What happened after 2019: loss of special status and statehood

A Union government-led constitutional change ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and also removed Jammu and Kashmir statehood in 2019. The dispute discussed in this note is whether the Union government’s 2019 actions were carried out with extraordinary restrictions that continued for years and whether these restrictions replaced normal constitutional governance and democratic accountability in Jammu and Kashmir.

The contested post-2019 governance includes these measures as described in the note:

- Heavy security lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir. - Mass detentions. - Communications curbs. - Emergency-like conditions persisting for seven years. - Draconian laws continuing in practice.

The contested claim is that security and communications restrictions were not merely temporary. The note links the persistence of restrictions with continuing violence and ongoing economic distress in Jammu and Kashmir, citing worsening relative income levels and unemployment indicators.

Constitutional process and the basic structure debate

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