Articles 370 and 35a were scrapped in 2019 with Amit Shah as the chief propagator with the backup BJP and Modi. Article 370 of the constitution gave a special providence to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and it came into play from 1949 until it was scrapped. Except for defense, foreign affairs, finance, and communications, the Indian parliament needs the Kashmir state government’s concurrence for applying all other laws. Citizenship, Ownership of property, and Fundamental rights are different for the citizens of Kashmir from those in India. They don’t have to abide by the fundamental duties and directive principles of the state as well. Article 35a states that No outsider can own a property in J&K and No outsider can get a state job in J&K. This might have been a correct decision given the circumstances of the newly independent 1949 Kashmir where there was tension between the two countries namely Pakistan and India but there were many flaws with respect to the development of the state in the long run. By scrapping these articles the government opened up a wide range of opportunities and the perspective of developments to the state.
Even though India is big on unity in diversity there always remained a thin line between the residents of Kashmir and the other states namely a different flag and a different law. Now we finally can say that India is a ‘One Nation One Constitution.’ The abrogation of these articles brought a sense of unity amongst the citizens of India. Whilst the whole nation has developed and improved a lot in terms of technology, J&K always was a step back. The state didn’t even have good network coverage in a fully digitalized world. But now there is a scope for private organizations/sectors to invest in the state and help the state be a more advanced place. J&K is a state that depends solely on tourism and it was compelled to do so due to the restrictions imposed by the Articles. But now this act has opened up new ventures for the state to participate in and help boost its economy. The medical facilities were limited to the state and there always were issues about the shortage of life-saving medicines. But after 2019 there was a chance for private medical hospitals and colleges to enter into the state. This has greatly influenced the state to enter into mainstream India and its developments. Apart from this Kashmir is a state well known for terrorism? There was a high rate of terrorist attacks in the state. But after converting J&K into a union territory and bringing it under the direct control if the central government, it now has scope for a better environment and it would help curb terrorism as well as corruption if the local politicians who took advantage of the residents in the name of the article 370. Another factor that was the most controversial about the articles was the women’s right to property which would be nulled by marrying a non-Kashmiri. To add on the spouse would not gain the Kashmiri citizen status as well. But this case doesn’t apply to the male population of the state. This is a direct violation of the right to equality of the fundamental rights by the government but the state surpassed this by using part 35a of article 370. But thanks to the abrogation, now the females of the state are free to marry anyone without having to give up one of their rights.
These are some of the factors that have helped the state by opening up possibilities of development and will help the Kashmiri people to join the mainstream of the nation.
