On Monday, The Narendra Modi government took away Jammu & Kashmir's special status in the Indian Union, which the state enjoyed under Article 370. The government also scrapped Article 35 A and split the border state into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Here is how leading English newspapers reported the government's decision.
The Times of India ran with headline 'Kashmir is now Union's territory'. It also reported on how SP Mookerjee's push against Article 370 became an article of faith for BJP and Amit Shah's new stature as new Hindutva icon. The paper devoted eight pages for the Kashmir coverage.
Hindustan Times's headline read: 'Territory of the Union' with two photographs – an archive image of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru greeting Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir Hari Sigh and yesterday's photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting Amit Shah to draw parallel between the two events. It also had the timeline of Monday's events, just below the masthead.
The Indian Express front page said 'History, in one stroke'. The report was accompanied by a photograph of Modi congratulating Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha. The paper devoted the entire front page to Kashmir reports.
The Telegraph, known for its bold headlines, reported the government's decision with a banner headline 'Partition...'. The headline continued in the second and third lines: '...of minds and a state. This time by the largest democracy on the planet, without asking J&K'. The newspaper's package included Amit Shah's statement in Parliament and Omar Abdulla's reaction.
The New Indian Express compared Narendra Modi to Sardar Patel. 'It's Patel 2.0', read the newspaper's headline. It said 'by lifting the special status accorded to J&K, Modi completes Sardar Patel's unfinished agenda of national integration, scripts history; state bifurcated.'
The grammar pun on 'Articles' was the highlight of The Economic Times headline. "In new political grammar, J&K loses two articles', it read.
