SRINAGAR: On the 6th anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir is quiet and calm with normal life continuing unaffected, while mainstream political leaders have described August 5 as “black day” and called it a “brutal reminder of undermining of democracy”.
There is normalcy in the Valley. The shops, business establishments and educational institutions are open and traffic is plying normally. All the offices are open, and life continues as usual.
The police and paramilitary personnel are deployed on the roads and maintaining a close vigil. However, there are no security restrictions in any part of Jammu and Kashmir on the 6th anniversary of Article 370 abrogation.
On August 5, 2019, the centre abrogated Articles 370 and 35A, which granted special status and special privileges to J&K residents, and downgraded and bifurcated the erstwhile J&K state into two Union Territories --- Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature). The authorities had enforced a strict security clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Article 370 abrogation.
The political leaders have described August 5 as “black day”.
The ruling National Conference president and three-time former CM Farooq Abdullah reiterated the party’s firm opposition to the unilateral and unconstitutional actions taken on August 5, 2019, stating that such steps continue to remain unacceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir and the party.
He affirmed that NC would continue its peaceful, democratic and constitutional struggle for the restoration of J&K’s democratic and constitutional rights.
“August 5 marks a black day not just for Jammu & Kashmir, but for the entire nation. On this day, the Constitution was subverted not by foreign hands, but from within, by a brute majority in the heart of our democracy. The unconstitutional abrogation of J&K’s special status was not an end; it was the beginning of a broader assault on constitutional values,” PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti posted on X.
She said J&K was turned into a laboratory, its people disempowered, its land dispossessed, its demography targeted. “What many saw as a local issue was a warning for all.”
“Today, that warning is unfolding across the country. In Bihar, the SIR threatens to disenfranchise lakhs. From Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, non-local voters are being added en masse, paving the way for demographic manipulation and electoral distortion. If India does not wake up now, what began in J&K will soon define the nation,” Mehbooba said.
J&K Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra has also described August 5 as black day.
“The party will observe August 5 as a “Black Day” across all 20 districts of the region to intensify its agitation for the restoration of Statehood,” Karra said.
AAP MLA Mehraj Malik also described August 5, 2019, as the “darkest day in J&K’s history”.
“A state was stripped of its identity, rights, and even statehood overnight. What they call “integration” we remember as betrayal,” said Malik, whose party, AAP, had supported Article 370 abrogation and downgrading and bifurcation of the erstwhile J&K state into two UTs.
Peoples Conference chairman and former minister Sajjad Gani Lone said August 5 will always be a “brutal reminder of undermining of democracy, and an ugly example of selective targeting”.
“This was the day when whatever little was left from the glories of the past was taken away. I will never lose hope. We will get what has been taken away. If the glories don’t last, the inglorious won’t last either,” Sajad posted on X.
Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari said August 5 is a painful reminder of a dark moment in “our recent history. On this day in 2019, the sudden and sweeping constitutional changes by the Centre left deep scars on the hearts and minds of the people in Jammu and Kashmir.”
“New Delhi must uphold the dignity and democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The restoration of these rights is not an act of generosity—it is a constitutional and moral obligation,” he said.
Bukhari said this is the right time for New Delhi to initiate a genuine, inclusive, and meaningful dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in order to address their issues and grievances and moving toward a lasting resolution.
However, J&K BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said August 5, 2019, will be remembered as a defining moment that ended decades of uncertainty and paved the way for peace, prosperity, and equal rights in the region.
“Prior to the abrogation of Article 370, J&K remained trapped in a vicious cycle of hartals, stone pelting, and terrorism. “But after August 5, 2019, that chapter has closed for good. Incidents of stone pelting have come down to zero and local recruitment of youth into terrorist ranks has almost stopped. This shift is proof that the youth of Jammu and Kashmir have chosen books over bullets and laptops over stones,” he said.
Thakur said the last six years have witnessed unprecedented development across all regions of J&K. “Whether it’s the construction of roads in far-flung areas, expansion of health and education infrastructure, return of tourism, or rising investor interest—J&K is on a new path of progress,” he added.
Meanwhile, rumour mills are rife in J&K that the centre may restore partial statehood to J&K or further bifurcate Jammu from Kashmir and grant statehood to Jammu, which is the strong support base of the BJP and from where all its 29 MLAs were elected to the 90-member J&K Assembly.
According to these rumour mills, Kashmir will remain under the direct control of the centre and will remain a Union Territory without an Assembly.
