Kashmir’s youth was also fed separatism by Article 370, for which Union Home Minister Amit Shah has rightly blamed it. Speaking at the release of the book “Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh: This, in his article titled “Terrorism: From Through the Ages,” he blamed the Narendra Modi government for dismantling terrorism and its ecosystem in the valley. Shah went on to argue that Article 370 and Article 35A which where nullified on 5th August 2019 were major impediments towards integration of Kashmir with India.
Shah pointed to the fact that India was culturally different and that the borders of this country are not geographic, but cultural ones. He claimed that one cannot explain India through geopolitical context, therefore it cannot be explained in that way either.
Effect of Article 370 to Kashmir
Shah said that Article 370 gave an impression of interim merger between the Kashmir and India. Describing the historical and religious importance of the valley of Kashmir he pointed to plurality of the cultural heritage of the zone, which belongs both to Buddhism, Sufism, and Shaivism. He asked why there was terror only in Kashmir and not in other states which had Muslims living harmoniously like in Gujarat and Rajasthan. According to Shah, Article 370 created the culture of separatism and became the reason for terrorism.
Cohort Analysis: Terrorism and Development Pre and Post Abrogation of Section 2
This act resulted in cut down in Terror funding by 70% after the abrogation of Article 370. It was 2,100 in 2018 and there were no such incidents in 2024. Shah also pointed out that the number of deaths through terrorism was over 40 thousand before the article was taken down. After the abolition the pace of development increased and after successful local body elections more than 25000 members were elected.
The Cultural and Economic Emergence
The region witnessed cultural regeneration, night shows came back to cinema theaters after 33 years while Tazia and Krishna Janmashtami yatra believed to have started in Srinagar again. Screen production increased with 324 shoots in 2024 alone, as evidence of the valley bouncing back to life.
