Four years after removal of Article 370: How J&K security situation has changed

Stone throwing and militancy are down in Valley, but targeted killings of Kashmiri Hindus and outsiders are a major concern.

A shutdown in Srinagar in 2021 on the second anniversary of the nullification of Article 370 which gave a special status to Jammu-Kashmir. (Express File Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

Written by: Deeptiman Tiwary

3 min readNew DelhiAug 6, 2023 07:18 PM IST First published on: Aug 5, 2023 at 07:00 AM IST

While Kashmir leaders and some in the opposition described the actions of August 5, 2019 as injustice and a breach of trust by the Indian government, Home Minister Amit Shah argued that Article 370 had only led to corruption and secessionism, and its removal was very important to end terrorism in J&K.

Four years later, what is the security situation in the Union Territory?

No more stone pelting

With the unprecedented numbers of security forces in the Valley, and the harsh action taken by central agencies such as the NIA, incidents of stone-throwing have been reduced to virtually zero. Incidents of terrorism have witnessed a decline. According to data available with the Ministry of Home Affairs, there were 76 incidents of stone pelting in the Valley during the January-July period in 2021, significantly less than the 222 incidents recorded over the same period in 2020, and the 618 incidents over the same period in 2019.

militant activity in kashmir

Correspondingly, injuries to security forces in these incidents fell from 64 in 2019 (Jan-July) to just 10 in 2021 (Jan-July).

In the Jan-July period in 2019, 339 civilians sustained injuries due to pellet guns and baton charges. In the corresponding period in 2021, this number had fallen to 25, according to the data.

Since 2022, the J&K administration has been collating overall law and order data, which include stone pelting incidents. According to this data, there were only 20 law and order incidents in J&K in 2022.

Arrests of militants

Arrests of over-ground workers (OGWs) of militant groups increased from 82 in 2019 (Jan-July) to 178 in the corresponding period in 2021, according to MHA data.

Explained | Four years after removal of Art 370: Political changes in J&K

Government data show a decline of 32% in “acts of terrorism” between August 5, 2019, and June 6, 2022, compared with the 10 months preceding the historic decisions. Deaths of security forces fell by 52%, and deaths of citizens by 14%. A reduction of 14% was recorded in the “admission of terrorists”.

Targeted killings

However, a spate of killings of civilians, especially of Kashmiri Hindus and non-Kashmiris in the Valley, has exposed the fragility of the security successes. More than 50% of all civilians killed in the Valley since August 5, 2019, have been killed in the past eight months.

The killings have been aided by the dropping of small weapons by low-cost drones from across the border, and the engagement of alleged ‘part-time’ militants by handlers in Pakistan.

There have also been attempts by militants to attack Hindu-dominated areas in Jammu, which last saw such attacks in the early 2000s. In 2021, police arrested around 20 militants and recovered multiple IEDs that were allegedly intended for use in Hindu areas.

The year 2022 began with the killing of Hindu civilians in Jammu, something that had not been heard of in the division for years. There has been frequent infiltration in Jammu, and more than a dozen armed forces personnel have been killed in gunfights, even as the attackers remain elusive.