Binoo Joshi
Special Commentary JK NEWS TODAY
In an interview to a leading Hindi daily Dainik Jagran , Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared in no uncertain terms that” Article 370 is a history now, and no power on earth can bring it back now .” These emphatic veto on Article 370 that granted special status and special privileges to the state – Jammu Kashmir , Ladakh , now divided into the two union territories , makes it clear that any attempt to engage in activities or campaign to resuscitate the constitutional provision would be a waste of time and energy.
What Prime Minister meant was that it’s time to move on, reflecting on the past troubles and attempt to discover some kind of merit in it , is not what Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh should be looking at . The choice is very clear – digging of past will only affect the mental health of those addicted to drug of Article 370, or they can envision future and reshape the destiny of the people and the land.
Essentially , Prime Minister Modi was responding to a question on the Supreme Court verdict of December 11 on abrogation of Article 370 . The apex court had upheld the August 5, 2019 decision of the government to do away with the constitutional provision that had existed in the constitution for almost 70 years . This resulted into new landscape – from isolationist to inclusiveness in the Indian union. The Supreme Court , b upholding the provision, underscored that there was no scope left to challenge the decision , and categorically justified that “ the temporary” provision in the constitution had to go , so it did go.
Modi has reiterated that there could be no two constitutions and flags in the same country – this was a matter of Indian sovereignty across the country wherein there should be no room for parallel symbols to taunt it. Apart from that he also underlined that it was also for the aspirations of people of J&K to be realized and open doors of future for them.
There are three phases – past , present and future . Present – the era post abrogation Article 370- has put an irreversible full stop on the past of conflict that generated violence in the land , and also that was a result of the ideology of conflict with the idea of India , perpetuated by the parallel symbols and feeling of not being pure Indians, Let’s admit it candidly the spirit of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India did not move in full circle because of this particular constitutional provision . This Article, despite being read as “ temporary” in the constitution had embedded permanent landscape of two different sovereignties . This had created disharmony between the people of the erstwhile state and the rest of the country and also between the residents living within Jammu and Kashmir . Both the history and the future of the posterity was at stake. This was resolved on August 5, 2019, and Supreme Court gave it a legal and constitutional thumbs up on December 11, 2023.
Prime Minister has spoken of future and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir . He knows that why the future of J&K is important to the people as also to the Indian nation . From the day one , since he assumed office in May 2014 , he was committed to the idea of peace and obliterating the barriers . In his first public speech in Kashmir after assuming office as PM , in Kashmir on December 8, 2014, he had outlined steps to involve and include J&K as real jewel in the crown of India . He had assured them of their future, and those who heard it out , could easily conclude that he had held out a promise to end the cult of human rights violations . This was not vote politics . This was a connect he attempted to foster , and when he saw that forces inimical to the bright future of J&K youth and future generations were trying to sabotage not only the forward-looking vision for political reasons , but more painful to him were the narratives that engendered conflict and put youth on the path of death and destruction . These inimical forces were blessing the local recruitment . They drew pleasure when the youth dying after joining militancy in becoming role models for the teenagers . the funeral processions were hailed and sold as new awakening in Kashmir . A new wall was created , in addition to the already-existing barriers , making task of integrating youth into mainstream more difficult .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi , through his vision , put into real-time shape and effort by Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha , has brought sea change in the Valley, where windows, doors and horizon for future of big hopes and promises is in sight.
