Watch: Jammu and Kashmir elections: What message does New Delhi want to send?

This week, we are speaking about Jammu Kashmir, where voters have now participated in 3 phases of polling for the first state elections in a decade and the message New Delhi is sending out over it.

The issue over Kashmir also came up in the UN General Assembly last week, although compared to previous years it was only Pakistan that raised it, and not countries like Turkey and Malaysia.

The Pakistan Prime Minister accused India of implementing a “final solution” for people in Jammu Kashmir since 2019. India’s response came quickly, in a series of responses at the UN, led by EAM Jaishankar.

Away from the UN, India sent out a message on Jammu Kashmir on the ground, as elections there got underway:

This was the first election since 2014, but more importantly the first since 2019, when the government made radical changes to the State, amended article 370 and clamped down on security in the newly created Union Territories.

– While many embassies had requested to go independently, most were refused.

– And no foreign journalists based in India or working for foreign media were allowed to visit the state and cover the election

However, the Ministry of External Affairs organised a group of senior diplomats- from 15 countries to witness polling in Srinagar.

Remember, Jammu Kashmir has seen regular elections in 1996, 2002, 2008,and 2014. However after the Centre dismissed the government and then carried out the changes in 2019, there have been no state assembly elections. The changes in 2019 were 4-fold- and led to international protests on different issues:

Legislative move – Amendment to article 370 and abolishing 35A- property . Article 370 was based on the 1948 Instrument of Accession that brought Jammu Kashmir into India, and therefor 370 cannot be abrogated- this move was opposed by Pakistan, and by China. The issue was also discussed in the UN Security Council for the first time, although no formal resolution was passed

Constitutional move – Parliament decided on the changes rather than legislative assembly

Cartographic – Reorganisation of State into 2 UTs- Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh.

Pakistan did this years ago – Gilgit-Baltistan/ what it calls Azad Kashmir, but is referred to as PoK in India.

The move to publish new maps led to diplomatic issues with 2 countries:

1. Nepal protested the new maps, that included disputed territory, this led to tensions for the next year

2. China protested the new maps, particularly with Ladakh, published in November 2019- 5 months later, the PLA amassed and aggressed along the Line of Actual Control, that led to a military standoff that continues.

Security – the influx of thousands of security officials who arrested 100s of political leaders and activists, cut off the internet, put restrictions on the media. This saw criticism from the US and European countries as well as Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia over Human Rights issues.

As a result, the Government’s message to the international community by taking diplomats for the elections was :

1. The democratic process in Jammu Kashmir has now been restored- albeit, Ladakh will not have assembly polls any more

2. The security situation is now under control- while there is a recent uptick in terror attacks, the state’s security apparatus was able to manage peaceful campaigning and polling

3. For Pakistan in particular, that raised its objections to the 2019 moves, stopped trade and other travel, expelled the Indian High Commissioner and recalled its own the question will be once the statehood of Jammu Kashmir is restored, as the government has promised to do, will this see a rollback of those measures Pakistan took as well?

Finally for the United Nations, the message from New Delhi appears to be that the government no longer recognises the dispute over the Indian side of the Line of Control, and will only discuss PoK. There is some history to this:

– in 2014 India asked the UN Military Observer Group on India and Pakistan UNMOGIP to shut down operations

-in 2016, India publicly announced soldiers had crossed the UN-monitored Line of Control for operations after the Uri terror attack

-in 2019, with the moves on Article 370 and bifurcation of the state, the government signalled the status quo of the past did not matter 

Worldview take

The fact that New Delhi showcased the elections in Jammu and Kashmir for the international community in its controlled tour, indicates that it is still sensitive to international opinion on what it maintains is an internal issue. The absence of violence does not mean peace, and while there is little international patience for Pakistan’s narrative on the issue, as well as any attempts at cross-border terrorism, India will be always be watched not only on efforts to restore the democratic process and statehood, but to ensure human rights that it has committed to in universal declarations.

WV Reading Recommendations:

A Dismantled State : The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 By Anuradha Bhasin

The Kashmir Conundrum: The Quest for Peace in a Troubled Land by General N.C. Vij

Kashmir Under 370- A Personal History by J&K’s Former Director General of Policy by Mahendra Sabharwal

The Limits of Influence: America’s Role in Kashmir by Howard B. Schaffer

Magnificent Delusions – Pakistan,The United States, And An Epic History Of Misunderstanding by Hussain Haqqani

A Long Season of Ashes by Siddhartha Gigoo

The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012 by A.G.Noorani