So, has everything in Kashmir been hunky-dory in the five years of the abrogation? Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah feel vindicated that the tricolour can be unfurled at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk but former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah’s distrust of Modi government has only grown since the abrogation of Article 370. Abdullah and Mufti have only beautiful memories of pre Article 370 days..

The fact that their powers have shrunk after the abrogation and that millions of Kashmiris are living for the day when Article 370 will return should give a hint why they are living in the past. Unfurling the tricolour at Lal Chowk wasn’t a Kashmiri resolve, not when the Kashmiris had their own flag to unfurl. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra playing “snowball” at the Lal Chowk crossing reminded Kashmiris of the time when they were in control of the narrative.

The dream now is about the INDI-Alliance coming to power at the Centre for Article 370 to make a triumphant return. The comeback will be celebrated in Kashmir and across the LoC in places. Pak Army soldiers will empty their guns in the air. Kashmiris and Pakistanis who want Article 370 back are ubiquitous. What consumes Pakistanis and Kashmiris is for how much longer will the unpopular peace since the abrogation of Article 370 last?

The Narendra Modi government has been talking about “development works and administrative reforms since August 5, 2019”, but Kashmiris miss the good old days of death and suffering of the pre-abrogation era. Kashmir‘s relative autonomy was cut short by the abrogation and the recent Lok Sabha elections confirmed Kashmiri hearts still beat for Article 370.

The victory of the jailed separatist Engineer Rashid in the Lok Sabha election was proof of what Kashmiris want. Engineer Rashid beat former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and his victory encouraged the Jamaat-e-Islami to demand that the ban on it under the UAPA be lifted forthwith. The separatist ideology is dead, long live the separatists!

The abrogation of Article 370 saw tens of hundreds of Kashmiris put behind the bars. The din for their release rose to a crescendo as August 5 2024 appeared on the horizon. Under-trials held without trial, why are so many of them in prisons outside J&K? They should be in J&K’s jails so that loved ones can visit. For those jailed by the regime and their families, the abrogation of Article 370 was the beginning of untold misery.

Also, Kashmir is an example of the minority holding the majority to ransom, and in utter contempt. In Kashmir people nurse a deep desire for the return of stone-pelting and Indian Army-shaming. Anything for justifying militancy and terrorism. The ‘hartals’ of before August 5, 2019 was to break free from India and the stone-pelting for the adrenaline-rush. Now, after the abrogation of Article 370, the excitement of militancy and "freedom struggle" have moved to the forest regions of Jammu.

The killings, also. Army jawans are getting killed almost daily in the Jammu region. The forests of Jammu are awash with Pakistani infiltrators, suspected Pak Army’s ‘SSG commandos’. The so-called militants are having a field day targeting Army jawans, while life in Kashmir Valley plods along. The security forces are returning fire, but the high numbers of Army jawans Killed In Action tell another story. Terrorist activities in the Jammu region picked up considerably in 2021.

Foreign terrorists operating in the region have been targeting civilians and soldiers from ambush. They’re active in Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Kathua, Udhampur and Doda. The abrogation of Article 370 has only shifted the terrorists from the Valley to the hinterland areas of Jammu.

The abrogation of Article 370 hasn’t made much of a difference to the Indian soldier. The only difference is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stopped visiting airfields where the bodies of the Indian soldiers KIA were flown en route to their families. Army officials worry terrorism will return to Kashmir. There are reports of the presence of “foreigners in Kashmir Valley” also, but they are silent and lying low.

The government talks of changes at three levels — administration and governance; developmental; and psychological. That certain laws and programmes could be implemented only after the abrogation of Article 370 is a fact. Like the decision of abolishing interviews for junior-level government jobs. A grievance redressal system was also set-up only after the abrogation. Governance reforms include restoring the rights of refugees from “West Pakistan”, their right to vote in elections and contest elections, too.

The story of the abrogation of Article 370 and thereafter is that more people resent the absence of Article 370 than there are people who are happy it doesn’t exist anymore. The story also goes that the rest of India could help restore Article 370 to life by defeating the BJP and bringing non-BJP parties to power at the Centre. Kashmiris might be prospering on the rise in tourism after the abrogation, but tourism is no substitute for doing what is pleasing, meaning living with autonomy and freedom. (IPA Service)