So to give people a quick low-down on what the deal is: during the transition to independence of former British India, what has become Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) accepted coming under Indian rule so they could get more autonomy than they thought they would have if they'd gone to Pakistan, although a lot of the area claimed as Jammu and Kashmir, which was formerly the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, did go to Pakistan in the form of present-day Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, and to China as Aksai Chin.
The border has remained disputed between those three countries ever since. But anyway, part of the deal under which Indian J&K accepted being part of India was that there'd be a special compact between the state and the central government, not enjoyed by any other state in India.
This compact basically said that J&K could have their own flag, that people from other states of India weren't allowed to buy land and property there and (a big one!) that laws decided by the union government would only be imposed upon J+K if they were ratified by their own state legislative assembly. With the exception of those pertaining to communication, defence and foreign policy, which would be applied to them whether they liked it or not, as with every other state in India. J&K sent representatives to the union government's Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) like any other state in India.
Right, so that was a pretty good deal. But there were nevertheless ongoing tensions over the state throughout Indian history really, due to different separatist groups and Islamist factors, identity issues, competing claims of India and Pakistan and both of them interfering with each other and trying to take their claim, etc.
This culminated in, last year, the imposition of 'President's rule' (direct union government, temporary removal of self-government) over Jammu and Kashmir after the BJP's coalition with the regional Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) broke down, and the union government said that concerns of terrorism and so on required that they impose President's rule.
In recent days, the union government has seriously put the military in, imposed curfews and put tabs on political leaders in J&K, leading up to their putting the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, to the Rajya Sabha. And basically, it's going through.
What this Bill means is that Indian-administered J&K will be split into two (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh) union territories. There are a few union territories in India. What this means is that it will no longer have any of the special privileges regarding union laws and exclusion of non-residents buying property, but also it will no longer have its own democratic state government at all. It will be ruled directly from the capital by the government, and Indians from the rest of India will also now be free to move into the area and buy property.
I can see why they put the army in before doing so, because wow, people are gonna be angry about it.
The border has remained disputed between those three countries ever since. But anyway, part of the deal under which Indian J&K accepted being part of India was that there'd be a special compact between the state and the central government, not enjoyed by any other state in India.
This compact basically said that J&K could have their own flag, that people from other states of India weren't allowed to buy land and property there and (a big one!) that laws decided by the union government would only be imposed upon J+K if they were ratified by their own state legislative assembly. With the exception of those pertaining to communication, defence and foreign policy, which would be applied to them whether they liked it or not, as with every other state in India. J&K sent representatives to the union government's Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) like any other state in India.
Right, so that was a pretty good deal. But there were nevertheless ongoing tensions over the state throughout Indian history really, due to different separatist groups and Islamist factors, identity issues, competing claims of India and Pakistan and both of them interfering with each other and trying to take their claim, etc.
This culminated in, last year, the imposition of 'President's rule' (direct union government, temporary removal of self-government) over Jammu and Kashmir after the BJP's coalition with the regional Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) broke down, and the union government said that concerns of terrorism and so on required that they impose President's rule.
In recent days, the union government has seriously put the military in, imposed curfews and put tabs on political leaders in J&K, leading up to their putting the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, to the Rajya Sabha. And basically, it's going through.
What this Bill means is that Indian-administered J&K will be split into two (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh) union territories. There are a few union territories in India. What this means is that it will no longer have any of the special privileges regarding union laws and exclusion of non-residents buying property, but also it will no longer have its own democratic state government at all. It will be ruled directly from the capital by the government, and Indians from the rest of India will also now be free to move into the area and buy property.
I can see why they put the army in before doing so, because wow, people are gonna be angry about it.
