The Revocation of Article 370
India's government ends Jammu and Kashmir's special status and splits the state into two union territories ruled from Delhi, under a lockdown and communications blackout.
- In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution (judgment of 11 December 2023) — Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court of India (2023)
- The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 — Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Gazette of India (2019)
- Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy — Christophe Jaffrelot, Princeton University Press (2021)
- Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir — A. G. Noorani, Oxford University Press India (2011)
- Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019 — Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (2019)
- Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris — Christopher Snedden, Hurst (2015)
- India: 4 Dead in Protests over Ladakh Statehood — Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch (2025)
- Omar's five meetings with Amit Shah: Statehood still eludes Jammu and Kashmir — The Week, The Week (2026)
- Pakistan — Encyclopaedia Britannica
The day
On 5 August 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament that the government was ending Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. A presidential order applied the whole Indian constitution to the state, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act split it into two union territories governed from Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir, with a legislature, and Ladakh, without one. Article 35A, which let the state reserve land ownership and government jobs for permanent residents, went with it. Ending Article 370 had been a promise of the Hindu nationalist movement since the 1950s.
- The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 — Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Gazette of India (2019)
- Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy — Christophe Jaffrelot, Princeton University Press (2021)
To prevent protest, tens of thousands of extra troops had already been flown in, and tourists and Amarnath pilgrims told to leave. Phone lines and the internet were cut, and thousands of people were detained, including the former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, all pro-India politicians. High-speed mobile internet was restored only in February 2021.
- Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019 — Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (2019)
- Resisting Occupation in Kashmir — Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhan, Ather Zia and Cynthia Mahmood (eds.), University of Pennsylvania Press (2018)
After
New domicile rules in 2020 allowed people from outside who had lived or studied in the region for set periods to claim residence, jobs and land, which many Kashmiris see as a threat to the valley’s Muslim-majority character; the government says it ends discrimination against long-term residents, including Dalit sanitation workers and refugees from 1947. The 13 July Martyrs’ Day holiday was dropped, while Maharaja Hari Singh’s birthday became a holiday.
- Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris — Christopher Snedden, Hurst (2015)
- Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019 — Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (2019)
On 11 December 2023 India’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the revocation, finding Article 370 a temporary provision, and ordered elections by September 2024. Turnout in the 2024 assembly elections was relatively high; the National Conference, which campaigned for restoring statehood and special status, won, and Omar Abdullah became chief minister. Statehood, which the government has repeatedly promised to restore “at an appropriate time”, had still not returned by late 2026.
- In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution (judgment of 11 December 2023) — Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court of India (2023)
- Omar's five meetings with Amit Shah: Statehood still eludes Jammu and Kashmir — The Week, The Week (2026)
Militant violence fell, tourism boomed, and new roads, tunnels and a rail link to the valley opened. But many Kashmiris describe a climate of silence: journalists questioned, protest effectively banned, and political life constrained. In Ladakh, the Buddhists of Leh who had welcomed separation and the Shia Muslims of Kargil who opposed it came together to demand statehood and constitutional protections; in September 2025 police fired on protesters in Leh, killing four, and the activist Sonam Wangchuk was detained.
- India: 4 Dead in Protests over Ladakh Statehood — Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch (2025)
- Omar's five meetings with Amit Shah: Statehood still eludes Jammu and Kashmir — The Week, The Week (2026)
Article 370 was a temporary provision that kept Jammu and Kashmir apart, fed separatism and denied its people rights enjoyed by other Indians, including Dalits, women who married outsiders and West Pakistani refugees. Its removal brought full integration, development, investment and record tourism, and violence has fallen. The Supreme Court upheld it in 2023.
- In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution (judgment of 11 December 2023) — Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court of India (2023)
- Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy — Christophe Jaffrelot, Princeton University Press (2021)
A unilateral move made without consulting Kashmiris, while their elected leaders, including three former chief ministers, were detained and the region was cut off. It broke the terms on which Kashmir joined India, and the new domicile rules raise fears that outsiders will buy land and jobs and change the region's demography.
- Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019 — Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (2019)
- Resisting Occupation in Kashmir — Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhan, Ather Zia and Cynthia Mahmood (eds.), University of Pennsylvania Press (2018)
- Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir — A. G. Noorani, Oxford University Press India (2011)
Many Hindus in Jammu welcomed the end of what they saw as valley dominance, and Buddhists in Leh had long asked to be separated from Kashmir. Yet both regions have since worried about losing their own job and land protections, and Ladakh has campaigned for statehood and constitutional safeguards.
- Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris — Christopher Snedden, Hurst (2015)
- India: 4 Dead in Protests over Ladakh Statehood — Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch (2025)
An illegal change to a disputed territory that violates UN Security Council resolutions. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended trade with India in protest.
- Pakistan — Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War — Victoria Schofield, I.B. Tauris (2000)
Why it matters today
5 August 2019 divides recent Kashmiri life into before and after. Kashmir lost its constitution, flag, statehood and the land and job protections it had held since Dogra times. Some Kashmiris, especially in Jammu, welcomed it; many in the valley experienced it as humiliation. An elected government returned in 2024, but statehood had not been restored by late 2026, and the debate over what Kashmir is now shapes every political conversation.