Question

(b) Trace the impact of land reforms on rural society in Jammu and
Kashmir.​

Answer 1

Answer:

The government of India recently abrogated the special status enjoyed by the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. One of the main raison d’etre cited by Home Minister Amit Shah while introducing the resolution in the Rajya Sabha on August 5 was that Article 370 has hampered the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Soon, this became a popular opinion.

Criticizing this widely popular move, renowned economist and academic Jean Dreze voiced his dissent arguing, “It is not correct to say that Kashmir is a backward state, therefore, it was a must to remove Article-370. Of course, there are economic problems but living standard is actually quite good, nutrition is much better in Kashmir than Gujarat.” Dreze argues that Jammu and Kashmir is, in fact, more developed than many of the other Indian states. He also makes a comparative analysis between the human development indicators of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat.