Apex Court Approves the Abrogation of Article 370

On 11 December 2023, five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court upheld the abrogation of Article 370, by the Central Government of India. This verdict of the Supreme Court can be termed “historic” for the simple reason that this provides the much needed judicial validation, the absence of which, was creating space for certain anti-India elements to stoke chaos. Earlier, in August 2019, the Government of India abrogated Article 370 which has granted a special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Through the enactment of the law through Parliament, the Government also divided the region as the Union Territory of Ladakh and two separate states of Jammu and Kashmir, until a new normalcy is restored. This decision of the government was challenged in the Court.The Court confirmed that Article 370 was a temporary provision enacted only due to the wartime conditions at the time of enactment and additionally stated that Article 370(3) was added for national integration and not for national disintegration, therefore, the Presidential Order abrogating Article 370 was valid. It is to be noted that the Court validated the stand of the Central Government that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored on a later date, stating that it shall “take place at the earliest and as soon as possible” but did not prescribe a timeline for the same. However, the Court directed that the elections to the J&K Legislative Assembly be conducted by the Election Commission before September 30, 2024..The judgement clearly validates the Central Government’s plan of action to ensure that peace is established in the Jammu and Kashmir region. What was once the crown jewel of our civilisation was reduced to a haven for separatism by extremist forces. Post the abrogation of Article 370, the Central Government has been taking extensive measures to correct the mistakes of the past and ensure that the faultlines in national security are corrected by employing development as an effective tool. It is a matter of pride and happiness to see that establishment of peace in Kashmir is not a far-fetched ambition.Due to the extensive counter-terrorism efforts of the Central Government, terrorist-initiated incidents reduced from 228 in 2018 to 125 in 2022. Among the 40,000+ Hindu families that had to migrate out of Kashmir in 1990, due to security reasons, more than 2000 families have returned back to the Kashmir valley. This steady movement of Kashmir region towards peace is of primordial importance as it also helps India to effectively deal with its extremist and expansionist neighbours in the west and east respectively. As Kashmir progresses towards a new dawn, the darkness of abject poverty and extremism that haunted its people will cease to exist due to the development projects undertaken by the Central Government..Around 53 development projects are being implemented at the cost of Rs 58,477 crores by 15 Ministries/Departments, spread across sectors such as Roads, Power, Health, Education, Tourism, Agriculture, etc, in Jammu and Kashmir. In order to steadily progress in the path of development, the Central Government must ensure that it consistently enjoys the support of the local community as well. A significant step in ensuring this would be to actively take steps towards restoring statehood, as directed by the Supreme Court.Establishment of peace in Kashmir will be a case study on how to deal with separatism and extremism, not only for the globe but also the future generations. Separatism is a plague that still lurks around the dark corners of this glorious nation, and it is the responsibility of both the State and its subjects to ensure that this threat is decimated without compromise, through counter-terrorism measures and a caring hand of development. It is with the progress of every region and the harmony of all its citizens that we can truly ensure India First.