What is Article 370 and 35A?

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Article 370 and 35A

Article 370 and 35A: Ending Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in the Indian Union, the BJP government extended all provisions of the Constitution to the State in one go, downsized the State into two Union Territories, and allowed all citizens of India to purchase the property in Jammu and Kashmir and vote in the State.

Leading the charge, Home Minister of India Amit Shah piloted two special resolutions and a Bill creating the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh through the Rajya Sabha on Monday dated 5^th August 2019.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gives autonomous status to the states of Jammu and Kashmir, that is, the state has a much greater measure of autonomy and power than any other Indian state, and the Centre’s jurisdiction within the state is more limited with respect to other states.

Thus, residents of Kashmir live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights.

WHAT’S THE HISTORY OF J&K’S ACCESSION?

Jammu and Kashmir were ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh. Most of them were Muslim-majority states led by Hindu kings. Those who had the ambition to create an independent state with their own ambitions did not belong to countries like India or Pakistan.

He remained undecided until 1947 when the Pashtun tribesmen who were not associated with Pakistan entered the Kashmir Valley to take him on the throne. Maharaja Hari Sing also faced some rebellion by his own army.

It was then that he agreed to be part of India under the Instrument of Execution of Jammu and Kashmir so that Jammu and Kashmir could retain the throne of the state.

Indian troops refuse Pashtun attacks. On October 5, 1947, Indian records were recorded on the throne of Jammu and Kashmir, after which the army was registered.

Hari Singh was not in the hands of the state that day and the government of India was the leader at that time, saying that Pakistan fought against imperialism. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had already infiltrated his army and forced the king to sign the dots.

On the basis of the establishment of a two-country theory, Pakistan’s objection to the connection with the Hindu-majority country of the Muslim-majority state is widespread.

WHAT IS ARTICLE 370?

Article 370 of the Constitution of India granted status and special treatment to Jammu and Kashmir and its citizens.

Article 370 was incorporated into the Indian Constitution in 1949, two years later, the state had acceded to India. It was signed between Hari Singh and Lord Mountbatten, then Governor-General of India, with the blessings of Nehru.

With the exception of defense, foreign affairs, finances, and communications, the Center needed the approval of the state government to frame the laws that affect it under Article 370.

Article 360 of the Constitution grants the Center the right to declare a financial emergency in a state, but Article 370 prevented the Center from doing so in the case of J& K, except during war or external aggression. The article gave the state its own Constitution and a flag with several concessions granted.

WHAT IS ARTICLE 35(A)?

Article 35 (A) was signed between Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah, then prime minister of the state, in 1954 after the state became part of India in 1947.

It gave the state government the power to define who its resident. The article had a retrospective effect, defining a resident of the state as one who had been living there for 10 years. This meant that one could not buy property in the state if he were not a resident there, regardless of his religion.

It also meant that while people could vote in the elections of Lok Sabha, they could not do so in municipal or state elections.

Indian laws also did not apply to the inheritance of property when a woman from Kashmir married a non-Kashmere. The decision of the Supreme Court to dismiss article 377 that decriminalized homosexuality did not apply to the state either.