We are possibly going to see a one-day peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir on July 20. This date coincides with the opening day of the monsoon session of the parliament. The National Conference has invited 52 leaders across party lines, including Sonia Gandhi, Mehbooba Mufti, Sajad Lone, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Altaf Bukhari and Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam.Since the historic reorganisation on August 5, 2019, J&K has functioned as a union territory. The region successfully transitioned back to an elected democratic setup following the September–October 2024 assembly polls, leading to a local government. Despite the completion of these elections and continuous resolutions passed by the newly formed assembly, the promised upgrade to full statehood remains unfulfilled. While J&K possesses an elected legislative assembly (similar to Delhi and Puducherry), its powers are strictly curtailed compared to a full Indian state. In a full state, policing, public order and the bureaucracy answer directly to the chief minister. As a UT, the lieutenant governor, appointed directly by the centre, controls the civil services cadre. Under statehood, the state cabinet holds absolute legislative autonomy over the State List. Currently, the LG retains expansive veto powers and discretionary authority, leaving the elected cabinet heavily dependent on federal approvals for major financial allocations and governance policies.Why the centre keeps the timeline open-endedThe central government has consistently maintained before the Supreme Court and the public that J&K will be granted statehood at an “appropriate time,” however, it has intentionally kept that timeline open-ended. The primary factors driving this delay include the security concerns: the Centre argues the security architecture must remain completely centralised to prevent any sudden resurgence of cross-border militancy, infiltration or civil unrest. Retaining UT status ensures the unified command of local police and federal intelligence agencies reports straight to New Delhi.Also read: On J&K Statehood, Ex-Civil Servants, Military Officers Write Open Letter to CJI B.R. GavaiBesides that, the centre has introduced many structural overhauls since 2019, ranging from land law modifications and domicile revisions to a comprehensive restructuring of government machinery. Sustaining the UT structure allows the union government to embed these changes deeply without a state assembly undoing or diluting them. The 2024 assembly elections returned a mandate for regional parties, particularly the National Conference (NC), rather than the ruling party at the centre. Observers note that the central executive is hesitant to quickly surrender overarching administrative control to a politically adversarial local government. A toothless assembly, a population losing patienceIt is going to be two years and the patience of both the local political class and ordinary citizens is wearing thin. With the ruling NC launching organised demonstrations – including high-profile sit-ins at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar – public momentum is gathering around a clear set of expectations: people feel that the current assembly is essentially “toothless.” The primary expectation is for an administration where the ministers have actual executive power to fix local issues, hire workers and draft development schemes without needing a nod from the Raj Bhavan.Also read: Elected to Power, Powerless in Srinagar: The Long Wait For the Restoration of J&K’s StatehoodThe local population is looking to a state government to resolve widespread unemployment and economic distress. There is immense pressure to address the regularisation of daily wage earners and ensure that local resources and contract tenders prioritise regional residents. Even among those who accepted the political realities of 2019, like the people of Jammu, have a strong desire for constitutional safeguards regarding land ownership rights and local employment quotas, akin to protections granted to other hill states under Article 371.What is likely to happen next?The statehood issue presumably will remain a central point of political friction. While the Home Ministry has reaffirmed its long-term intent to honour the promise of statehood, it is highly likely to happen in a phased manner rather than as a sudden blanket transfer of power. When statehood is eventually restored, the centre may model it with permanent strings attached, potentially retaining direct federal oversight over the police apparatus or counter-insurgency functions, similar to the specialised administrative frameworks seen in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Until a concrete roadmap or criteria for the “appropriate time” is explicitly shared, political friction, agitations and legal appeals will continue to dominate J&K’s landscape.Upendra Kaul is a Kashmiri cardiologist. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri and the Dr B.C. Roy Award.