write an easy on problems of Kashmir after artical 370
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Answer:
The long-drawn armed conflict in Kashmir has claimed thousands of lives and made the economy bleed, and has posed grave threats to the country’s security. It was in 1989 when the insurgency was born, as an indigenous movement against the corrupt governance and autocratic rule of Sheikh Abdullah. Externally, too, Kashmir has long been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan; the two countries have fought four wars over the valley. The insurgency has ruined the normal functioning of the state, and has forced New Delhi to notify the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) as a “disturbed area” and invoke controversial and draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to maintain peace. Though New Delhi tried to occasionally reach out to Pakistan and even to Kashmiris over the years, but for some brief periods of hope, peace has not prevailed in the Kashmir Valley.
Following the precedent set by his predecessors, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also tried to reach out to Pakistan. For two years from his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, Modi made overtures to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict over Kashmir. He invited Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, for his swearing-in ceremony, and made an unscheduled landing in Lahore on Christmas 2015 to greet his counterpart on his birthday—a move that defied diplomatic convention and stunned foreign policy experts.
However, the excitement over a possible turnaround in India-Pakistan relations was short-lived. The beginning of 2016 saw a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station, involving five Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. Months of tension followed the attack, escalating in the subsequent months after the killing of popular militant leader Burhan Wani in an anti-insurgency operation in August 2016. Within hours of the encounter, streets in South Kashmir became theatres of violent protests and stone-pelting. Burhan’s killing reignited the calls for azadi and jihad and opened the floodgates for homegrown insurgency, as scores of the local youth joined terror groups. Pakistan was quick to exploit the situation, stepping up infiltration of trained terrorists to carry out attacks on Indian military installations. The target of the first terror strike was the 12th Brigade of the Indian army in the Uri sector on 9 September 2016 in which 17 army personnel were killed and 20 others were injured. In response, India retaliated by conducting surgical strikes on suspected terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The escalated conflict in Kashmir created two situations. Amidst the fatigue of the past several decades and after trying out various unsuccessful ‘soft measures’ to mitigate the conflict, the state came hard on J&K – adopting measures such as the ‘Operation All-Out’ in its quest to establish peace. Second, the BJP-led government used the escalated conflict in the Valley as an excuse to fulfil the dream of its ideologue Shyama Prasad Mukherjee to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A. Mukherjee, who died while leading a protest against the special status of J&K in 1953, had stressed that there cannot be two constitutions, two prime ministers, and two flags in one nation.
Answer:
Why is Kashmir controversial?
Kashmir is a Himalayan region that both India and Pakistan say is fully theirs.
The area was once a princely state called Jammu and Kashmir, but it joined India in 1947 soon after the sub-continent was divided up at the end of British rule.
India and Pakistan subsequently went to war over it and each came to control different parts of the territory with a ceasefire line agreed.
There has been violence in the Indian-administered side - the state of Jammu and Kashmir - for 30 years due to a separatist insurgency against Indian rule.
What's happened now?
In the first few days of August, there were signs of something afoot in Kashmir.
Tens of thousands of additional Indian troops were deployed, a major Hindu pilgrimage was cancelled, schools and colleges were shut, tourists were ordered to leave, telephone and internet services were suspended and regional political leaders were placed under house arrest.
But most of the speculation was that Article 35A of the Indian constitution, which gave some special privileges to the people of the state, would be scrapped.
The government then stunned everyone by saying it was revoking nearly all of Article 370, which 35A is part of and which has been the basis of Kashmir's complex relationship with India for some 70 years.
Kashmir map
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How significant is Article 370?
The article allowed the state a certain amount of autonomy - its own constitution, a separate flag and freedom to make laws. Foreign affairs, defence and communications remained the preserve of the central government.
As a result, Jammu and Kashmir could make its own rules relating to permanent residency, ownership of property and fundamental rights. It could also bar Indians from outside the state from purchasing property or settling there.
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Why a special law on Kashmir is controversial
The constitutional provision has underpinned India's often fraught relationship with Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region to join India at partition.
Why did the government do it?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party had long opposed Article 370 and revoking it was in the party's 2019 election manifesto.
They argued it needed to be scrapped to integrate Kashmir and put it on the same footing as the rest of India. After returning to power with a massive mandate in the April-May general elections, the government lost no time in acting on its pledge.
Critics of Monday's move are linking it to the economic slowdown that India is currently facing - they say it provides a much-needed diversion for the government.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESKashmiri protesters clash with government forces in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir in 2018.
Image captionIndia has had a fraught relationship with Kashmir for decades
Many Kashmiris believe that the BJP ultimately wants to change the demographic character of the Muslim-majority region by allowing non-Kashmiris to buy land there.
Although Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement in parliament on Monday came as a surprise to most Indians, it would have taken the government some preparation to arrive at the decision.
The move also fits in with Mr Modi's desire to show that the BJP is tough on Kashmir, and Pakistan.
What's changed on the ground?
Kashmir will no longer have a separate constitution but will have to abide by the Indian constitution much like any other state.
All Indian laws will be automatically applicable to Kashmiris, and people from outside the state will be able to buy property there.
The government says this will bring development to the region.