Context: August 5, 2025 marks the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which revoked the special status of Jammu & Kashmir, and led to the effective repeal of Article 35A of the Indian Constitution.
As J&K completes six years as a Union Territory, there have been both positive and negative developments after the abrogation of Article 370.
Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Article 370; Article 35A. Mains: J&K after Article 370 abrogation: Key developments; Challenges.
On August 5, 2019, the government revoked Article 370 through a Presidential order and reorganised the state. J&K was split into two Union Territories (UTs): J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature), effective from October 31, 2019.
What was Article 370?
- Enacted in 1952, Article 370 granted erstwhile state J&K a unique degree of autonomy. The provision:
- Allowed the state to operate with its own constitution and flag
- The state retained the authority to make laws on all matters, except defence, foreign affairs, communications, and finance.
- Article 370 was placed under Part XXI of the Constitution, which deals with temporary and special provisions. It also allowed the state’s Constituent Assembly to decide how much of the Indian Constitution would apply. Notably, it included a clause permitting the Assembly to recommend the article’s own repeal.
- In practice, Indian laws could not be applied to J&K without the consent of its state government. Indian Parliament’s legislative reach was therefore significantly limited, requiring state concurrence for most matters.
What was Article 35A?
- Article 35A, added to the Constitution in 1954, gave special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Its roots lay in the 1952 Delhi Agreement between then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Jammu and Kashmir’s leader Sheikh Abdullah.
- It empowered the Jammu and Kashmir state legislature to decide who qualified as a 'permanent resident' of the state. A permanent resident was someone who was a state subject as of May 14, 1954, or had lived in the state for at least 10 years and lawfully acquired property. These exclusive rights included:
- It allowed the state to grant special rights to permanent residents in areas like land ownership, government jobs, and education scholarships.
- It barred non-residents from permanently settling, buying property, or accessing state benefits.
- It had a discriminatory clause against women: if a female resident married someone from outside the state, she could lose her property rights, and the same applied to her children.
- The laws made under Article 35A were shielded from judicial scrutiny. No act of the state legislature coming under the ambit of Article 35A can be challenged for violating the Indian Constitution or any other law of the land.
What has changed in J&K after Article 370 Abrogation?
Positive Developments:
- Successful elections and participation of voters: For the first time in decades, UT J&K recorded an impressive over 63% voter turnout in the Assembly elections. Additionally, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed the highest voter participation in the region in the last 35 years.
- Major dip in violence and stone pelting: The incidents of stone pelting have completely stopped in the UT (As per the Union Home Ministry data). E.g., In 2023, not a single case of stone pelting or strike was recorded, a significant decline compared to 2010 (over 2600 incidents of stone pelting and 132 strikes).
- Infrastructural development and investment: Successful completion of several infrastructural projects.
- Inauguration of Rs 42,500 crore Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link. It features the world’s highest rail bridge over the Chenab River. This bridge connects the Jammu region with Kashmir valley, and is crucial for regional integration, economic growth and defence mobility.
- Projects worth over Rs 76000 crore are currently in the pipeline in the UT. Centre approved 19 road and tunnel projects worth over Rs 10,000 crores in June 2025.
- Tourism boost: Post Article 370 abrogation, the UT has witnessed a major boost to tourism and local economy. E.g., Over 21.1 million people visited the UT in 2023. However, the recent Pahalgam attack has caused a brief hiatus.
Pertaining Issues:
- Security Concerns and Terrorism in J&K:
- Selective killings: Targeting tourists, non-local employees & entrepreneurs (those being issued domicile certificates) for derailing measures to promote industrial development and tourism. E.g., Recent targeted attacks in Pahalgam.
- Improvised weapons: Reliance on IEDs to avoid confrontation with security forces, using sticky bombs (detonated from distance) & simulated training conditions.
- New modes of weapon delivery: Air-dropping of bombs using UAVs by Pakistan-backed terror outfits.
- Economic Slowdown of J&K’s economy as a centrally administered unit:
- Decline in GSDP: The growth in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has declined both in nominal and in real terms. As a result, the contribution of J&K to the national GDP has declined to 0.77%.
- Slowdown in income growth and high unemployment: In 2025, in the 15-29 age bracket, the unemployment rate of UT J&K is more than 30%, which is almost double the national average.
- Poor Fiscal Health:
- Decline in fixed and invested capital, accompanied by a sharp rise in borrowings. Despite better revenue mobilisation, J&K’s fiscal health has deteriorated significantly with higher debt and deficits compared to pre-2019.
- Internal debt has almost doubled in just five years. Total outstanding liabilities of the UT are now almost 60% of the GSDP.
- Fiscal deficit is around 6%, way above the stipulated FRBM limits.
The economy is heavily reliant on central grants (up to 70% of expenditure), and core sectors like agriculture and industry contribute far less than services.
The road ahead lies in the restoration of J&K’s statehood to usher in participatory democracy in J&K, confer more political, administrative and economic powers to the state government and will uphold federal principles.