Why Autonomy Is Still Relevant In Kashmir newsclick.in

The so-called reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has thrown the region into an era of prolonged political unrest and uncertainty. After Narendra Modi’s rise to power in 2014 and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s subsequent entry into the state’s ruling politics have proved highly disastrous. The anger, alienation, and unrest have only been exacerbated after the abrogation of J&K’s special status.

With restrictions and the communication gag still in place, a sharp communal polarization has been created between Jammu and Kashmir, and within Jammu.

While routine life in Kashmir remains completely choked at the hands of the state apparatus, the BJP governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka, along with some corporate owners from Gujarat are already proposing to buy state land in Kashmir from the Governor-run administration. With this, the desire for the people of Kashmir has been completely replaced by the desire for the territory they inhabit.

This will only vitiate the atmosphere further. Common Kashmiris’ livelihoods are in danger, with rural Kashmir especially petrified by the scrapping of all land laws of the state. They fear that the popular land reforms were undertaken during the 1950s—the bedrock of the existence of Kashmiri peasantry—is threatened. There is also an anxiety that this anger will be expressed in violent form since all democratic space has been squeezed out. This could well give rise to a new militancy which can potentially bring even more misery to the besieged state.