The August 5 policy decision by the Modi government to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 and thereby enable the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two Union territories have been hailed by many in India as being a bold and historic move that ostensibly cut the Gordian knot, as it were, over the special status accorded to J&K after its accession to the Indian Union in October 1947.
Both security and development imperatives were advanced by Home Minister Amit Shah as the triggers for the decision to radically alter the political identity of J&K into the two Union territories of Jammu& Kashmir and Ladakh. National security and the protection of territorial sovereignty have to be accorded the highest consideration by the government of the day and clearly the Modi government had prioritised the Kashmir issue, which is why the August 5 decision was taken before Modi 2.0 completed even 100 days in office.
The Kashmir issue has been a very complex and costly security challenge for India, given the tangled historical context that...
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