Arun Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jammu, August 5

Doing away with the heritage of a separate Constitution and flag could be one of the prime motivations behind the Narendra Modi government’s calculated move of ending the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and dividing it into two Union Territories.

The state Constitution gave powers to the legislature to define permanent residents and pass laws of its own. No Central law could be extended to Jammu & Kashmir without its concurrence. In 1965, the Centre had removed the titles of Sadr-e-Riyasat for head of the state, replacing it with Governor, and Wazir-e-Azam or Prime Minister as head of the government, replacing it with the nomenclature of CM.

Since then, many Central laws have been extended to the state, including the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and that of the Attorney General, but the structure of Article 370 still ensured the validity of a separate Constitution and flag.

It is perhaps in this context that the reorganisation of the state is being carried out, with a word by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha that the UT status would be reconsidered and statehood may be restored with the passage of time. The new statehood for J&K, as and when it comes, will be without the trappings of a separate Constitution and flag.