CURRENT STATUS QUO OF KASHMIR-

For Jammu and Kashmir, 2019 completely changed its landscape and downsized it into two
Union Territories with bifurcation of Ladakh.1 The Central government on August 5 abrogated
the provisions of Article 370 and Article 35(A).2 The main aim of this historical move was to
end the separatist movement prevalent in the region for decades.3 However, the insurgency has
seen a surge since the historic move. During the lockdown, the security forces have stepped up
their militancy operations. Since the beginning of the year, 88 militants have been killed up to
June 8. Of these killed, 37 were affiliated to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the largest military group
in Kashmir.4 False narratives and propaganda is a successful tool used by the militants to draw
attention of the Kashmiri population.5
The promises made to the people in the form of immense investment in the region and
employment of the youth seems far from fulfilled. The first Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra
Murmu gave repeated assurances that a process was underway for providing jobs to 30,000-
40,000 Kashmiri youth. These “hollow promises” were made to soothe the resentment and
indignation arising from the abrogation of the Article 370. 6 The Kashmiri people experienced
hope when LG appointed former Chief Secretary and retired IAS officer Braj Raj Sharma as
Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC). 7 This order was
revoked within hours as the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime
Minister granted him a two-year extension as the SSC Chairman. 8 Callousness in the recruitment
agencies9 has driven them into a quagmire of litigation putting the lives of students in a
detrimental situation.

1
Moushumi Das Gupta, ‘Why Ladakh is unlikely to gain much when it becomes a Union Territory’, ThePrint, 29
October 2019, available at https://theprint.in/economy/why-ladakh-unlikely-gain-when-it-becomes-union-
territory/312432/.
2
Government of India 2019, THE CONSTITUTION (APPLICATION TO JAMMU AND KASHMIR) ORDER,
2019, MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE (New Delhi), available at
http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/210049.pdf.
3
PTI, ‘2019: The year that changed status quo in Jammu & Kashmir’, INDIA TV, 28 December 2019, available at
https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/jammu-kashmir-ladakh-2019-status-quo-article-370-35a-574525.
4
Tariq Bhat, ‘Jaish, Lashkar are lethal, but J&K militancy is only about Hizbul Mujahideen’, The Week, 8 June 2020,
available at https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/06/08/jaish-lashkar-are-lethal-but-j-k-militancy-is-only-
about-hizbul-mujahideen.html.
5
PTI, ‘People of Kashmir took Article 370 scrapping positively; Pakistan unhappy with peace in valley: Lt General
Raju’, Deccan Herald, 8 June 2020, available at https://www.deccanherald.com/national/people-of-kashmir-took-
article-370-scrapping-positively-pakistan-unhappy-with-peace-in-valley-lt-general-raju-847080.html.
6
Basit Amin Makhdoom, ‘Promise of Jobs to J&K Youth Post-370: Why Has Centre ‘Defaulted’?’, The Quint, 26 May
2020, available at https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/jammu-kashmir-abrogation-article-370-youth-
unemployment-jobs-promises-modi-central-govt.
7
Kashmir News Observer, ‘After Centre’s nod, BR Sharma re-appointed JKPSC chairman’, The Kashmir Pulse, 21
May 2020, available at https://kashmirpulse.com/jk/after-centres-nod-br-sharma-re-appointed-jkpsc-
chairman/42407.html.
8
Neeraj Rohmetra, ‘Sharma appointed PSC Chairman, order withdrawn within hours’, Daily Excelsior, 6 May 2020,
available at https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/sharma-appointed-psc-chairman-order-withdrawn-within-hours/.
9
PTI, ‘J&K govt scraps ongoing process of recruitment of POs, banking associates’, Outlook, 27 February 2020,
available at https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/jk-govt-scraps-ongoing-process-of-recruitment-of-pos-
banking-associates/1746473.

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Due to absence of any government in the region, the Central government has exercised
unchecked authority through a corrupt bureaucratic hierarchy.10 Recently, the Jammu and
Kashmir administration released the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate
(procedure) rules, 2020’.11 However, people celebrating the amendment in the valley fail to
comprehend the fact that domicile law remains the same while the scope has been increased.
This brings in more competition as people from other states who have settled in the region will
also claim the domicile certificate. This new order also eliminates the labyrinth of unnecessary
procedures and bypasses the byzantine bureaucracy.12
There has been a rise in the border skirmishes along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) with PLA
(People’s Liberation Army) physically seizing 40-60 sq. kms in the Galwan area of Ladakh,
Naku La in Sikkim, and Pangong Tso Sector. 13 Security experts believe that this aggression from
China is a bid to become a ‘third party’ to the Kashmir dispute.14
Ten months have passed since the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35(A), but the situation
has not normalized in the region. There has been a demographic change, soaring-high
unemployment levels, extreme militarization, excessive interference by the Central government,
and creeping xenophobic actions in the State. The cycle of violence and repression is still
prevalent in the region and portraying them in words is inconceivable.

10
Ghazala Wahab, ‘Modi and Shah Forget that Kashmir is No Tibet, India is No China’, The Wire, 14 September
2019, available at https://thewire.in/rights/as-india-steals-from-kashmir-it-steals-from-its-own-integrity.
11
Mudasir Ahmad, ‘Centre Backtracks, Amends Domicile Order to Reserve Govt Jobs in J&K for Residents’, The
Wire, 4 April 2020, available at https://thewire.in/government/jammu-kashmir-domicile-order.
12
Shakir Mir, ‘J&K Govt's New Domicile Certificate Rules a Move to Undercut Resistance from Kashmiri Officials?’,
The Wire, 19 May 2020, available at https://thewire.in/law/kashmir-domicile-certificate-rules.
13
LT GEN H S Panag (RETD), ‘India’s Fingers have come under Chinese boots. Denial won’t help us’, ThePrint, 4 June
2020, available at https://theprint.in/opinion/indias-fingers-have-come-under-chinese-boots-denial-wont-help-
us/435145/.
14
Naseer Ganai and Bhavna Vij Aurora, ‘After Revocation Of Article 370, Has China Become A 'Third Party' To
Kashmir Dispute?’ Outlook, 15 June 2020, available at https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-
after-revocation-of-article-370-has-china-become-a-third-party-to-kashmir-dispute/303297.

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