Current paradigm shift in J&K is in tune with the steady centralisation of the state since 2014 | The Indian Express

Current paradigm shift in J&K is in tune with the steady centralisation of the state since 2014 | The Indian Express

Written by Christophe Jaffrelot |Updated: August 7, 2019 8:59:05 am

Christophe Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King's India Institute, London, and non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  He offers valuable insights on South Asian politics, particularly the methods and motivations of the Hindu right in India.

Current paradigm shift in J&K is in tune with the steady centralisation of the state since 2014

The two trends — obliteration of cultural differences and state centralisation — that are well illustrated by the way J&K has been dealt with, may impact policies vis-à-vis other states and other domains. For instance, Hindi may be promoted at the expense of linguistic diversity more decisively.

While Union Territories have been transformed into states, the Modi government is not only abolishing the special status of J&K, but it is demoting it by transforming its two successor states into Union Territories. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)

The manner in which the status of Jammu and Kashmir has been transformed is revealing of the political style of the Narendra Modi government, which does not try to build consensus but acts unilaterally in the name of efficacy — a method that had already been used at the time of demonetisation. The present episode offers a good illustration of India’s journey towards an illiberal form of democracy as the government intends to amend the Constitution on the basis of a presidential order. But it has larger implications, as it may mark a turning point towards the making of an ethnic unitary state.