#Abrogation of 370

[vicky-nanjappa]

Why Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir had to go

Vicky Nanjappa The Supreme Court which is hearing petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir said that Article 35A of the Constitution effectively took away the fundamental rights of non-residents of J&K. Article 35A had conferred a special right on the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the process in turn curtailed three fundamental rights of persons domiciled in…

[kimskashmir]

J&K BJP to organise ‘Ekatma Mahotsav Rally’ today to commemorate abrogation of Article 370

JAMMU — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is organising the ‘Ekatma Mahotsav Rally’ on Monday to commemorate the complete unification of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. The rally is being organised at the Bana Singh Stadium in R.S. Pura town of Jammu district. “August 5, 2019, is a very important day in our lives. On this vital day five years back, a historic blunder was corrected…

[massivelyspeedyobject]

What a resemblance

The rise of Hitler and the establishment of his dictatorial regime in Germany is a complex story rooted in the aftermath of World War I, economic turmoil, political instability, and societal discontent. Hitler capitalized on these factors to gain power and impose his authoritarian rule. Post-World War I Germany: After Germany’s defeat in World War I, the Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh…

[banglakhobor]

অনুচ্ছেদ ৩৭০ প্রত্যাহার নিয়ে চলছে শুনানি, সেই আবহেই অশান্তি, কাশ্মীরে মধ্যরাতে গৃহবন্দি মেহবুবা

শ্রীনগর: অনুচ্ছেদ ৩৭০ প্রত্যাহার নিয়ে (Article 370) মামলার শুনানি চলছে সুপ্রিম কোর্টে (Supreme court)। তার মধ্যেই জম্মু ও কাশ্মীরে পরিস্থিতি উত্তাল হওয়ার আশঙ্কা। ৫ অগাস্ট, শনিবার উপত্যকার বিশেষ মর্যাদা খর্ব হওয়ার চার বছর পূর্তি। তার আগে, শুক্রবার রাত থেকে জম্মু ও কাশ্মীরে বিরোধী শিবিরের রাজনীতিকদের আবারও গৃহবন্দি করা হয়েছে বলে অভিযোগ। মধ্যরাত থেকে উপত্যকায় ব্যাপক ধরপাকড় শুরু হয় বলেও অভিযোগ সামনে…

[kupwaratimes-fan]

NC has no right to claim "feeling sad" over abrogation of Article 370: Sajad Lone

NC has no right to claim “feeling sad” over abrogation of Article 370: Sajad Lone

NC has no right to claim “feeling sad” over abrogation of Article 370: Sajad Lone Srinagar, Dec 11: People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday said that National Conference has no right to claim “feeling sad” over abrogation of Article 370.   “How NC claims they are feeling sad over abrogation of Article 370 by BJP government. Hadn’t they executed two Kashmir’s – Mohammad Maqbool…

[timetravellingkitty]

KASHMIR MASTERLIST

Background

History of Kashmir from 250 BC to 1947 [to understand Kashmir's multi religious history and how we got to 1947]

Broad timeline of events from 1947 to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in 2019 (BBC) [yes, BBC. hang on just this once]

Human Rights Watch report based on a visit to Indian controlled Kashmir in 1998 [has a summary, background, human rights abuses and recommendations]

Another concise summary of the issue

Sites to check out

Kashmir Action - news and readings

The Kashmiriyat - independent news site about ongoings in Kashmir

FreePressKashmir - same thing as previous

Kashmir Law and Justice Project - analysis of international law as it applies to Kashmir

Stand with Kashmir - awareness, run by diaspora Kashmiris (both Pandit and Muslim)

These two for more readings and resources on Kashmir: note that the petitions and donation links are from 2019 and also has explainers on the background (x) (x)

To read

Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? - about women in the Kashmiri resistance movement and the 1991 mass rape of Kashmiri women in the twin villages of Kunan and Poshpora by Indian armed forces

Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada in Kashmir - a compliation of writings about the lives of Kashmiris under Indian domination

