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954”.

The abrogation of Article 370, which was incorporated in the Indian Constitution in October 1949, has been a long-held political promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has argued that its provisions for autonomy on internal matters have privileged the state’s political elites, harmed the region’s development and prevented the full integration of India’s northern-most state with the rest of the country. Monday’s action is in line with the party’s pitch of “one nation, one Constitution”. Since Article 370 was included in the Constitution’s Part XXI, which deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions”, the party believes there is no reason for it to exist seven decades after its adoption. The shift has no bearing on the state’s accession, Shah asserted in Parliament. “It is not true that Jammu and Kashmir joined India because of Article 370,” said the home minister. It’s worth recalling that Maharaja Hari Singh, the then ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, signed an Instrument Of Accession to India on 27 October 1947, two years before the Article’s inclusion and within days of the state seeking New Delhi’s aid to repulse an invasion by Pakistan-backed militia.

The immediate impact of New Delhi’s move could be on investment in real estate in the state, since the revocation of Article 35A would allow residents of any part of India to acquire immovable property there. If this results in greater commercial activity, then the local economy could pick up. That’s no small “if”, though. Prosperity needs to be preceded by peace, and the outlook on this could yet turn grim if the people of the state do not see their lives improve within a reasonable time frame. Recent security measures have caused anxiety and local suspicions have been rife. To forestall cynicism, or worse, the Centre must take special care of relations with the state’s population. To that end, the government could consider developmental initiatives and an economic package that would help businesses flourish and generate jobs. For full integration to be widely hailed as a win-win bargain, its benefits need to be palpable to all. The eventual economic outcome may hold the key.