By Farooq Ahmad Khan 

Politics rarely stands still. 

Public arguments evolve, priorities shift and campaigns that once dominated newsmill gradually give way to fresh constitutional goals. 

Jammu and Kashmir has lived through one of the clearest examples of that transformation since August 2019. 

The campaign for restoring statehood since speaks to a genuine constitutional aspiration, but it also tells a larger story about how political strategy can change the very subject of public debate.

Military history draws a useful distinction between winning a battle and selecting the battlefield. 

One tests courage, planning and execution, the other tests foresight. 

Commanders who determine where a contest unfolds often influence its outcome way before fighting begins. 

Politics works in much the same way. 

Electoral victories count, although long-term success often comes from changing the question people discuss before they decide whom to support.

That principle helps explain the evolution of political discourse in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Constitutional changes introduced in August 2019 reorganized the former state into a Union Territory and ended the constitutional position that had existed under Articles 370 and 35A. 

Those decisions transformed institutions, administration and public expectations. They also redirected the focus of mainstream politics.

Statehood now drives political debate in the valley. Political parties with very different histories and ideologies speak with remarkable consistency on this issue.........

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