India, May 30 -- Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Friday praised the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the move has led to prosperity and democratic progress in the region. He said scrapping the Article in 2019 ended the perception that Jammu and Kashmir was a region separate from the rest of India.

Speaking during a diplomatic visit to Indonesia, Khurshid addressed members of Indonesian think tanks and academia as part of an all-party Indian parliamentary delegation. He said the special constitutional status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 had fostered a sense of separateness, which was "a major problem."

"Kashmir had a major problem for a long time. Much of that was reflected in the thinking ...