Chicago – November 10, 2024
Days after newly elected parliamentarians in the region demanded the reinstatement of Jammu and Kashmir’s partial autonomy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly supported his government’s controversial 2019 decision to withdraw it.
“In Kashmir, only Babasaheb Ambedkar’s constitution will be in effect. Modi cited one of the founding authors of the Indian constitution when he stated, “No power in the world can restore Article 370 (partial autonomy) in Kashmir.” Ambedkar was from the western state of Maharashtra, where Modi was addressing a state election rally.
Kashmir had its own constitution and the authority to enact legislation on all subjects except communications, defence, and foreign policy under the system of partial autonomy.
India’s sole Muslim-majority region is the tumultuous area where separatist insurgents have been engaged in combat with government troops since 1989.
Since the neighbours’ independence from British colonial authority in 1947, it has been at the focus of a territorial dispute with Pakistan.Both India and Pakistan, who have fought two of their three wars over the territory, claim complete sovereignty over Kashmir but also have some authority over it.
