Indian Home Minister Amit Shah reached Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday for a three-day trip, marking his first visit to the region since the revocation of the region’s statehood and special status back in August 2019. His trip comes amid a surge in violence against religious minorities and migrant workers in the area.
Addressing Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre, Shah spoke of the importance of holding elections in the region. He said this would require leaders to work with the Centre to advance the delimitation process, noting that this would be a precondition to restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. Through the process of delimitation, the Indian government intends to reorganise the state’s assembly constituencies to increase the number of assembly constituencies in the UT from 107 to 114. Following this, the government intends to conduct local elections and bring in a democratically elected state government to the union territory. Local leaders have expressed concern about the process resulting in the power balance in the region being tilted in the favour of the Hindu-majority region of Jammu and consequently diminishing the voice of the Muslim-majority Kashmir.
The Home Minister said, “Kashmiri youth will get opportunities, so a right delimitation will be done, which will be followed by-elections, and then the status of the statehood will be restored. I have said this in the parliament and this is the roadmap.” He also stood by the Modi government’s decision to revoke Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir a special status. He said that the abrogation of Article 370 indicated a “new beginning” for the region from an era of “fear, terrorism, corruption and family-based politics to [one of] peace, development, and prosperity.” He reasoned that this has resulted in immense regional development too.
Shah appeared confident about the improving security situation in the region, asserting: “Terrorism has reduced. The incidents of stone-pelting have come down. Let me assure you that strict action will be taken against those who want to ruin the peace of Jammu and Kashmir.” However, he said that while the numbers have reduced, the Indian government intends to reach a point where not a single Kashmiri is the victim of terrorism.
The visit came on the same day that the local National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged the central government to modify its policy in Kashmir, specifically keeping in mind the worsening security climate. There has been a recent surge in attacks on members of minority communities along with migrant workers in the region, causing over 30 deaths. Security forces have made several arrests and detentions to crack down on these incidents.
NC President Farooq Abdulla said that these incidents should act as an “eye-opener” for all those claiming that terror activities have been halted following the abrogation of Article 370. PDP President Mehbooba Mufti echoed this sentiment, saying that the region had been “thrown into chaos” since the revocation of Article 370.
Furthermore, NC President Abdullah also expressed concern about the restoration of statehood following elections and delimitation. He recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about the importance of fulfilling the “urges and aspirations of the people” to bring “lasting peace” into Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah said that this would not be possible before restoring the special status, through which the region was “bifurcated” and “downgraded.” He also underscored the importance of initiating a dialogue with Pakistan.
Shah’s comments indicate a continued rift between the region’s local leaders and central government. However, the central government remains determined to push for the process of delimitation and has already set up a Delimitation Commission.