Menace eradicated

For long India had born the burden of convenient politics held together by the common selfish need for concentrating wealth and power. Article 370 conferring special status to Jammu and Kashmir was dramatically and unceremoniously disempowered and the impact of this has been of the magnitude that even after a fortnight, this move remains doggedly in news. The nation largely celebrated this step taken by the government but as palpable is the extent of both ignorance and subjective nationalism that has prompted this romp. It is a very different story in Jammu and Kashmir; further different in Ladakh which has now been offered to make its voice heard on the national arena, and in Kashmir where there is enforced quiet, matters are only seething to erupt. Caging people in their homes to prevent outbreak of unwanted situation and detention of people including influential ones do little to guarantee peace and normalcy. While splitting up the state in two Union Territories was, undoubtedly a step waiting to be taken, the arbitration to enforce 'peace' in the valley had drawn mixed response and criticism from various sources. The legality of the Modi government's decision to dilute Article 370 and make Jammu and Kashmir a UT is given to be decided by the Supreme Court. Six petitions challenging the legality of this move had been filed in the Apex Court owing to the manner in which this was executed. The 'temporary provision' of the Constitution had calcified to mimic a permanent status and systemic decay in India's northern most state is deep-rooted. It is true that Article 370 was a major bone of contention and was exploited inside Kashmir for a regionalism which had no future. In the rest of India, this provision was an instrument of toxic nationalism given how highly politicised it was and led people to think of Kashmir as a mere territory and not one comprising its unique people. It is those people that must be heard now.