Rebirth of Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh: article 370

Author is a Civil Servant (IRS)

Kashmir,one of the most beautiful tourist destinations of our country, is sandwiched between the newly created Pakistan and truncated India after the bloody partition of 1947. Its complicated history and political ups and downs and the sensitivity surrounding the matter has hitherto prevented its social, cultural and economic development. Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of partition between India and Pakistan wherein Kashmiri people are held hostage and are at the receiving end. The terrorist activities by Pakistan and miscreants of the region as well, stone-pelting on the security forces, large scale corruption, etc. etc., have greatly hampered the over-all development of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. There is a fundamental change in the present government’s approach to resolve all the problems and bring peace and prosperity in the Valley. Abrogation of Article 370 and the “special status” of J&K and the simultaneous political reorganisation of the erstwhile State into two separate Union Territories are outstanding historical events. Government of India is investing heavily in empowering Panchayati Raj. Prime Minister NarendraModi announced the biggest ever package of `80,000 crore that later went up to `1.25 lakh crores in J&K. The peace in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh has greatly been restored. The administrative machinery is now taking great interest in over-all development. Corruption is on the decline and people have also started realising all these benefits and improvement in their social and economic status as the citizens of India. This book, first of its kind, is an attempt to describe all these historical, social, cultural and political problems that have eclipsed this paradise so far and also highlights the measures taken for overall upliftment of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh by the present government. Hope the politicians, historians, administrators, students and a lay reader too will like this pure offering.