After reading the passionate op-ed titled Why We Protest at Jantar Mantar, I was struck by how easily we identify contradictions in others while overlooking our own. The article presents statehood as an overwhelming aspiration of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. But that claim deserves closer scrutiny.The reality appears more complex. Many people are emotionally exhausted after years of political upheaval and constitutional change.  Rather than being “overwhelmingly” united behind a single demand, many simply do not know what to expect anymore. 

WHAT KIND OF STATEHOOD?Against the backdrop of the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar, it is worth asking not merely whether statehood should be restored, but what kind of statehood is actually being sought.During the 2024 election campaign, the National Conference’s principal commitments extended well beyond statehood. It sought a mandate to pursue the restoration of Article 370, Article 35A, constitutional safeguards, and the restoration of statehood for the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, including the regions that now form the Union Territory of Ladakh. Those promises together constituted the political programme on which the party secured its mandate.

Today, however, the goalposts appear to have shifted. Statehood, once one element of a broader constitutional agenda, is increasingly presented as the principal objective. That naturally raises an important question: what exactly does “statehood” mean? Is the demand for a model comparable to Himachal Pradesh, where domicile protections exist? Is it akin to Madhya Pradesh, where no comparable constitutional safeguards are available? Or is it something closer to Arunachal Pradesh or Mizoram, which continue to be part of the AGMUT cadre, with the higher civil and police administration remaining under central control? These are not peripheral questions. They define the substance of the demand itself.To suggest that consultation would merely create unnecessary delay is unconvincing. Consultation........

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