Separatist movements have been one of the major factors contributing to militancy and instability in Jammu & Kashmir (J & K). Bring out actions taken by the Government to bring J&K into national mainstream. Discuss pre and post abrogation status of Articles 370 and 35A. Also bring out positive impacts of abrogation of both articles in mainstreaming the state.

Introduction

Separatism in Jammu and Kashmir operated through a specific mechanism: a political ecosystem of the Hurriyat and allied groups supplied the narrative, cross-border support supplied weapons and money, and terror financing sustained a stone-pelting and shutdown economy. Militancy was the visible layer; the separatist infrastructure was the sustaining one, which is why government action has targeted the second.

Pre-abrogation status

Article 370

• A temporary provision in Part XXI giving Jammu and Kashmir special status. Parliament's legislative power was limited to Defence, External Affairs and Communications, with any extension beyond that requiring state government concurrence.
• The state had its own Constitution, its own flag, and a six-year assembly term.
• Central laws applied only when extended by Presidential Order under Article 370(1)(d) — in practice a large number were so extended over the decades.
• Provisions such as Article 356 applied in modified form, and the Directive Principles and several fundamental rights applied only partially.

Article 35A

• Inserted by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 — a Presidential Order, not a parliamentary amendment, which was itself the constitutional objection.
• Empowered the state legislature to define permanent residents and reserve for them rights to immovable property, government employment, scholarships and settlement.
• Consequences: outsiders could not buy land; a woman marrying a non-permanent resident faced loss of her descendants' rights; and West Pakistan refugees, Valmiki community members and Gorkhas resident for generations remained without permanent-resident status.

The abrogation

• On 5 August 2019, a Presidential Order under Article 370(3) rendered the special provisions inoperative, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 split the state into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature, Ladakh without.
• Article 35A ceased to operate. The state Constitution and flag lapsed. The full Constitution of India, including all fundamental rights and central laws, now applies.
• In In Re Article 370 (December 2023), a Constitution Bench upheld the abrogation, holding that Article 370 was a temporary provision and that Jammu and Kashmir retained no element of internal sovereignty after accession. It directed restoration of statehood at the earliest and elections, which were held in 2024.

Actions to bring J&K into the mainstream

• Security and financing. Banning organisations under UAPA, action against terror financing by the National Investigation Agency, and attachment of separatist assets — the funding pipeline rather than the cadre.
• Political. Delimitation Commission report, Assembly elections in 2024, and panchayat, Block Development Council and District Development Council elections that created a three-tier elected local structure where none had functioned.
• Legal and social. Extension of central laws including the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, the Forest Rights Act, and reservation for Scheduled Tribes including Pahari and Gujjar-Bakerwal communities; domicile rules extending rights to previously excluded groups.
• Economic. The industrial development scheme with central incentives, investor summits, road and tunnel connectivity including the Chenab rail bridge and the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, and the Ratle and Pakal Dul hydropower projects.
• Youth and outreach. Skill programmes, sports infrastructure, scholarship schemes and the Watan Ko Jano exposure visits.

Positive impacts claimed

• Marked decline in terrorist incidents, local recruitment into militancy, and organised stone-pelting and hartals compared with the pre-2019 period.
• Restoration of a functioning electoral process, with high turnout in the 2024 assembly election.
• Land and employment rights extended to West Pakistan refugees, Valmikis and Gorkhas after seven decades.
• Removal of the gender-discriminatory effect of the permanent-resident rules.
• Reservation benefits extended to Scheduled Tribes and other groups previously outside the state's framework.
• Sharp growth in tourist arrivals and improved fiscal devolution and central scheme coverage.

Honest assessment

Statehood remains to be restored, which the Supreme Court directed. Political alienation is not identical to militancy and has not disappeared with it. Targeted killings of minorities and migrant workers continue at a lower but real level. And attributing all improvement to abrogation alone overstates the case, since sustained security operations and changed regional dynamics also contributed. Detail on the provision is in our note on Article 370.

Conclusion

Abrogation removed the constitutional distinctiveness that separatist politics used as its premise, and the measurable security and rights outcomes since are real. Mainstreaming, however, is completed by restored statehood and durable political participation rather than by legal integration alone.