Kashmiris celebrate 'Indian hood' on Aug 5: Mir Junaid 

Mir Junaid, the President of Jammu and Kashmir Worker's Party, said he felt happy to see people celebrating their 'India hood'.

He also shared images of people celebrating the event on his Twitter page.

" My heart gets filled with joy to see the locals of Kashmir celebrating their Indian hood. This celebration held at Handwara on the anniversary of ammendment of Articles 370 and 35A is the picture of the new #Kashmir which celebrates being Indian and lives life happily," he tweeted.

Kashmiri activist Javaid Trali has said he feels violence has considerably reduced in the Valley ever since the Indian government scrapped Article 370 which had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"Violence has considerably gone down when we compare it with the years in the past," Trali said while participating in a webinar organized under the University Dialogues series hosted by Democracy News Live with a panel of international experts on Asian security.

"We look forward to some positive movement to the situation here," he said, adding that the Indian government must now start the political process.

Trali said the government should now start the political process soon in the Valley.

On Aug  5 last year, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government scrapped Article 370 and 35A that accorded the special status to the state.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir was acceded to India through the instrument of accession in 1947, under which special status was granted by New Delhi to Jammu and Kashmir, under Article 370.

Article 370 had allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own constitution, flag and right to handle its own laws except on matters that impact national security.

The Modi government also bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir state into two union territories- Jammu and Kashmir with an assembly and Ladakh without an assembly.

The Modi government also scrapped Article 35A, which had allowed the Jammu and Kashmir state's legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and also provided special rights and privileges to those permanent residents, through the presidential order.