Jammu/Srinagar: Protests and celebrations marked the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah saying the “wounds have not yet healed” and reiterating his resolve to continue seeking the restoration of the region’s special status and statehood.
The ruling National Conference and opposition PDP held protests in all districts to mark the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, demanding the restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Scores of NC leaders, MLAs, and workers, led by Minister Sakina Itoo, assembled at the party headquarters, Nawa-i-Subah, here and held a protest march.
The protesters, carrying placards in support of Article 370 and special status, tried to take the march out of the party office complex but were not allowed to by the police.
Similar protests were reported from other districts of the union territory.
Speaking to reporters, Itoo, the Minister for Education and Social Welfare, said, “We demand that our special status and rights, which were snatched from us, be restored. Our party has been protesting peacefully for the restoration of our rights since then.”
PDP leader Iltija Mufti, along with party leaders, including MLA Pulwama Waheed Para, and spokesperson Mohit Bhan, took out a protest march at Sonwar here.
Raising slogans demanding the restoration of Article 370, the PDP leaders tried to march towards the Dalgate area, but were stopped by the police.
Speaking to reporters, Iltija said the party wants to protest peacefully.
“I want to remind the prime minister and the home minister that we will fight for it. We want to protest peacefully for it. You are snatching even that right from us. The police here are doing real terror,” she said.
She said the way Gen-Z “brought down the government to their knees, we will compel them the same way!
“We will make sure that you will have to restore our flag, our law, our constitution, and everything else,” she added.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha dismissed the protests held by NC and PDP, saying he “did not see” any demonstrations.
“I did not see any (protest). If I see, I will talk to you (about it),” the LG told a reporter when asked about protests by the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Sinha said August 5, 2019 — the date marking the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A — ended the “discriminatory system” in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, Omar Abdullah said the “wounds” of the people had not yet healed seven years after the abrogation of Article 370, asserting that the Centre’s promise to restore statehood to the Union Territory remained unfulfilled.
Abdullah said the people had hoped that at least some of their grievances would be addressed through the restoration of statehood.
“Our wounds have not yet healed. We had hoped that some of the pain would be addressed and that the promise of restoring statehood would be fulfilled. But today marks seven years since August 5, 2019, and that promise remains unfulfilled,” the chief minister told reporters in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district.
The BJP-led central government abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019, revoking the special constitutional status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating it into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The chief minister said the Centre is yet to honour its commitment to restore statehood and reiterated his government’s stand on the issue.
“As we said while passing the resolution in the assembly, we remain firm in our stand and will continue to seek justice for the injustices done to us,” Abdullah said.
Earlier in a post on X, Abdullah reiterated his commitment to reversing the Centre’s decisions, saying the ruling National Conference has not accepted the “current circumstances”.
“Seven years, we haven’t forgotten, and we haven’t reconciled, far less accepted our current circumstances. My party and I remain committed to reversing all that was done to J-K that took away our rights and threatens our identity,” he said in the post.
He ended his message with a line from American poet Robert Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’.
“The woods are lovely, dark & deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep….”
In Jammu too, the Congress and the NC held separate protest rallies on the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, observing it as a “Black Day”.
They also demanded the restoration of statehood and constitutional safeguards for land, jobs and other rights.
The police prevented the protest marches towards the city centre, leading to a brief jostling with workers at different locations.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) organised a demonstration near Shaheedi Chowk, where party leaders and workers raised slogans against the Centre and accused it of depriving the people of Jammu and Kashmir of their democratic and constitutional rights.
Congress workers carrying party flags attempted to march ahead but were stopped by the police.
Congress leaders demanded immediate restoration of statehood and constitutional protections, alleging that the people had been deprived of their rights over land, jobs and resources.
“We want our statehood back. Our jobs, our land and our rights must be protected. Instead of listening to our democratic demands, the government is stopping us from protesting. We are observing a ‘Black Day’ today. We will continue our agitation until Jammu and Kashmir regains its statehood,” a Congress leader told reporters here.
Another party leader described August 5, 2019 as a “painful day” in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that the erstwhile state’s special status, opportunities and constitutional rights had been taken away. The leader also claimed that unemployment had risen and urged the Centre to restore the rights of the people.
The NC held a separate protest near Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan, with leaders and workers carrying party flags and placards while wearing black badges.
The police stopped the NC workers from marching ahead, resulting in a brief jostling between security personnel and protesters.
NC leaders reiterated their demand for the restoration of statehood and constitutional rights.
“The decision taken on August 5, 2019, behind closed doors, will never be accepted by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We are not asking for anything new, we are only demanding the restoration of the rights that belonged to us and were taken away in 2019,” an NC leader said.
Responding to the BJP’s claim that the abrogation of Article 370 had helped curb terrorism, the leader questioned the assertion, saying militant attacks and the killing of security personnel continued.
“If terrorism ended with the abrogation of Article 370, why are security personnel still being martyred? Why are attacks on our people and our forces continuing?” the leader asked.
However, the BJP and some sections of society celebrated the anniversary, claiming that the abrogation of Article 370 marked Jammu and Kashmir’s integration with the mainstream. The BJP took out a victory rally in Jammu and several other districts of the Union territory, including Srinagar and Anantnag districts.
The BJP rally, led by party MLA Yudhvir Sethi along with other legislators and senior leaders, passed through the old city areas of Jammu with participants raising slogans in support of the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decision.
“Our party marks August 5 as a historic milestone to commemorate the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, which ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and reorganised the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” Sethi said.
West Pakistani refugees and members of the Valmiki community separately celebrated the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Samba by unfurling the Tricolour and distributing sweets.
They hailed August 5, 2019, as a historic day that ended decades of discrimination and ushered in equal rights, expanded opportunities in education and employment, and a renewed sense of dignity and hope.
In the Valley, People’s Conference president Sajad Lone, CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the August 5 decision was a brutal and systematic assault on the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement, Lone said August 5 will be held with contempt and disdain by the people of J&K for all times to come.
“It was the day of disempowerment of the people of J&K. When everything was taken away — Article 370, Article 35A. And to add salt to the wounds, J&K was relegated to a Union Territory,” he said.
Tarigami said the events of August 5 amounted to a systematic assault on the relationship between the Union of India and Jammu and Kashmir.
“Seven years later, the sweeping crackdown on political activity and democratic expression continues. Ironically, this is being projected as one of the BJP government’s biggest achievements,” he said.
