ARTICLE 370

ARTICLE 370

On August 5th and 6th, 2019, over the course of 2 days, the Union Government repealed Article 370 revoking Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a Dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. From 17th November 1952 to 31st October 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was governed by India as a state, and Article 370 granted it the authority to establish a seperate constitution, a state flag and internal administrative autonomy.

WHAT IS ARTICLE 370?

Article 370 of the Constitution of India was a temporary provision that provided a special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmi. Article 370 was temporary in the sense that the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir had the right to modify, delete or retain it, and it was considered to be temporary only till a plebiscite was held to ascertain the public opinion.

The autonomy of the state has been given by Article 370 of the constitution. The temporary provision of the article is derived from Part xxi of the Constitution under the title "Temporary, transitional and Special Provisions" which grants special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Article was inserted in the Indian Constitution an October 17th 1949.

 HISTORY BEHIND ARTICLE 370

After Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947, the state became a part of the Dominio of India. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution states that Jammu and Kashmir is covered only by Article 1 and 370.

The President, in consultation with the State Government, was to make the decision about the application of Other Articles. The Constitution Order of 1950 outlined the themes on which the Union Parliament would have the authority to adopt legislation for Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the Instrument of Accession.

The Instrument of Accession gave rise to the Article 370. As a temporary clause allowing the state to create its own Constitution and restricting the legislative authority of the Indian Parliament in the territory.

The Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly was dissolved after creating the state constitution and on January 25, 1957, it did so without endorsing either the abrogation or the revision of the Article 370, leaving the clause's status in doubt.

  ARTICLE 35A AND ARTICLE 370 OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Article 35A which derives from Article 370, is distinctive in that it only appears in Appendix 1 and not in the main body of the Constitution. Until they were removed in August 2019, both of these articles granted the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its residents exceptional status and rights.

Sheikh Abdullah was chosen as the article's drafter by Jawahar Lal Nehru and Maharaja Hari Singh, the Jammu and Kashmir sate's then prime minister. The constitution order 2019, was introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and published in the official Gazette of India on August 5 2019. The ruling declared that the state of Jammu and Kashmir must abide by all the articlesof the Indian Constitution, which resulted in the suspension of Jammu and Kashmir's own constitution. The state's Ranbir Penal Code was replaced by Indian Penal Code, 1860, which also went into effect in the state.

REMOVAL OF ARTICLE 370

In accordance with authority afforded by Clause(1) of article 370 of the Indian Constitution, the President of India issued the Constitution (Implementation to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 on August 5, 2019, repealing the special status previously accorded to Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir no longer has its own constitution, flag or anthem, and its population no longer has dual citizenship as a result of the repeal of Article 370. Jammu and Kashmir now abide by all legislative amendments made by the parliament, including the Right to Information Act and Right to Education Act. 

Now that aticle 370 has been abolished, Jammu and Kashmir is fully covered by the Indian Constitution and all 890 central legislation. Jammu and Kashmir was seen as being a part of India in both letter and spirit after Article 370 was repealed. The Indian Constitution's Article 370 was viewed as a temporary and ineffective provision that needed to be replace.

  THE ADVANTAGES OF ARTICLE 370

1. Better relationship with Indians and Kashmir population

2. One nation one flag

3. Boost to economic development

4. Private investors can invest

5. Right to education and information

  DISADVANTAGES OF ARTICLE 370

1. Only a small portion of Kashmir believes it to be unlawful. Thid decision has been equated to fascism.

2. Many proclaim it as an unconstitutional; it was comparable to a dictatorship

3. Jammu and Kashmir no longer has the status of a state; instead it is now considered to be a union territory.

4. Not all choices can be made by the elected state government.

Author :- Sejuti Halder, a Student of SK Acharyaa Institute of Law