While the BJP celebrates five years of the abrogation of Article 370, sudden revival of Pakistan sponsored terror strikes in the hitherto peaceful Jammu has become a matter of concern for the people of the region. Terrorist incidents here claimed lives of both soldiers and civilians in the past few days.

The Modi Government at the Centre, on 5 August 2019, scrapped Article 370 providing for special status to Jammu & Kashmir claiming that the Constitutional provision was misused as a tool to spread terrorism and was a hurdle in development of the region.

The erstwhile princely state was also split into two separate union territories (UTs), J&K and Ladakh.

Despite the discontent among the people against the Centre’s move, normalcy returned to the Kashmir Valley. Stone pelting, which was part of a daily routine once, vanished and the weekly shutdown calendar of the separatists has become a thing of the past.

With most of the kingpins of the stone pelting cooling their heels behind bars the region could see the restoration of normal social life and commercial activity. Development has been accelerated in the past five years, but the Jammu region that was declared terrorism-free about two decades ago is now witnessing a fresh spurt in terror attacks. Eleven security forces personnel, including 10 Army soldiers, were killed in ambush by terrorists in Doda, Kathua and Rajouri last month.

Meanwhile, the number of infiltration bids has once again increased in the Kashmir Valley after the initial drastic decline in terrorism. Presence of security forces, which was reduced after the restoration of peace in Jammu, is again being increased by redeploying troops from other regions to check the revival of terrorism.

The UT being under the Central rule since the 2019 long spell of bureaucratic administration has become an irritant for the people. Complaints of the administration losing contact with the public are mounting by the day.

The Supreme Court’s September-end timeframe for the Assembly elections in the region has generated a lot of hope for the people who are looking forward to see the end of the unbridled bureaucratic rule in J&K.

The people in Ladakh, who initially celebrated on becoming a separate UT as the liberation from the Kashmir domination, are now agitating for Constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule. Their anger against the Centre reflected in the BJP losing the lone Lok Sabha seat of Ladakh which it was holding since 2014.

Five years later, the discontent against the BJP in the Kashmir Valley was reflected in the recently held Lok Sabha elections with most of the candidates supported by it losing their security deposit. The saffron party had not fielded its candidates on any of the three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir.

What is disturbing is that an independent candidate with separatist ideology Engineer Rashid won the election from the sensitive north Kashmir’s Baramulla Lok Sabha seat defeating no less a person than the National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Engineer Rashid contested the election from the Tihar Jail in Delhi where he is lodged on the charges of terror funding.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on 24 July, claimed remarkable improvement in the overall law and order scenario in the UT of J& after the abrogation of Article 370.

He said 14 civilians and 10 security forces personnel were killed during the first six and a half months this year till 15 July against 14 civilians and 30 security forces personnel in 2023. The region has seen 11 terrorist attacks and 21 encounters so far this year.

The minister said there was not a single incident of stone pelting or organised shutdown.

It is worth mentioning here that recruitment of local youth in terror outfits has reduced to almost nil and most of the terrorists killed in the recent encounters were Pakistan nationals.

Nipping revival of terrorism was on top of the agenda of the government as peace has increased the footfall of tourists and pilgrims whose number, the authorities say, has increased to almost 1.88 crore.