Anand K. Sahay: An ill-wind blows in J&K after UT status
Deccan ChronicleWe will do well to recall that the fundamental reason cited in August 2019 for dissolving the state of Jammu and Kashmir -- whose maharaja acceded to India on terms that explicated a clearly enunciated autonomy -- was that the existence of this autonomy engendered a “separatist” mindset in the Valley. Nearly one year on, pretty much every passing day has revealed events, incidents and processes which suggest that the misplaced hope of the Hindutva forces was up against circumstances that presage the blowing of an ill wind across the Vale of Kashmir, making many worry deeply. But the point being missed by the arrogant power-wielders is this -- even if J&K had been attached to the Bhavnagar municipality in faraway Gujarat, the point of origin of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rough and ready hubris-filled home minister Amit Shah, the history, geography, culture and politics of J&K cannot be wished away. With armed security barriers obstructing movement even on rural roads and minor byways, supposedly to check general movement to deal with Covid-19, locals complain of the mounting of a new culture of surveillance.
History of this topic
Delhi’s history of engagement and estrangement with Kashmir’s parties
Hindustan TimesDiscover Related
)
