On March 31, the Centre introduced new domicile rules for Jammu and Kashmir much in the same way it revoked special status for the state a...
On March 31, the Centre introduced new domicile rules for Jammu and Kashmir much in the same way it revoked special status for the state and split it into two Union Territories eight months earlier. Both decisions were taken without consulting the people it concerned the most, amid a lockdown.
In August, the Centre poured thousands of troops into Kashmir, enforced a communication blackout and put residents under one of the most severe lockdowns ever seen in the Valley. In March, it is a different lockdown, imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic and voluntarily followed by thousands of people anxious about the spreading disease. But the introduction of the domicile rules at a time when people are forced to stay in seems fortuitous – despite voices of dissent against the new rules, there will be no public protests against them. Eight months after the Centre unilaterally divided and downgraded Jammu and Kashmir, it seems reluctant to restore regular democratic processes there.
When the Centre on August 5 revoked the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, it also repealed Article 35A. This provision, introduced in 1954, empowered the state government to define “permanent residents” and reserve certain rights...
