With the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, Parliament exercised its power under Article 3 of the Constitution, not to create a new state but to take away statehood.
In January, Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a function for Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service Officers, said terrorist incidents were down by 66 per cent in the erstwhile state since the abrogation of Article 370. And that civilian deaths were down by 81 per cent, and by 48 per cent for security forces. Two months later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first gathering in Kashmir since August 2015, where he spoke of the rise of tourism and connected the gains in “naya Kashmir” with the end of special status. He reiterated the Centre’s reasoning that the end of special status was meant to ensure that the people of J&K and Ladakh have the same rights as citizens in the rest of India. That promise, though, continues to fall short in a key aspect: The Union Territory last had an elected government in 2018, and citizens have been denied in Kashmir what their counterparts have in the rest of the country. Now, given the heartening voter turnout in the Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla and Srinagar, it is time to bridge this gap — sooner rather than later.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has said, “The highly successful conduct of polls with impressive turnout in Srinagar and Baramulla gives the Election Commission the confidence to hold assembly polls in J&K the earliest.” The turnout in Baramulla at 59 per cent is the highest since 1984. In Srinagar, where elections were held in the fourth phase, a similar story unfolded: The turnout was at a three-decade high of 36 per cent, and up from around 14 per cent in 2019. Many areas in both constituencies have faced insurgency, violence and targeted killings for decades. That so many people showed up at the polling booth, despite the killing of a former sarpanch and two tourists just days earlier, is an indication of how much they want to exercise their franchise. The long lines at voting booths bear testimony to a desire to express themselves politically and use the vote — not the boycott of the vote — as their instrument to do so. This faith must be acknowledged and rewarded.
With the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, Parliament exercised its power under Article 3 of the Constitution, not to create a new state but to take away statehood. Now, with the CEC declaring the EC’s readiness to hold assembly elections, and given the Centre’s own figures on the reduction in violence, it is important to hold polls as soon as possible. This must be a priority for the next government in Delhi, and could be the first step to restoration of statehood.
