Unravelling the Aftermath: An Analysis of Post-Revocation of Semi-Autonomous Status of Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

India consistently impeded the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
and weakened the provisions of Article 370 several times through a series of more than
fifty presidential orders spanning well over a half-century. However, to ensure the
complete annexation of disputed territory, the Government of India unilaterally
abrogated the semiautonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into
two union territories - Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on 5th August 2019. This robbed
the Muslim-majority state of its identity and thrown it into a state of paralysis. Since
June 19, 2018, Jammu and Kashmir has been functioning without an elected
government. The Lieutenant Governor (LG) led administration of Jammu and Kashmir
is actively changing the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by providing voting and
property rights to the non-locals, who were temporarily working in Jammu and
Kashmir. This qualitative study employed historical and descriptive method, mostly
relying on the secondary data to highlight India's unconstitutional and undemocratic
measures in Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of semi-autonomous status. The
study also analyzes the strategy of 'excessive militarism' that Indian armed forces have
adopted to muzzle and crush the pro-resolution movement of the Kashmiri people.