Four years on, silence marks Supreme Court hearings on Article 370

This is unlike 2018, when shutdowns and seminars were being held whenever the Supreme Court heard petitions pertaining to 35A of the Article

A BSF personnel stands guard atop an armoured vehicle, a day before the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, on August 4, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

A complete silence in Kashmir has marked the ongoing day-to-day hearings by the Supreme Court of the petitions pertaining to Article 370. This is unlike 2018, when shutdowns and seminars were being held whenever the top court heard petitions pertaining to Article 35A.

Kashmir has seen no public debate or seminar since the Supreme Court took up the petitions three days ago, unlike the past. Streets are silent and people avoid commenting over the issue. In fact, local dailies have also avoided any debate over Article 370, which was diluted by the Centre in 2019 and resulted in ending J&K’s special position of over seven decades.

“We don’t feel safe commenting about the subject. All are closely watching the hearings but I fear holding an opinion may land me in trouble,” a leading newspaper columnist told The Hindu on condition of anonymity. The columnist has stopped writing on the subject since 2019.

Shutdowns in 2018

In 2018, Kashmir had witnessed shutdowns multiple times on the day the top court was hearing the petitions challenging 35A of Article 370, which empowered the J&K Assembly to define “permanent residents” and their exclusive rights over land and job. Separatists, who had earlier distanced themselves from the issue, also called for a two-day shutdown on August 26 and 27 in 2018.

A known public speaker and a teacher, who does not want to be identified, said, “Kashmir has grown hopeless in the past four years. This hopelessness has turned into indifference.”

For many observers in the Valley, people in Kashmir were stunned into silence in 2019. “There is an element of shock, fear and surveillance in Kashmir, which has rare parallels in the past. Above all, the abrupt and unexpected action (of 2019) stunned people in Kashmir,” another public speaker and writer said.

Meanwhile, the live link of the Supreme Court hearing the Article 370 petitions was widely shared by locals on social media, including WhatsApp. The live link of the first day of hearing saw over 43,000 views on YouTube.

Unlike the streets, J&K’s regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are vocal about their demands on reversing the moves of August 5, 2019.

A PDP spokesman said the party has “invited all like-minded to participate in a rally on August 5 in Srinagar”.