Colonizing Kashmir: State Building under Indian Occupation - how Kashmir was made "integral" to the Indian state and examines state-building policies (excerpt)

Resisting Occupation in Kashmir - about the social and legal dimensions of India's occupation

On India's scapegoating of Kashmiri Pandits, both by Kashmiri Pandits (x) (x)

Of Gardens and Graves - translations of Kashmiri poems

Social media

kashiirkoor

museumofkashmir

kashmirpopart

posh_baahar

readingkashmir

standwithkashmir and their backup account standwithkashmir2 (main account is banned in India wonder why)

kashmirlawjustice

kashmirawareness

jammugenocide (awareness about the 1947 genocide abetted by Maharaja Hari Singh and the RSS)

To watch

Jashn-e-Azadi: How We Celebrate Freedom parts 1 and 2 - a documentary about the Kashmiri freedom struggle (filmed by a Kashmiri Pandit)

Paradise Lost - BBC documentary about how India and Pakistan's dispute over the valley has affected the people

Kashmir - Valley of Tears - the exhaustion with the conflict in the post nineties

In the Shade of Fallen Chinar - art as a form of Kashmiri resistance

Human rights violations (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

Land theft and dispossession (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

A note: I know annoying Desis are going to see this and go "Oh but Kashmir is Pakistan's because-" and "Kashmir is an integral part of India because-". I must make my stance clear: Kashmir belongs to the Kashmiris, the natives, no matter what religion they belong to. Neither Pakistan nor India get to decide the matter of Kashmiri sovereignty. The reasons given by both parties as to why Kashmir should be a part of either nation are bullshit. The United Nations itself recognises Kashmir as a disputed region, so I will not entertain dumbfuckery. I highly encourage fellow Indians especially to take the time to go through and properly understand the violence the government enacts on Kashmiris. I've also included links to learn more about Kashmiri culture because really, what do the rest of us know about it? Culturally and linguistically Kashmir differs so much from the rest of India and Pakistan (also the amount of fetishization of Kashmiri women...yikes). This is not just a bilateral issue between these two nations over land, this actually affects the people of Kashmir. And if you're still here, thank you for reading

[nohkalikai]

"As an environmentalist, I am very concerned about the fragile and sensitive ecosystem of Ladakh,” said Magsaysay Award-winning educationist Sonam Wangchuk, who recently concluded his 21-day hunger strike in Leh. Popularly known as 'climate fast', Wangchuk had begun observing it on 6 March, demanding constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.

On the final day of his fast on 26 March, Wangchuk said that the people of Ladakh are trying to awaken the conscience of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah so that they take suitable action to safeguard the fragile ecosystem of Himalayan mountains in Ladakh and preserve the unique indigenous tribal culture.

“We don’t like to think of Modi ji and Amit Shah ji as just politicians, we would rather think of them as statesmen but for that, they will have to show some character and farsightedness…” he posted on X.

Wangchuk had become the face of a sustained agitation in the cold desert where people are up in arms against the central government for discarding their concerns regarding land and job rights.

"Every drop of water is important here. Ladakh can't support large numbers. It will make refugees out of locals and even for those who arrive, the situation would not be any good. That's the fear people have regarding the fate of our land and our culture – finely tuned over tens or even thousands of years to survive in these mountains, now at risk of dilution and unable to sustain itself,” he added.

However, this was not the first time that Wangchuk had undertaken a climate fast:

In January 2023, he undertook a five-day climate fast at his institution, the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL) in Ladakh at -20 degrees Celsius.

In June 2023, Wangchuk again went on a nine-day climate fast to save "Ladakh’s fragile ecology."

The Ecological Connection to Ladakh’s Demands

Ladakh is a high-altitude desert inhabited by around 3 lakh people. The region is considered ecologically fragile due to its extreme climate conditions, scarce vegetation, and limited water resources. Most people are dependent on agriculture as a means of livelihood.

A separate territory was a long-pending demand of the Ladakhis but they were expecting one with constitutional safeguards – somethingthat was categorically denied by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government earlier this month.

