The Secret Choreography Behind Article 370’s Fall

Six years on, a spate of books peels back the secrecy of August 5, 2019, revealing the planning that dismantled Article 370.

- Sameer Rather

When retired Lieutenant General K.J.S. Dhillon sat down to write his autobiography, Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye, he may not have realized how closely it would peek into one of India's most secretive political operations.

Dhillon, who headed the Army's strategic XV Corps in Kashmir, recounts a June 2019 breakfast meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a discussion that, at the time, would shape the future of the region.

Shah had flown into Srinagar on June 26, 2019, to finalize the government's preparations for what would soon become the abrogation of Article 370, the constitutional provision granting Jammu and Kashmir special status.

The home minister's question was direct: "What is the guarantee that things will remain peaceful?"

Dhillon's reply, according to his memoir, was equally confident: peace would not be disturbed.

The memoir details the hour-long one-on-one meeting in Dhillon's office at Chinar House, an army residence renowned for its strict confidentiality.

Dhillon writes of calls at 2 a.m. arranging the meeting, questions about breakfast, and intense discussions covering Pakistan's likely response, security risks along the Line of Control, and military contingencies.

"The home minister's knowledge and in-depth assessment of the situation, including the likely fallouts, was exceptional," Dhillon observes.