India’s Supreme Court upholds govt decision to remove Kashmir’s special status
Dec 11, 2023
India’s highest court has upheld the decision made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 to remove Jammu and Kashmir’s special status as a semi-autonomous region.
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This decision, which took away the region’s separate constitution and protections on land and jobs, has been deemed constitutionally valid by the Supreme Court’s five-judge constitutional bench.
Furthermore, this move has resulted in the division of the region into two federal territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir, both of which are now directly governed by the central government without their own legislature. Consequently, the region, which has a Muslim-majority population, is now being controlled by appointed government officials and has lost its flag, criminal code, and constitution.
However, Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud has said that the government has made a commitment to restore the statehood of Jammu-Kashmir and should do so promptly. On the other hand, Ladakh will remain a federal territory.
Furthermore, he has instructed the country's election commission to organize local legislative elections in the region before September 30th of the following year.
This ruling is expected to benefit Prime Minister Modi's governing Bharatiya Janata Party, which follows Hindu nationalist ideals, in the upcoming national elections. The decision to revoke the Muslim-majority region's special status in 2019 was seen positively by many of Modi's supporters as it fulfilled a long-standing Hindu nationalist promise.
However, this judgment will disappoint numerous individuals in Kashmir, particularly the region's pro-India politicians who had appealed to the Supreme Court to reverse the highly unpopular decision. The decision was implemented amidst a strict security and communication crackdown that lasted for several months.
The court's hearings commenced in August and involved thorough debates and deliberations regarding the constitutional legality of the decision.