Their land and job rights were taken away with the Abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August 2019, and the region was thrown open to people from other states.

Sensing that New Delhi is not in any mood to extend the Sixth Schedule that would safeguard the region and grant limited autonomy to the tribal region, the engineer-turned-educational reformer had announced a "climate fast” back in 2023 in a bid to turn attention towards the region's delicate ecology.

Speaking to The Quint, Wangchuk said that global warming has been melting glaciers in the Himalayan region where Ladakh is located. He also added that shifting weather patterns are resulting in frequent flash floods, landslides, and droughts that are impacting the lives of people living in the sparsely populated villages of the region.

"We are protesting to safeguard the mountains of the Himalayan region from indiscriminate exploitation and mining which have already wreaked havoc in places like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and even Sikkim. All these activities are now poised to impact Ladakh,” he added.

Wangchuk’s Relentless Efforts To Save Ladakh: The ‘Third Pole’ of the Planet

Lately, the glaciers are receding fast and many sectors in Northern India rely on them.

Wangchuk said that Ladakh, which is home to an extensive glacial system, is known as the "Third pole of the planet." It feeds two billion people directly or indirectly.

"If mining industries are introduced in these areas, not only will the local communities suffer, but the entire Northern Indian plains will face water shortages. Therefore, it is crucial that we safeguard these fragile regions as sacred zones of water,” he said.

"For the local people, it's about protecting their region, customs, culture, and land –all of which are enshrined in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, as our forefathers have established 75 years ago," Wangchuk added.

Back in 2015, Wangchuk had invented the 'Ice Stupa', an artificial glacier created by piping mountain streams to tackle the water crisis in Ladakh which faces water scarcity in April-May – the peak farming season.

Since then, the farmers in Leh have benefitted from such Ice Stupas.

Not only that, in 2021, Wangchuk whose life inspired a character in the Bollywood movie 3 Idiots, developed an eco-friendly solar-heated tent that Army personnel can use in extremely cold places like Siachen and Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region.

How Will the Sixth Schedule Save Ladakh’s Ecology?

For the Sixth Schedule to be applicable, the Constitution mandates that a region's population must consist of at least 50 percent of tribal communities. In Ladakh, around 97 percent of its population are tribals.

Wangchuk asserted that they are trying to do everything possible to safeguard the mountains.

"The Sixth Schedule of Article 244, which gives safeguards to these regions, the people, and their cultures where they can determine how these places should be developed without interference from others,” he said. "This is what Ladakh has been demanding for a long time before it was made into a Union Territory (UT)," he added.

Notably, the Sixth Schedule contains provisions that grant indigenous tribes significant autonomy, enabling the establishment of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with legislative and judicial authority. These councils are empowered to enact regulations concerning various aspects such as land, forest, water, agriculture, health, sanitation, mining, and beyond.

"That was our hope which later turned into uncertainty when the government, as generously as it granted Union Territory status to Ladakh, promised that Ladakh would be safeguarded under the Sixth Schedule but did not fulfil it,” Wangchuk said.

He further argued that if Ladakh is left free for all with no safeguards, there will be mining companies coming. "We hear often they are scouting the mountains and valleys," Wangchuk said, adding that people are apprehensive that huge hotel chains will come up, each potentially bringing in thousands of visitors, that will pose threats to the dry desert ecology of Ladakh.

'The BJP Needs To Keep Its Promise’

Wangchuk said that the BJP needs to fulfil its promise that they made during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections regarding the “Declaration of Ladakh under the Sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution."

"It's like giving a cheque and if the cheque bounces, then we don't care. Hence, what happens to Ladakh with this promise will set a precedent to the rest of India in all elections to come whether leaders can just say anything and not care later and also get away with it,” he added.

