ISLAMABAD: This day (Saturday) marks four years of India scrapping the special status of Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the country’s most far-reaching move against the disputed territory in almost seven decades.
The 2019’s abrogation of Article 370 of India’s constitution that granted the only Muslim-majority region in India partial autonomy heralded a slew of policies by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to tighten New Delhi’s grip over a region claimed by Pakistan.
Kashmiris and critics condemned the move as the BJP’s bid to impose “settler colonialism” aimed at changing region’s demography and land ownership patterns.
Few days back, India’s Supreme Court started hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2019 move. Nonetheless, residents of the valley believe little will change.
Article 370 of the Indian constitution barred outsiders from settling permanently or buying property in the disputed Kashmir.
However, a domicile law introduced three years back in 2020 allows anyone who has lived in the region for 15 years or studied there for seven years to apply for a domicile certificate, entitling them to apply for jobs and land.
In July, the New Delhi-appointed administration of the occupied territory announced affordable housing and land for the landless people.
The former chief minister of the region, Mehbooba Mufti has accused the BJP-led Indian government of “importing poverty and slums to the region under the pretext of providing housing to homeless individuals”.
“There is total disempowerment of the locals, whether it is in land or jobs,” Mufti told Al Jazeera.
Mufti accused the central government of adopting policies aimed at “disempowering” the local residents and “being driven by a desire to increase their [BJP] vote bank, thus leading to a change in the demographic makeup”.
Mufti said the last four years were “full of surveillance and raids by investigative agencies”.
“Economically also, the situation is bad. Except for showcasing the so-called tourism, whether it’s the fruit industry or any other industry, they are killing it. With such surveillance, no one can express or talk,” she said.
