Lulu opens new store in Al Fakhriyah, Dammam as it further strengthening its presence in Saudi Arabia New Lulu stores are set to open in Makkah and Madinah    Defending the Truth: Saudi Arabia and the 2034 World Cup    Culture minister visits Diriyah Art Futures    Survey: 60% will use Riyadh Metro to go for work or school    Saudi Arabia calls for enhanced international cooperation to address water sector challenges    GCC Preparatory Ministerial Meeting discusses developments in Gaza and Lebanon    Saudi Arabia hosts over 13 million foreign residents from 60 countries, says human rights official    RCRC Chief: Riyadh Metro, featuring environmental sustainability, will improve quality of life and revolutionize transportation    Al Taawoun seals AFC Champions League Two knockout spot with 2-1 win over Al Khaldiya    Israel to appeal against ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant    Trump nominates Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia    Missing hiker found alive after more than five weeks in wilderness    Elon Musk publicizes names of government employees he wants to cut    Al-Jasser: Riyadh Metro to accommodate one million passengers daily    Israelis survey damage and mull return to north as ceasefire begins    Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Article 370: India Supreme Court upholds repeal of Kashmir's special status
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 11 - 12 - 2023

India's top court has upheld the stripping of special status from the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in 2019 revoked the Indian constitution's Article 370, which had given the region significant autonomy.
The state of more than 12 million people was also split into two federally administered territories.
The court added that the government should hold elections in the region by September 2024.
The five-judge bench also ordered that the region should be restored as a state "at the earliest."
"The state of Jammu and Kashmir does not have internal sovereignty different from other states," Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said while reading out the judgment.
In his concurring judgment, Justice S.K. Kaul recommended that an "impartial truth and reconciliation commission" be set up in Kashmir to investigate human rights violations by both "state and non-state actors" over the past few decades.
The revocation was one of Modi's poll promises in 2019 and the court's decision comes months before he seeks a third term. Local politicians in the region have expressed disappointment over the order.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was "disappointed but not disheartened".
The scenic Jammu and Kashmir region was once a princely state which joined India in 1947 soon after the subcontinent was divided up at the end of British rule.
Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have since fought two wars and a limited conflict over Kashmir. Each has come to control different parts of the territory with a ceasefire line agreed.
Security has been tightened in Kashmir since Monday morning.
"We are duty-bound to ensure that peace prevails in the [Kashmir] valley under all circumstances," V.K. Birdi, the inspector general of Kashmir zone, told PTI news agency.
Security was also beefed up and the region witnessed a communication blackout when the revocation happened.
On Aug. 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked nearly all of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which granted special privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir state.
The assembly, overseeing the state's budget, spending, employment, education, and economic activity, was dissolved.
A lieutenant governor was appointed to govern the region until local elections were conducted. Several activists and senior opposition leaders in the region were detained.
Article 370 allowed the state its own constitution, a separate flag and freedom to make laws. Foreign affairs, defense and communications remained the preserve of the federal government.
As a result, Jammu and Kashmir could make its own rules relating to permanent residency, ownership of property and fundamental rights. It could also bar Indians from outside the state from purchasing property or settling there.
The constitutional provision had underpinned India's often fraught relationship with Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region to join India at partition.
Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had long opposed Article 370 and revoking it was in the party's 2019 election manifesto.
They argued it needed to be scrapped to integrate Kashmir and put it on the same footing as the rest of India. After returning to power with a massive mandate in the April-May general elections in 2019, the government lost no time in acting on its pledge.
Critics say the BJP ultimately wants to change the demographic character of the Muslim-majority region by allowing non-Kashmiris to buy land there.
In August this year, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court began hearing nearly 23 petitions challenging the government's decision.
The petitioners had stressed the unique nature of Kashmir's relationship with India, and said Article 370 "acted as a bridge" between the constitutions of India and Jammu and Kashmir.
The state comprised the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and the high-altitude Buddhist enclave of Ladakh.
The petitioners argued that the state's reorganization into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as federally administered territories violated India's constitution, which requires the state legislative assembly's approval to reduce a state to a union territory.
The petitioners said that the abrogation of Article 370 also took away the region's internal sovereignty without considering the will of its people. But the government had claimed this sovereignty was surrendered to India in 1947.
Many of the restrictions imposed after the scrapping of the special status have been eased and the picturesque Kashmir valley attracted more than 16 million tourists in 2022. The government has said it is ready to hold state elections and restore statehood.
However, the government frequently imposes communication restrictions in the region for security reasons, criticized by rights groups as measures to suppress dissent. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.