In a historic decision, the Modi government on Monday changed the terms of engagement with Jammu and Kashmir by doing away with the special status the state enjoyed under Article 370, scrapping Article 35A and splitting the sensitive border state into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
The proposed J&K UT will, like Delhi and Puducherry, have a legislature while the one designed for Ladakh, like Chandigarh, will not have one. Ladakh has an executive council, which itself is the result of a long battle for UT status that began close to three decades ago, and this will continue.

The decisions were ratified by Rajya Sabha by an impressive two-thirds majority, and will sail through BJPdominated Lok Sabha, putting an end to the state of J&K as it has existed as an administrative unit and radically transforming its relationship with the Centre. With the Kashmir Valley under a communication blackout, it will be a few days before the repercussions on the ground can be assessed.
 

In a historic decision, the Modi government on Monday changed the terms of engagement with Jammu and Kashmir by doing away with the special status the state enjoyed under Article 370, scrapping Article 35A and splitting the sensitive border state into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
The proposed J&K UT will, like Delhi and Puducherry, have a legislature while the one designed for Ladakh, like Chandigarh, will not have one. Ladakh has an executive council, which itself is the result of a long battle for UT status that began close to three decades ago, and this will continue.

The decisions were ratified by Rajya Sabha by an impressive two-thirds majority, and will sail through BJPdominated Lok Sabha, putting an end to the state of J&K as it has existed as an administrative unit and radically transforming its relationship with the Centre. With the Kashmir Valley under a communication blackout, it will be a few days before the repercussions on the ground can be assessed.