New Delhi - August 5, 2019
Parliament
The security is extremely tight since today is going to be the day when Article 370 and 35A will be dissolved. Senior ministers, bureaucrats and intelligence chiefs are sitting tensely in the war room waiting for the announcement to be made.
With the nod from the Prime Minister, the Home Minister rose from his seat in Rajya Sabha and declared what many wanted to hear yet few believed it to happen
"The Article 370 and 35A is hereby abrogated the region of Jammu and Kashmir will no longer enjoy the special status which it held under the Indian constitution and a new Lieutenant Governor will be assigned to the said region."
It was done. Decades of legal ambiguity and political hesitancy had come to an end in a single, historic declaration.
Military Zone - Jammu and Kashmir
Even before the announcement, troops had already been mobilized. Nearly a hundred thousand soldiers had full control of the region they were ready to stop anything which will disrupt the plan. Checkpoints were reinforced. Internet and all communication were suspended, and political leaders were under house arrest.
The Kashmir Valley was silent but not still. The soldiers were checking satellite and drone feeds in sensitive areas.
Prime Minister's residence
A small group gathered around a glowing map of the country. The Prime Minister, sharp-eyed and calm, listened as his National Security Advisor spoke.
"There will be protests and international pressure on us for doing this possibly even cyber-attacks, but I hope this time we are prepared for everything."
The Prime Minister nodded and agreed with his advisor.
"Now we have moved a hundred thousand troops in the region PrimeMinister but the region is still unstable that is why we have restricted the communication but what we need now ... is a Governor. Someone on the ground to take administrative control of the situation."
" It truly is a time for us to put a Governor there I hope the Home minister has some name in its mind."
"The Home Ministry has a shortlist already prepared." said the Cabinet Secretary.
"We just want your opinion on the matter Prime Minister here is the list with names."
The Prime Minister looked at the list and started reading out names.
"General Arvind Rana (Retd.)
Aarav Tripathi IAS
Arjun Patel IFS
Darshana Dixit IPS
Sanjana Dixit NIA"
"So which one do you think is a good suggestion?"
The Prime Minister asked the Home Minister.
"I think the best option for us is Retired General Arvind Rana since he was in the Kashmir region before his retirement and he can also navigate with the army splendidly due to the influence he has over army what do you think Prime Minister?"
"I also agree with your suggestion so go with this plan and get him cleared I want no delays you have my full support regarding this situation but make sure he is the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir by tomorrow since I do not want to delay such an important decision any much longer since we are making history tonight."
"You do not have to worry Prime Minister General Arvind Rana will be the Governor before midnight it is my promise to you."
Home Ministry - After Five Minutes
The air was filled with the smell of coffee and burnt printer ink the staff worked at double the speed in typing, printing, verifying, stamping and distributing documents. A senior officer barked at them to do their job quickly since he just got a phone call from the minister himself while others where drinking energy drinks so that they can stay awake.
A junior bureaucrat named Amit, barely keeping his eyes open, scrolled through a spreadsheet of potential nominees.
The list had been shared over email and mistakenly was merged with another with the list titled - "Notable Students - Students Interaction List, June 2019" which was the list of students who had recently interacted with the Prime Minister on a televised educational program title "GovTalk" where the students talked about their education and what can be done to make it more interesting or they can also give their suggestions to the Prime Minister of what they think he should do to make India have more progress.
Two names sat side by side:
1. Rana, Arvind (Retd.)
2. Rawte, Arjun Suryakant
Amit blinked. He was supposed to copy Rana's name but he clicked the wrong row of the sheet.
Copy > Paste > Save > Forward.
The name Arjun Suryakant Rawte now sat on the official appointment letter ready to be sent to his superiors and after confirming everything he forwarded the letter.
Three levels of approval followed in rapid succession. The superior did not read it trusting the subordinate. The Home Minister just approved the document without checking it's content and the PMO just glanced at it and assumed it was correct and approved and forwarded it to the President to have his signature.
The President was woken at midnight for his signature so he was rushed to his office.
"Is this the right person?."
"Yes, Sir. He was cleared by all three branches of the government he is the best person we have for this job."
"Very well then."
The document was signed, stamped and put in the national archives and the directives were given to the relevant departments to work with the new Governor while the document was sent forward to the PR department so that they can notify the civilians about the new appointment of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rawte Household - Punjab - 10:23 PM
Arjun sat on the floor of his room with his legs crossed and surrounded by history textbooks, but he was not reading. His headphones blasted music as he scrolled through Instagram. His last post was a selfie from the PM's televised student interaction show which had gotten over five thousand likes.
Caption: 'Me giving Modi Ji a grammar correction. 😂🔥'
HIs mother knocked hard on the door while talking to him.
"You are again watching the phone? you should go to sleep now!! you have school at six o clock tomorrow!"
""Just five more minutes more mother!"
Arjun called back.
Outside, the night was quiet - until it was not.
A convoy of black SUV's screeched into the narrow lane. Flashing red and blue lights lit up the houses. Neighbours peeked out from their balconies in confusion and fear.
Uniformed men jumped out. Commandos, Local police, Central Reserve Force. One of them banged the Rawte's gate.
Arjun's father, Ashok Suryakant Rawte, stumbled to the door and asked
"What is happening? who are you?"
A tall officer saluted.
"Sir, we are here under the authority of the President of India and your son - Arjun Suryakant Rawte - has been appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. We are here to escort him to the capital immediately."
A full five seconds of silence followed.
Arjun, standing behind his father, laughed.
"Nice prank. I am not even class monitor."
But the officer was not smiling.
"This is real this is official please pack light also if you want to confirm this then you can check your email sent to you today."
Arjun's mother screamed and his father nearly fainted.