Six years after the abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August 2019, residents of Kulgam in Jammu and Kashmir say the constitutional change has brought measurable improvements in security, infrastructure, and economic opportunity to a district once marked by persistent unrest. On the anniversary of the decision, locals credited the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government with transforming everyday life in the region.

Voices from Kulgam

Local resident Basit Dar said the years before 2019 were defined by closures and fear. 'Since the abrogation of Article 370, we joined the mainstream. Earlier, the schools, offices and colleges used to remain closed for months. There were many problems. There were repeated protests; markets used to remain closed. After 35 years, Muharram procession was taken out, after 30 years, the cinema halls reopened,' he said.

Dar also pointed to a shift in the security environment. 'Our mothers and daughters are safe here now; they even go on a walk after dinner, and we do not fear for our safety,' he said, adding that there had been no reported civilian killings or stone-pelting incidents in Kulgam since the abrogation.

Another resident, Shabir Ahmad, described 5 August as historically significant. 'Removing and adding 370 isn't some story but a history that Modi ji has created,' he said, citing the construction of bridges, an AIIMS facility, and colleges as visible development outcomes. Ahmad also expressed political views, predicting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would form the next government in the Union Territory — a claim that reflects local sentiment but not any electoral outcome.

Youth Perspective on Integration and Opportunity

A younger resident, Faheem, said the decision had connected Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India in a tangible way. 'This day is important in the history of Jammu and Kashmir and the whole of India. This decision has connected Jammu and Kashmir with all the states,' he said.

Faheem noted that tourism had expanded and employment opportunities had grown since 2019. He also recalled the human cost of earlier unrest, saying that pellet gun injuries had affected residents, and attributed the instability to the political conditions that existed before the constitutional change. 'All the political parties who used to rule J&K before 2019 ruined our future, ruined the youth of J&K. We just want that peace prevails in the region,' he said.

Background: What Article 370 Was and What Changed

Article 370 became part of the Constitution of India when it came into force in 1950. It granted special autonomous status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, making it one of the most debated constitutional provisions in Indian history.

On 5 August 2019, the provision was rendered inoperative through a Presidential Order. Simultaneously, Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised into two separate Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — ending its earlier constitutional arrangement. The move was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld the abrogation in December 2023.

Broader Context

The accounts from Kulgam residents reflect a strand of local opinion that associates the post-2019 period with greater stability. Kulgam was historically among the districts most affected by militancy in south Kashmir. Notably, the district has seen a reduction in reported militant incidents in recent years, according to official security assessments, though critics and opposition parties — including the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — have contested the government's framing of the abrogation's legacy and continue to call for statehood restoration. The full political and socioeconomic impact of the constitutional change remains a subject of ongoing national debate.

As Jammu and Kashmir observes the sixth anniversary of the abrogation, the question of statehood restoration and the holding of assembly elections — now completed — will shape the next chapter of the Union Territory's governance.