![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/07\/Arti-31A-370.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/07\/Eman-Arshad.jpeg\")
False hopes, deceiving narratives, fake promises, bloodshed, oppression, violence, turmoil- hundreds of words could be used to describe the dilemma of Kashmir, yet none would do any justice to the actual chaos that has been unfolding in the region for decades. Among the many incidents that further complicated the Kashmir issue was the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A. This abrogation, which took place on August 5, 2019, became a significant obstacle in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.<\/p>\n
Article 370 of the Indian Constitution provided the basis for Kashmir’s accessionto India. This article exempts Jammu and Kashmir from following the Indian constitution. It allows the Indian-administered region to make its laws in various matters, except finance, defense, communication, and foreign affairs. Whereas Article 35A of the Constitution, introduced in 1954, prohibited outsiders from buying land and settling permanently in the region. It also prohibited the granting of Kashmiri citizenship to non-Kashmiri people, such as domiciles or identity cards in the region.\u00a0 This article protected the legal rights of the people of Kashmir;therefore, revocation of these articles was the first step in snatching their own identity from themselves. Since then, up to 25,000 non-Kashmiri people have been granted certificates of domicile, and the number keeps increasing day by day.<\/p>\n
Legally, abrogation of these articles could have austere consequences on the Indian government, yet nothing happened. The instrument of accession signed by Hari Singh is a clear reminder that the people of Kashmir were never supposed to be controlled completely by India; rather, Kashmir was granted autonomy in its internal affairs with exceptions. Clause 7 of the article of accession denied the imposition of the Indian Constitution over the people of Kashmir. Similarly, the document ensured the territorial integrity of Jammu and Kashmir and provided them with a special status within the Indian constitution, enshrined in Article 370. Therefore, the abrogation of Article 370 is a clear-cut opposition to the original document. The abrogation not only seized the sovereignty of Kashmir but also changed the demographic aspects by threatening the Muslim majority of the area.\u00a0 By providing domicile certificates to non-Muslims, the Indian government aims to increase the population of non-Kashmiris. As a result, if India ever agrees to hold a plebiscite, the majority would automatically favor India.<\/p>\n
The revocation was a step towards stripping theKashmiri people of their legal rights, particularly their identity. While the Indian administration asserted that this step led towards normalcy in Kashmir, the primary data, along with the current situation of IIOK, prove otherwise. Various statements by Home Minister Amit Shah, PM Narendra Modi, and the Supreme Court falsely claim the \u2018return of normalcy and peace\u2019 in the region. If such a case were ever true, there wouldn\u2019t have been more than a thousand people killed since 2019. The human rights violation in IIOK is as clear as day. As the international community turns a blind eye towards the issue, thousands of people have been tortured, arrested, killed, injured, raped, and orphaned.<\/p>\n
Aside from human rights violations, a major concern faced by the people of IIOK is the identity crisis. The article guaranteed cultural and political distinctiveness. The people of Kashmir call the step not merely administrative, but a constitutional manipulation and betrayal of Kashmir\u2019s promised autonomy. The abolishment of laws prohibiting others from buying land and securing jobs led to the fear of erasure of the local identity of the Kashmiri people. In October 2020, the Indian government repealed residency restrictions under the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization act. It allowed Indian nationals to purchase immovable property in IIOK, paving the way for land grab. This step aims to dilute the Muslim majority character and implement a settler colonial model similar to Palestine or Tibet. Another major obstaclemanifested in the form of the marginalization of regional parties. Political parties and Jammu and Kashmir-based movements have been sidelined through restrictions and detentions.This has led to the weakening of grassroots movements and the disempowerment of Kashmiri people in IIOK. Though the Indian government has justified that Article 370 was a hurdle in the way of economic development, it all seems to be a part of some larger propaganda. Since India\u2019s control strengthened, the economy of Kashmir has seen a significant downfall due to crackdown, increasing strikes, and suspension of internet and call services.<\/p>\n
According to a report by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the estimated job losses from blackouts and shutdowns reach 500,000. The unemployment rate stood at 17.9%. According to another report from the same source, IIOK had suffered a loss of about Rs. 40,000 crores (400 billion) since 2019. Before the draconian move by the Indian administration, the state\u2019s Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) was showing significant growth at an annual rate of 13.28% between 2015 and 2019. The abrogation halted this positive trend as the growth rate declined to 8.73% post-August 2019. Similarly, the per capita NSDP dropped from 12.31% to 8.41%.<\/p>\n
Keeping in view the statistics and figures, the assertion of peace and prosperity by the Indian government in IIOK amounts to nothing but propaganda and disinformation. With each passing day, life becomes unbearably difficult for the people of IIOK. While the international community silently watches the violations of human rights in IIOK, the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir are left counting the very little that rightfully remains theirs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The writer is a student of BS International Relations at NDU and an Intern at Kashmir Institute of International Relations.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" False hopes, deceiving narratives, fake promises, bloodshed, oppression, violence, turmoil- hundreds of words could be used to describe the dilemma of Kashmir, yet none would do any justice to the actual chaos that has been unfolding in the region for decades. Among the many incidents that further complicated the Kashmir issue was the revocation …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":179939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}