Revocation of Article 370, Ladakh Becoming a UT: Key Highlights

Amid heightened tensions, media blackout and massive troop deployment by the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, 5 August, announced their move to revoke Article 370. This was met with a huge outcry in the parliament.

Article 370 of the Indian constitution grants special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Here are the key highlights from the current Jammu and Kashmir crisis:

• Home Minister Amit Shah moves to revoke Article 370 in Rajya Sabha on Monday, and introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in Rajya Sabha.
• The bill seeks to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories (UTs) — Jammu and Kashmir as one, and Ladakh as the other. Ladakh is proposed to be a UT without a legislature.
• In light of the historic announcement, PDP President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti criticised it, saying, "Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy. Decision of Jammu and Kashmir leadership to reject two-nation theory in 1947 and align with India has backfired. Unilateral decision of Government of India to scrap Article 370 is illegal and unconstitutional which will make India an occupational force in Jammu and Kashmir."
• This comes after a Union Cabinet meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Shah, NSA's Ajit Doval among others in New Delhi.
• The central government imposed section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) from 6 am on Monday in Jammu as stated by Jammu District Magistrate Sushma Chauhan. Meanwhile in Srinagar, Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed since Sunday midnight.
• On Sunday night there were a spree of house arrests in Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah were placed under house arrest. Congress leader Usman Majid CPI(M) MLA MY Tarigami claimed they were also arrested on the same day.
• Internet services were also suspended in Kashmir Valley amid the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.
• Since Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed deployment of around 38,000 troops. Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also deployed in the Poonch sector.
• The Indian Army on Saturday, 3 August, had said that it killed at least five when it foiled an attack by Pakistan's Border Action team (BAT) on a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Keran sector.
• The J&K governor’s administration issued an advisory asking pilgrims and tourists ‘to curtail their stay and return as soon as possible’ on Friday, 2 August.
• On the same day, hours later, an order was issued by the governor’s administration asking tourists and pilgrims to ‘leave the valley’.
• Due to both, the advisory and the order, panic was stirred in the valley. They started stocking up dry ration and essentials, fearing long law and order disturbance.
• Abdullah questioned the Indian government and its actions saying that he failed to understand why the government had been briefing everyone for so long as to "how good the situation is.” He said never had a situation risen where the Amarnath Yatra had to be cancelled. On 3 August he said the last few days ‘were a major setback for the tourism industry in the state’.

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