It is time to allow Jammu and Kashmir full-fledged political activity (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: Permanent Resident Certificate
Mains level: Highlights of the provisions under the new domicile policy to Jammu and Kashmir residents

Context:

• The gazette notification of the rules on domicile has brought the process initiated on August 5, 2019, in Jammu and Kashmir to a logical end. The annulment of Article 35A of the Constitution called for restating of the domicile qualifications in the state.
• Article 35A had allowed the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to introduce the “permanent resident” category, which was arbitrary and discriminatory.
• The Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) became a weapon in the hands of successive state governments to deny fundamental rights to several people, even though they had been living there for decades, in many cases from the time of accession.

Extending domicile status:

• The new rules extend domicile status to not just the current PRC holders, but to all those who had been denied that status under the 35A regime. Refugees from West Pakistan, who had migrated to the Jammu region during Partition and the majority of whom belong to the Scheduled Castes, will now be able to attain domicile.
• The same is true for the 1971 refugees from Chamb region. Safai karmacharis, largely from the SC community, who were called into the state in the 1950s for such jobs, were also denied PRC status.
• So were the Gurkhas. Children of Kashmiri Pandits, born outside the state, can now claim domicile, as can children born to a resident mother and a non-resident father. People from PoK, who had migrated to other parts of the country and become domiciled in those states, can also come back to claim domicile in Jammu and Kashmir.

New domicile policy:

• The new domicile policy mandates all government jobs to be reserved for domiciles. In this scenario, the new rules are going to benefit large sections of the state’s population, who were treated as aliens until now.
• Incidentally, several such important ..................................

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Kashmir Dispute:

• The Kashmir dispute is on the agenda of the two countries since 1947, which does not allow people of the state to mentally settle down and treat themselves as citizens of India.
• Repeated rhetoric of Indo-Pak dialogue for settling all disputes naturally leaves every Kashmiri thinking that their future is yet to be decided. This adds to their anger, alienation, uncertainty and results in violence,” bemoaned police officer A M Watali in his revealing memoir.
• The most significant change that has been brought about by the Narendra Modi government was to stop looking at Kashmir from a Pakistani or a terrorist prism.
• Instead, we started looking at it from the prism of its 12 million inhabitants. August 5, 2019, symbolises that shift in the government’s approach.
• There is a Kashmiri saying: “shal shal beun beun, tongi wizi quney”. From Islamabad to New York, many Islamists and their supporters are howling at a feverish(hot) pitch against this shift.
• But the people of Jammu and Kashmir are largely calm. Incidents of terror have increased since the onset of summer largely due to the push from across the border. Local recruitment, however, remained low compared to previous years.

Extending majority of the provisions of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir:

• Article 370 had been amended umpteen times in the past. Once the accession was “ratified” by the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly in 1954, the Indian government quickly extended majority of the provisions of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Nehru government even assured ...................................

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Revoking Art 370:

• Now, Modi and Amit Shah decided to put an end to the “uncertainty” by doing away with Article 370 and Article 35A in letter and spirit.
• Having lived under the shadow of Article 370 for seven decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir decided to give the new status a chance.
• That is the reason why the region has been largely quiet in the last nine months. The detractors would attribute this calm to the excessive presence of security forces and arrests of leaders. Except for half-a-dozen senior leaders, most politicians have been released.
• The presence of security forces too has been rolled back significantly. Even then, people are not on the streets pelting stones and shouting azadi.

Conclusion:

• It is time the state administration appreciates this and pays the people handsomely for their openness.
• Certain harsh measures like ................................

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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q1.  With reference to the International Day of Light 2020, consider the following statements:
1. The International Day of Light is celebrated on 16 May each year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman.
2. The International Day of Light is administered from the International Basic Science Programme (IBSP) of UNDP.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer:................................

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Mains Questions:
Q1.  What are major provisions under the new ............................................. ?