Daily News Simplified - DNS

06 08 19
Notes
SL. THE HINDU
TOPICS
NO. PAGE NO.

1 J&K loses its special status, divided into two UTs 01

2 A wrong way to end 10

3 Piecing together Kashmir‘s audacious road map 10

4 An integration without integrity 10

5 How J&K status is being changed? 13

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Title 1. J&K loses its special status, divided into two UTs (The Hindu Page 01)
Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance
Mains: GS Paper II in Polity
Theme Article 370 & new J&K status
Highlights Recent context:
 Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah, introduced two bills and two resolutions
regarding Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) today. These are as follows:
 Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019 {Ref. Article 370(1) of
Constitution of India} – issued by President of India to supersede the 1954 order related to
Article 370.
 Resolution for Repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution of India {Ref. Article 370 (3)}
 Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 {Ref. Article 3 of Constitution of India}
 Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2019

About Article 370:

 Included in the Constitution on October 17, 1949, Article 370 exempts J&K from the Indian
Constitution (except Article 1 and Article 370 itself) and permits the state to draft its own
Constitution. It restricts Parliament‘s legislative powers in respect of J&K. By the 1954 order,
almost the entire Constitution was extended to J&K including most Constitutional amendments.
 Article 370 is a ―Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.‖ Clause
3 states that ―the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be
operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date
as he may specify: Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State
referred to in clause ( 2 ) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification‖.

Changes to J&K status

 The Government is moving a resolution which would repeal the provisions under Article 370 of
the Constitution of India,which granted a special status to the state of J&K. The provisions of
Article 370 would cease to exist from the date President of India issues a notification in this
regard, after the recommendation of the Parliament. Consequently, the Constitution of India
would get applicable to J&K, on par with other states/UTs of the country.
 Under article 370(3), there is a provision that President, on recommendation of the Parliament,
has the power to amend or cease the implementation of article 370,through a public notification.
This has already happened on a number of occasions in the past.
 The Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 making Jammu & Kashmir a Union
territory with a Legislative Assembly,along with Union Territory status to Ladakh without a
Legislative Assembly.
 Further, the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2019 to amend the Jammu &
Kashmir Reservation Act 2004 was also introduced. This bill seeks to extend the 10% quota to
economically weaker sections of society in J&K in jobs and educational institutions. Both the
bills were passed by Rajya Sabha unanimously.
 There will be an amendment to the first schedule to the Indian Constitution. Entry 15 of the ―I.
THE STATES‖, that lists J&K will be deleted and under the heading —―II. UNION
TERRITORIES‖: entry 8 would be Jammu and Kashmir & entry 9 would be Ladakh. Fourth
Schedule would be amended with entry 21 shall be deleted & entry 31 to be added as J&K.
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Personal Notes
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Title 2. A wrong way to end (The Hindu – Page 10)

Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance
Mains: Polity & Governance
Theme J&K status
Highlights  Political integration of the Jammu and Kashmir through Presidential Order of 2019 has been marked
by executive excess as this was done when there is no legislative assembly in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir because of imposition of Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.
 Thus, the concurrence was taken from an unelected Governor who again acted on centre‘s behest as
he holds office during the pleasure of the President.
 In sum, the process to change the constitutional status of a sensitive border State has been achieved
without any legislative input or representative contribution from its people.
 Can the appointed governor not only replace but also supersede a legislative assembly and can his
concurrence can be construed as a concurrence of the people of the state.
 The move of the centre has taken right to vote of those people residing in the territory of Ladakh as it
now is a UT without a legislative assembly.
Personal Notes
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Title 3. Piecing together Kashmir‘s audacious road map (The Hindu, Page 10)
Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance
Mains: G.S. II in Polity & Governance
Theme J&K Status
Highlights  Even the founding fathers recognised that Article 370 was a transitional or temporary provision,
there was a clear subtext that its revocation would only happen once the acquiescence of the people
of the State was obtained.
 The move will be legally challenged on grounds of procedural infirmities and, more substantively,
that it undermines the basic feature of the compact between Delhi and Srinagar that was agreed upon
in 1947.
 The real test will be how the people of the state particularly the valley respond to the situation once
situation is normalized and security cordon is lifted from the State.
 Kashmir can become more vulnerable considering the larger geo-politics at play in the region
including Central Asia. With the United States seeking a quick exit from, and willing to let the Inter-
Services Intelligence-sponsored Taliban to control Afghanistan (and China deeply embedded in the
power play), the heartland of central Asia has rarely been as adverse to Indian interests since 1989,
when the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan.

