The Bridge Abridged: Abrogation of Article 370

Abstract

Abstract

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution constituted the basis of the relationship between India and the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It was a legal and emotional bridge connecting J&K with India. Its recent abrogation represented a betrayal of the bridge, which encompassed the trust of J&K people in Indian polity and commitments made by the Indian state to J&K around the time of its accession to India. The paper aims at understanding whether its abrogation contributes to state security in the light of historical wisdom. For this, the paper intends to go into the background situation making the provision of Article 370 ineluctable. It endeavors to bring to light the pacifying effect of uneroded and unabrogated Article 370 on Kashmir politics and conversely its dilution contributing to a conflict situation. With the benefit of historical hindsight, the article serves to remind the policymakers of the counterproductive results of the abrogation of Article 370 potentially harming the secular character of Indian polity apart from unintended consequences emanating from the internal political dynamics of J&K. The methods adopted in the study are broadly qualitative which include but are not restricted to historical method, content analysis, textual analysis, and discourse analysis.