​Fulfil the promise: On restoring Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir

It has been over two and a half years since the Supreme Court of India recorded the Union government’s solemn assurance that Statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) . It set no timeline, but the expectation was that it would happen within a reasonable period and steps would be taken progressively. That the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has done nothing on this front since then can only mean that it has interpreted the lack of a timeline as a licence for the indefinite deferral of Statehood. This is despite repeated assurances from the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged it in the run-up to the J&K elections , and Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated it on the floor of Parliament. Unsurprisingly, the inaction has driven J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to organise a series of agitations and rallies, culminating in a sit-in at Jantar Mantar on July 20 . His grievance, and that of the province, is legitimate. The retention of Union Territory status even after popular elections subordinates the elected government to an unelected Lieutenant Governor who retains preponderant authority over the bureaucracy, the police and other institutions. There is no principled justification for perpetuating this arrangement once elections have been held and a government installed.