In a democratic nation, whichever government comes to power through the people's vote, has a primary duty: if the same party was in power in the past, to openly admit — or at least rectify — the faults and lapses that occurred alongside the achievements they made. One need not cite countless examples to show that the Narendra Modi government has been using actions that exploit democratic possibilities to the fullest while simultaneously abusing them to decapitate democracy itself over the past 14 years. Even then, the perpetuation of one of the most egregious betrayals is something that the nation, unless it is inhumane, cannot overlook or ignore. Even those who refused to admit at the time that the August 5, 2019 action — abrogating Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and declaring Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir as Union Territories — was entirely arbitrary and unjust, are now forced to concede it was, as seven years have passed since that action. It was perhaps because the Modi government felt it inappropriate to totally reject the Supreme Court ruling that it agreed to hold elections just before the court-stipulated deadline to hand over governance to a popular government. Even that came only after the Election Commission executed maneuvers by making a mockery of the provision that delimitation should be based on population — maximizing the number of assembly seats in the less populated Jammu region, reducing seats as much as possible in the more populous Kashmir Valley, and disproportionately increasing the number of Scheduled Caste reserved seats there. The people, however, turned out in large numbers to vote, overcoming all machinations of Pakistan. The Union Government has not been willing to grant even the constitutionally guaranteed powers of other Indian states to the assembly thus formed to this day. Naturally, the ruling National Conference and opposition parties protested to the extent they could under restrictive regulations, on August 5. Those elected to power by the people's vote stated bluntly that they could not remain restricted to powers equivalent to a mere municipality without full statehood and without corresponding authority being granted to Jammu and Kashmir. Despite political observers and independent media pointing out that this is an utter denial of justice, the Modi-Amit Shah team turns only a deaf ear to them all.
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Meanwhile, despite concentration of all powers of Jammu and Kashmir in its hands, deploying more than half of the Indian armed forces in the state, and the government's striving to the maximum to flush out and eliminate terrorists, the statistics do not paint a comforting picture. Under direct Central rule, it has not been possible to reduce civilian and military casualties compared to what existed during the 2014–2016 period prior to bringing Jammu and Kashmir under total Union's control.
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At the same time, the number of people against whom the UAPA has been invoked has skyrocketed. Complaints are rising widely that a literal reign of terror is unfolding in Kashmir — expanding the list of banned terrorist organisations, completely outlawing most peacefully operating Kashmiri organisations, jailing leaders and their associates, and seizing their institutions and properties. The reason for withholding even powers of the police from Omar Abdullah's government is no different. Economic growth plummeted, hitting rock bottom in the 2024–25 period. Figures show that higher education enrolment also dropped by 11 percent in 2023–24. Along with this, complaints surface continuously that Kashmiri students pursuing higher studies in other parts of the country are being hunted and branded as anti-nationals. Simply put, the emerging picture is neither comforting nor anywhere close to a secular democratic image. The people of Kashmir are victims of a radical Hindutva mindset that asserts, "Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, but Kashmiris are not an integral part of the Indian people". As long as their constitutionally guaranteed status, powers, and rights are not restored, even if kept chained in military barracks, the overall image of the nation will only continue to suffer. And Pakistan, on its part, will exploit any platform or opportunity that it gets to fuel its anti-India propaganda.