Devolution of power to local bodies

 Since the imposition of Governor‘s (and now President‘s) Rule, the State Administrative Council has
acted with remarkable alacrity to devolve powers to Panchayati raj institutions in the State.
Implementation of important schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the Mid-Day Meal scheme, Integrated Child
Development Services and social forestry projects has been devolved to the panchayats.
 The monitoring and supervision of schools and health institutions has also been passed on to the
panchayati raj institutions. In addition, panchayats shall also be conducting a quarterly social audit of
works and programmes in their area.

Development and not corruption

 Almost every popular survey in Jammu and Kashmir reveals that one of the leading causes of youth
angst and alienation was nepotism and corruption among the ruling elite.
 This anti-corruption drive is accompanied by attempts to fast track development to create institutions
of academic and extra-curricular excellence and to generate skilled employment in a manner that the
youth are gainfully employed and weaned away from radical thought.
 Thus, the new doctrine will have to persuade the majority of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that
greater integration with India will provide them with more opportunities, provide more freedom and
space, and strengthen their rights much more than the alternatives proposed by other mainstream
parties or separatists.
Personal
Notes
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Title 4. An integration without integrity (The Hindu, Page 10)

Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance
Mains: G.S. II in Polity & Governance
Theme J&K Status
Highlights No equivalence between Constituent Assembly and Legislative Assembly
 The article highlights that Home Minister read down the words ―Constituent Assembly‖ to mean
―Legislative Assembly of the State‖; having cleverly dissolved the Assembly and usurped its power,
in effect it is the government that is giving concurrence to itself.
 Constituent Assembly as per the author is a body of representatives who are the embodiment of the
‗constituent power‘ that is needed to co-constitute a nation-state into existence. So, at the core of
constituent power is democratic consent. India derives its legitimacy from its Constitution, and the
Indian Constitution in turn is legitimate because it is supported by a constituent power in the form
of democratic consent. Thus, in government‘s interpretation of the words ‗Constituent Assembly,
there is no acknowledgment of constituent power.
 Article 370(2) clearly mentions that the concurrence of the State Government needed to be taken
only before the Constituent Assembly was convened. There is no mention that the State Legislative
Assembly will have these powers after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. Thus, there
seems to be a legislative vacuum.
 The Constituent Assembly as the embodiment of constituent power is what creates and authorises,
gives birth and grants the power to the legislative assembly. Thus, as per the author, there is no
equivalence between a Constituent Assembly and Legislative Assembly.
Personal
Notes
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Title 5. How J&K status is being changed (The Hindu, Page 13)
Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance
Mains: G.S. II in Polity & Governace
Theme J&K Status
Highlights Context: The President of India has promulgated the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir)
Order, 2019 in concurrence with the state government of Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect. The
2019 order supersedes the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 and states
that all provisions of Constitution of India shall apply at once.
Replacing Presidential Order of 1954 by 2019
 The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, lists the Articles and provisions
that apply to J&K.
 These special measures can be altered only on the recommendation of the Sadar-i-Riyasat of Jammu
and Kashmir, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers or by the ―Constituent Assembly‖ of that
State. As of now, there is no ―Constituent Assembly‖.
 So, a Presidential Order was issued under Article 370(1) of the Constitution titled Constitution
(Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019. This clause enables the President to specify the
matters which are applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.
 However, a Presidential Order under Article 370(1) can be issued only with the Jammu and Kashmir
government‘s concurrence.
 The notification uses the words “with the concurrence of the Government of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir”. This presumably means the Governor, who is now administering the State under President‘s
Rule, has given his concurrence on behalf of the State government.
 The Order supersedes the 1954 Order. This effectively means that all the provisions that formed the
basis of a separate ―Constitution‖ of Jammu and Kashmir stand abrogated. The Order declares that all
the provisions of the Constitution of India, shall apply to Jammu and Kashmir too.
Article 367
 However, some special measures were still needed for the scrapping of Article 370 altogether.
Therefore, a few clauses were added to Article 367 of the Constitution, which contains
―Interpretations‖. They contain guidance on how to read or interpret some provisions.
 The new clauses say, when applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, all references to the ‗Sadar-i-Riyasat‘,
acting on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, will be construed as references to the
Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
 All references to the State government shall mean ―the Governor‖. And most importantly, the reference
to the ―Constituent Assembly‖ in a proviso to Article 370 (3) has been amended to read “Legislative
Assembly of the State”.
 Since, the constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir no longer exists, hence its role has to be played
by the legislative assembly of the state.

Personal
Notes