A 370⁰ Turn

The recent Supreme Court verdict upholding the central government's move to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian Constitution impacts Kashmir and its people deeply

- Naseer Ganai in Srinagar & Mayabhushan Nagvenkar

NEARLY four years after the abrogation of Article 370, change is afoot in Srinagar. It is evident on the streets of the capital, in its people and on new signages in the city. Near the Zero Bridge, an Akash Institute hoarding invites students to excel in competitive exams at its Rajbagh branch. The institute-chain was acquired by BYJU's, an edu-tech behemoth with 500 centres in 200 Indian cities. Its offline branch by the Zero Bridge is now part of a pan-India network.

Paramilitary forces stationed in three fortified bunkers continue to patrol near Church Lane by the Bridge. Though the once unsettling routine frisking of passers-by has somewhat lessened, the men in olive green are still there, behind wire-clad posts, suggesting that while some things appear to have changed in Kashmir, they are still the same.

Rajbagh, a posh address in Srinagar, appears to be flourishing with new buildings, new houses, new hotels and tuition centres. The Zero Bridge, which was washed away in the 2016 floods, is now a tourist destination, where tourists spend hours watching the Jhelum jostle by.

There is another pair of eyes on the Bridge: that of a native, Irfan Ahmad, a businessman in his early 50s. He, too, watches the river flow by peacefully. But in his heart there’s turmoil. Ahmad has been deeply impacted by the import of the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the central government’s move to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.