3rd anniversary of Article 370 revocation: When Modi government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status - Story

The Modi government had on August 5, 2019 scrapped the controversial Article 370 which provided special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from scrapping Article 370, the government also bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir division and Ladakh division. 

Back then, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the Parliament on the development had said "the provisions of Article 370 as discriminatory on the basis of gender, class, caste and place of origin. The youth is being taken for a ride by the political elite. This provision was temporary in the first place and it has to go in the larger interest of the people of J&K, he added."

The Home Minister had also pointed out to the opposition that everyone knows how Article 370 is hampering the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

It must be noted that before Article 370 was scrapped, it had a provision which said that "Under article 370(3), there is a provision that President, on the recommendation of the Parliament, has the power to amend or cease the implementation of article 370,through a public notification."

Now three years down the line, the situation has changed and the people of Jammu and Kashmir are seeing all-around development. Militancy has been at all time low in the Valley, thanks to the pinpoint operations launched by the defence forces to eliminate terrorism and restore peace. 

According to the Police, Law and order incidents in Kashmir have dropped by over 88 per cent in three years since the revocation of the erstwhile state's special status compared to the preceding three years.

Data shared by the Police on Friday says that from August 5, 2016, to August 4, 2019, the Valley witnessed 3,686 law and order incidents.

However, for the three years from August 5, 2019 "when the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union territories ? the Valley recorded only 438 such incidents" which is a drop of over 88 per cent, the police said.

The police said while 124 civilians were killed in law and order situations in Kashmir in the three years prior to August 5, 2019, no civilian was killed since then.

Similarly, six police and security forces personnel lost their lives in such situations from August 5, 2016, to August 4, 2019, but there was no such case since then, according to the data.
Police said 930 terror incidents were recorded in the three years before August 5, 2019, and this number dropped to 617 in the next three years.

Three years before the abrogation of Article 370, 290 security forces personnel were killed in terror incidents in the Valley, and this number dropped to 174, police said.

As far as civilian killings in other incidents such as terrorist attacks are concerned, police said the number dropped from 191 to 110 in the three years after the constitutional changes.

Regional parties NC, PDP and others, however, protested the Centre's decision at the time and even today they believe that Jammu and Kashmir be accorded a special status. Contrary, the BJP has always argued that Article 370, barring the politicians, didn't benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir and people were deprived of socio-economic opportunities.

The Modi government has said that it will restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and hold Assembly election at an appropriate time.

With inputs from PTI