Separatist movements have been one of the major factors contributing to militancy and instability in Jammu & Kashmir (J & K). Bring out actions taken by the Government to bring J & K into national mainstream. Discuss pre and post abrogation status of Articles 370 and 35A. Also bring out positive impacts of abrogation of both articles in mainstreaming the state.
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “bring out / discuss”
Decode the demand
- Three directives, three parts: 'bring out' the government's mainstreaming actions (with separatism as the backdrop), 'discuss' the status of Articles 370 and 35A before and after 2019, and 'bring out' the positive impacts. Each gets its own heading in the question's own words.
- The trap: writing a political essay for or against abrogation. The examiner wants the constitutional mechanics (what each Article did, how it was removed, what the Supreme Court held) and verified outcomes, not opinion.
- Carry data: one terror-incident figure before and after, one tourism figure, the Reorganisation Act, the December 2023 verdict; name the NCERT framing of J&K's instability.
Think in a structure
- Open with the NCERT line that special status did not prevent violence, then the two dates that frame the answer: 1989 and 5 August 2019.
- Actions as a hub: security, legal, democratic and development spokes; one real instance per spoke.
- Articles 370 and 35A as a before/after table, then one point each on the legal route taken and the Supreme Court's holding.
- Impacts in dimensions: legal equality, security, democracy, economy; then an honest caveat so the 'discuss' is balanced.
- End positively: what remains to be done (statehood, dialogue, jobs), anchored on the Preamble's promise of unity and integrity.
Facts checked at source (4)· open
- The Supreme Court's December 2023 verdict constitutionally upheld Parliament's 5 August 2019 decision.PIB — PM on the Supreme Court's Article 370 verdict (11 December 2023) ↗“the Supreme Court’s verdict on the abrogation of Article 370 is historic and constitutionally upholds the decision taken by the Parliament of India on 5th August 2019”
- PRS: the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019, introduced in Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019, reorganised the state into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh.PRS Legislative Research — The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019: bill summary ↗“The Bill provides for reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.”
- MoS Home in Rajya Sabha (July 2024): over 2.11 crore tourists visited J&K in 2023 and over 1.08 crore by June 2024.News on AIR (Prasar Bharati) — J&K witnesses unprecedented growth after abrogation of Article 370, says MoS Home Nityanand Rai (24 July 2024) ↗“Over two crore 11 lakh tourists visited the Union Territory last year while till June this year over one crore eight lakh tourists have visited there. This was informed by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in the Rajya Sabha”
- MHA (PIB, December 2023): terrorist-initiated incidents in J&K were 228 in 2018 and 43 in 2023 (up to 30 November). J&K Government (Assembly reply, 4 March 2025): 2.36 crore tourists in 2024.PIB: Decline in Terror Incidents in Jammu and Kashmir (MHA reply, December 2023) ↗“Terrorist Initiated Incidents 228 43 Encounters 189 48 Civilians killed 55 13”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 615words · Minimalist IAS
NCERT records that despite its special status under Article 370, J&K 'experienced violence, cross border terrorism and political instability'. Separatist politics backed from across the border fed militancy from 1989 until Parliament ended the special status on 5 August 2019, a step the Supreme Court upheld in December 2023. The three parts below follow that arc.
Separatism, militancy and the actions to bring J&K into the mainstream
- Separatist politics as fuel: Hurriyat-led boycotts, cross-border terror and radicalisation made shutdowns and stone-pelting a cycle that kept youth outside democratic politics.
Mainstreaming actions: Counter-terror grid; NIA terror-funding cases; UAPA bans on outfits; PM's Development Package; Back to Village camps; Panchayat and DDC polls; Youth skilling
- Security first: sustained counter-terror operations and border domination shrank militant space, the precondition for every other step.
- Choking the ecosystem: NIA cases on terror funding and bans on separatist outfits under the UAPA cut the money and organisation behind unrest.
- Democracy from below: panchayat and District Development Council elections took decisions to villages and offered the young a lawful route to power.
- Development outreach: the PM's Development Package, 'Back to Village' camps and skilling tied livelihoods to the Union, as the 2nd ARC's conflict-resolution report advised.
Articles 370 and 35A: pre and post abrogation status
| Aspect | Before 5 August 2019 | After |
|---|---|---|
| Parliament's laws | Needed the State's concurrence on Union and Concurrent List matters (Article 370) | Whole Constitution applies |
| Residents' rights | State defined 'permanent residents' for land, jobs, settlement (Article 35A) | 35A ceased; domicile rules |
| Polity | State with own constitution and flag | UTs of J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (Reorganisation Act, 2019) |
- Before: Article 370 was a 'temporary' provision; NCERT notes the State's concurrence was required for laws on Union and Concurrent List subjects.
- Article 35A: inserted by the Presidential Order of 1954, it let the state legislature decide who was a permanent resident and reserve rights for them.
- The route taken: Presidential Orders of 5 and 6 August 2019 applied the full Constitution and declared Article 370 inoperative; Parliament passed the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.
- PRS: the Act reorganised the state into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh.
- Supreme Court, December 2023: held Article 370 temporary and constitutionally upheld Parliament's decision of 5 August 2019.
Positive impacts of abrogation in mainstreaming the region
- Legal equality: central laws such as the RTE Act, SC/ST protections and anti-corruption laws now apply uniformly.
- Rights widened: women who married outside the state keep property rights; reservations extended to groups earlier excluded; domicile rules replaced hereditary residency.
- Security dividend: terrorist-initiated incidents fell from 228 in 2018 to 43 in 2023 (to 30 November, MHA) and 27 in 2024.
- Democratic deepening: panchayat, DDC and assembly elections gave grassroots institutions a mandate and voters a stake.
- Economic opening: 2.11 crore tourists in 2023 and 2.36 crore in 2024 (J&K Government, March 2025); investment and connectivity projects followed.
- Honest caveat: statehood is yet to be restored and terror persists, as Pahalgam in 2025 showed; gains need consolidation, not complacency.
Way forward
- Restore statehood on schedule: the assurance recorded before the Supreme Court should be met, turning legal integration into political ownership.
- Keep dialogue open: the 2nd ARC's conflict-resolution approach of talking to every lawful stakeholder, including the young, must run beside security.
- Jobs and skills: tourism, horticulture and IT clusters with local hiring, so the mainstream pays better than militancy.
- Secure the border and the mind: technology-led fencing with counter-radicalisation in schools and online.
Legal integration is complete; emotional integration needs statehood, jobs, security and steady democratic engagement. The Preamble promises fraternity assuring the unity and integrity of the Nation, and J&K's youth must find in that mainstream what separatism never gave them.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
