It Is High Time The Government Honoured Its Promise Of Statehood To Jammu & Kashmir
· Free Press Journal
The seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 passed off peacefully on August 5. As expected, there were demonstrations both against and in support of the historic decision.
That itself reflects the continuing political divide over a constitutional change that altered the relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union of India. Seven years on, however, one fact is beyond dispute. The abrogation of Article 370 is here to stay.
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The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the decision, and no major national political party has endorsed the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party’s demand for its restoration.
Whatever political rhetoric may continue, the constitutional debate has largely been settled. That, however, does not absolve the Centre of fulfilling the commitments it made to Parliament, and, through Parliament, to the nation.
The most significant of those assurances was that the conversion of the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh was only a temporary administrative arrangement. Union Home Minister Amit Shah repeatedly stated that full statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time.
The rationale offered was that direct central administration was necessary to improve law and order and curb terrorism. The Lieutenant Governor was vested with powers far exceeding those exercised by governors in other states.
Once normalcy returned and elections were held, many expected the next logical step to be the restoration of statehood. That expectation remains unfulfilled. The government may argue that circumstances are not yet conducive. Yet, public perception is unmistakable: a solemn promise has not been honoured.
The Assembly elections have been completed, and an elected government is in place, but the state continues to function as a Union Territory. Nor has the bifurcation demonstrably achieved all that was promised.
Security remains a challenge. The terrorist attack at Pahalgam in April 2025, in which 26 civilians—mostly tourists—lost their lives, was among the deadliest in the Valley in recent years. It shattered claims that terrorism had been decisively defeated. In Ladakh, too, public discontent persists.
For months, people have been demanding constitutional safeguards and full-fledged statehood, arguing that the promises made in 2019 remain unfulfilled. The BJP, undoubtedly, possessed the political mandate to revoke Article 370.
The demand had figured in the party’s manifesto since the days of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. But no manifesto ever sought public approval for downgrading a full-fledged state into two Union Territories. That decision, therefore, cannot be claimed to have enjoyed an explicit electoral mandate.
The constitutional question may have been settled, but the democratic one has not. Restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood would reaffirm the Centre’s credibility and strengthen India’s federal spirit. Seven years is long enough. The promise should now be redeemed without further delay.