[sivavakkiyar]

The disempowerment of Kashmiri political parties finds its roots in August 2019. A day after a meeting between Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah of the Jammu Kashmir National Conference and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 4, 2019, a cloud of uncertainty enveloped the region. The speculation led to citizens flocking to oil and ration stations, anticipating an imminent change. National Conference leaders dispelled these rumors, only to witness a swift crackdown thereafter. On August 5, 2019, Article 370 was abrogated.

The subsequent imposition of a prolonged lockdown and communication blackout, along with the detention of three former chief ministers under the Public Safety Act, marked a seismic shift in the region’s political landscape. The dissolution of the BJP-People’s Democratic Party coalition in June 2018 preceded these events.

After the abrogation of Article 370, the BJP promptly initiated delimitation and announced that elections would be postponed until its completion. As politicians were gradually released from detention, speculation arose regarding their conditions of release. Initially, rumors suggested that politicians had agreed not to oppose the abrogation. However, leaders like Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Omar Abdullah swiftly refuted these claims, declaring the abrogation “unconstitutional” and vowing to reverse the decision of August 5, 2019.

While the Supreme Court of India has wrapped up the chapter on Article 370, at least for the time being, the political parties of Kashmir, once united under the banner of People’s Alliance for Gupak Declaration (PAGD), are now engaged in a skirmish of their own. They seem determined to topple each other from a chair that doesn’t even exist anymore.

[vicky-nanjappa]

Has terrorism decreased in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370?

Vicky Nanjappa and Akash Maithal It has been four years since the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. A lot has changed since. What have been the positives and negatives since the controversial Article was abrogated? Listen to the brand new episode of the Defence India Podcast with Akash Maithal and Vicky Nanjappa as we discuss the matter in length. Kashmir after Article…

[kimskashmir]

Rajasthan schools to celebrate Article 370 abrogation, Congress condemns ‘shameless’ move

JAIPUR — The Rajasthan Education Department’s academic calendar for new session in state government schools has sparked a political debate as it proposes to celebrate revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 as ‘Swarna Mukut Mastak Diwas’ and birthday of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on May 28. Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status and…

[zindagi-toh-bewafa-hai]

In light of the abrogation of Article 370

or read the Instagram post

Stand With Kashmir's Linktree for further reading (The Kashmir Syllabus particularly)

The Kashmir Podcast

Jashn-e-Azadi documentary about military occupation

Also relevant: Washington Post article titled Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the U.S. (use the Wayback Machine to avoid logging in)

[head-post]

India’s Supreme Court upheld government’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status

On Monday, India’s top court upheld the legality of the law passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 that revoked the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir from statehood and special status.

Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud headed the constitution bench of the Supreme Court.

We hold the exercise of presidential power to issue constitutional order abrogating Article 370 of Constitution as valid. All provisions of the Indian Constitution can be applied to Jammu and Kashmir.

In September, the court concluded arguments on a slew of petitions challenging the legality of the law passed by the Modi government in 2019.

In response, several individuals, groups and political parties filed about 20 petitions in the apex court, labelling the decision unconstitutional.

Read more HERE

[vahnithedreamer]

Why do all the people I've started a discourse with disappear when I'm trying to respond? This happened first with @metamatar and now with @timetravellingkitty are they bots?

Anyway, my response to @timetravellingkitty to their post is

1. I don't get the point you're trying to make. A previously non-prominent temple is popularised now, and so what? Care to elaborate on how that is colonialism?

2. The unilateral abrogation of article 370 was wrong in the sense that it shouldn't have been unilateral. But how much longer do you keep giving special privileges to a state in a country? Isn't that violative of article 14?

3. That's just BJP being cruel to its rivals and it happens in every state, not just Kashmir. And I don't support that.

"occupation" by whom? I don't care about your politics of BJP or congress. But Kashmir is a part of india!! You can't by definition "colonise" a part of your own territory!!

It's so funny that you say "OMG free Kashmir" like it won't go straight into the hands of Pakistan. And if you think that it will stop at Kashmir or Arunachal or Punjab you're wrong. It will spread all over the country if we let it.

@rhysaka I'm sure you'd have a nuanced and knowledgeable take on this if you care to respond to this person :)