The constitutional changes approved by the Indian parliament to abolish the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir came into effect at a watershed moment that would change the region forever.

The changes that will divide the region into two districts - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh - were launched last Thursday and are run by two governors, Girish Chandra Murmo and Radha Krishna Mathur.

Both governors will periodically report on the situation in both regions to the Indian Home Minister in New Delhi.

Drastic changes

  • The territory of Jammu and Kashmir will consist of two parts: the Kashmir Valley and Jammu, a combined area of ​​more than 42,000 square kilometers, with a population of 12.26 million, including 8.44 million Muslims, or 68.8% of its total population.
  • The second, Ladakh, also known as the Cold Desert, extends over an area of ​​more than 590 thousand square kilometers, and includes the regions of Cargill and Leh, and has a small population of 274 thousand people, including 127 thousand Muslims make up 46.4% of the total population, while the number of Buddhists 108 thousand and 761 people, representing 39.65% of the population of the region.
  • Jammu and Kashmir will have an elected assembly with specific powers, while there will be no elected legislature in Ladakh, and the region will have no constitution or flag of its own.
  • All laws passed by the Indian Parliament will be in force in the region, and the Indian Penal Code will replace the local Ranbir Criminal Code in Jammu and Kashmir to adjudicate criminal cases.
  • Currently, any Indian citizen from any part of the country can buy property in Jammu and Kashmir, get a job in the state government and enjoy scholarships and other government benefits.
  • There is still no clarity on the official language in the region. Under the now abolished Jammu and Kashmir constitution, Urdu was the official language in the region, but the Indian constitution recognizes Hindi as the official language.

Repeal 153 laws and 6 committees

  • 153 laws and 6 commissions relating to the status of Jammu and Kashmir were repealed as the constitutional changes took effect.
  • Under the Local Education Act, Jammu and Kashmir residents enjoy free education from primary to university, but this law has been repealed.
  • Ironically, one of the most controversial laws in Jammu and Kashmir, dating back to 1978, which provides for the detention of people without judicial proceedings has not been repealed.
  • New recruitment processes in the region will be conducted under the laws applicable to centrally managed areas of India.
  • This new arrangement comes as a driving force for the security forces, which were plunging into a maze of legal wrangling for land in the area.
  • Six committees on human rights and information, consumer dispute resolution, electricity regulation, protection of the rights of women, children, persons with disabilities and state accountability;

    Indian pretexts
  • India's argument is that the new arrangement will boost the region's economy by integrating it with the rest of the country, arguing that social integration will reduce the risk of militancy, and expects Kashmir to become one of the best tourist destinations after full development.

    On August 5, the Indian government abolished the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants self-rule to Jammu and Kashmir, on the grounds that autonomy has increased the aspirations of the separatist population.

    New Delhi, for more than a month, imposed a curfew and restrictions on communications in the region.