ARTICLE 370

A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Efforts By-
Tanmay Gupta (20219)
1
Tanyushvi Garg (20220)
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

2
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Jammu and Kashmir Factfile → Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri are the official languages; Hindi,
Pahari and Ladakhi are also spoken in some parts of the
state.

→ Important rivers flowing through the state include the

Indus, the Chenab, the Jhelum, the Tawi and the Ravi.

Parameters Jammu and Kashmir

Summer capital – Srinagar
Capital cities
Winter capital – Jammu
Geographical area (sq km) 222,236
Administrative districts (No) 22
Population density (persons per
124
sq km)*
→ Jammu and Kashmir is the Northern-most state of India and it
shares borders with Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and the Total population (million)* 12.54
neighbouring countries of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan. Male population (million)* 6.66
The state consists of three regions: Jammu, the Kashmir
Female population (million)* 5.88
valley and Ladakh.
Sex ratio (females per 1,000
883
males)*
→ The climate of Jammu and Kashmir varies considerably with
its topography. The climate is primarily temperate. Literacy rate (%)* 68.7

ARTICLE 370 – AN INTRODUCTION 3

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

4
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

TIMELINE

August 1947

India gains independence from the British empire, Pakistan is created as a Muslim-majority country. India’s princely states, those not
officially with India or Pakistan, are given three choices—stay independent or join either India or Pakistan. Maharaja Hari Singh of
Jammu and Kashmir opted for status Quo, thus staying independent

October 1947

Maharaja Hari Singh reaches out to India for help after Pakistan’s armed tribesmen infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir. Help is offered by
India on the condition that the maharaja signs an instrument of accession (IoA) in favour of India (pdf), handing over control of defence,
foreign affairs, and communication.

1949

Article 370 is incorporated in the Indian Constitution as a “Temporary Provision”, exempting the state of Jammu and Kashmir from the
Constitution of India. This cements the terms spelt out in the Instrument of Accession

ARTICLE 370 – TIMELINE 5

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

TIMELINE

1956 and 1957

Constitution of J&K is adopted and comes into force

2018

President’s Rule is imposed and it is extended till December 2019

August 2019

Both the houses of the Parliament passed the Statutory Regulation proposed by the Government to abrogate Article 370 for "economic
development and growth" of the state. The state was bifurcated into two Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

For updated information, please visit www.ibef.org ARTICLE 370 – TIMELINE 6

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

7
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Meaning and Provisions

Described as a "temporary provision", Article 370 of the Indian Constitution granted Jammu and Kashmir a special
autonomous status within the Indian union. Then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru made an agreement with
Sheikh Abdullah, the prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir which called for India’s citizenship law to be made
applicable to the state and allowed the state to regulate the rights and privileges of its own permanent residents.

PROVISIONS:

→ Except for defense, foreign affairs, finance and communications, Parliament needs the state government’s concurrence for applying all other
laws. Thus, the state’s residents lived under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and
fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians.

→ Name and boundaries of the State cannot be altered without the consent of its legislature.

→ Indian citizens from other states cannot purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.

→ The Centre has no power to declare financial emergency under Article 360 in the state. An emergency could be declared in the state only in
case of war or external aggression.

ARTICLE 370 – MEANING AND PROVISIONSE 8

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

9
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

TWO Schools of Thoughts

→ The most discussed topics are the most misleading. The same applies to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Sadly,
most of the people don’t completely know about Jammu & Kashmir and Article 370. Many myths have been
disseminated over the years about the Constitutional relationship between Jammu & Kashmir and India. This
has given rise to arguments both in favour of and against the Abrogation of Article 370.

ARTICLE 370 – TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS 10

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

2 Schools of Thoughts

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF ABROGATION

→ prime aspect to be taken into consideration here is that the word “temporary” was
attached and this further makes it the only article incorporated for a limited period of
time in the Indian constitution. Thus “Temporary” provisions can not be conferred as
rights.
→ Article 370 was in opposition to Article 14, which guarantees equality. Critics even argue
that a nation cannot allow the separatists demand to persist and it is the right time to
bring an end to any such a provision.
→ The existence of article 370 makes Jammu and Kashmir have its own constitution, and
this is not rendering full protection of Fundamental Rights and also there is no mention
of minorities. In addition to all this, there exists wide discrimination in terms of gender
rights and an example to support this point would be that of property rights-
here women are denied equal rights to the property. Moreover, if a woman marries non-
resident Kashmiri, then she is denied her rights to the entitlement of property in the in
state of Jammu and Kashmir.
→ There are instances of many demeaning and disastrous rights which existed because of
article 370 and this, in turn, undermined the rights of Indians because of the Kashmir
Constitution.

ARTICLE 370 – TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS 11

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

2 Schools of Thoughts

ARGUMENTS AGAINST ABROGATION

→ The same provisions of the Article 370 cannot be used to dilute it. Not seeking state
legislature’s nod is against the spirit of consultation.
→ The critics argue that revoking the article 370 from the Indian Constitution would
actually mean the destruction of the constitutional bridge between India and the state
of Jammu and Kashmir.
→ Some conclude that it would lead to communal clashes and would also give rise to
jeopardy to the relationship which exists between Indian and Jammu and Kashmir.
→ Amongst the three wars that have been fought between India and Pakistan, two of them
were for the reason of state of Jammu and Kashmir, which were in the year 1947 and
1999. Bringing up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir again to light would lead to more
such developments.

ARTICLE 370 – TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS 12

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

13
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Pakistan’s Stance on abrogation of article 370

→ Article 370 being a temporary provision curtails

the powers of the Indian constitution with regard
to making of laws for the state of Jammu and
Kashmir. Pakistan had even given out the
statement that it would not accept the scrapping
of article 370 in any circumstances and even added
that the people of Kashmir would also not accept
the same.

Pakistan has stated that it cannot accept the

abrogation of article 370 and in support of its point it
lays down that the abrogation of article 370 would be
in violation of UN resolution.

ARTICLE 370 – PAKISTAN’S STANCE 14

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

15
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

IMPLICATIOMS

Special powers of Jammu → All the previously enjoyed “temporary” powers are revoked with Abrogation of Article 370
and Kashmir are revoked

Formation of 2
Union Territories: → The state Jammu and Kashmir was divided into 2 union territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

Indian Constitution → The constitution of India has come into force completely with the Assembly of the Union Territories having
will apply a duration of 5 years unlike the J&K constitution having the duration as 6 years

Single Citizenship → The residents of Jammu and Kashmir have no separate citizenship and are citizens of India only

Article 360 (Financial → The president has the power to declare financial emergency in the Union Territories of the Jammu and
Emergency Applicable): Kashmir and Ladakh, which was previously out of his bound

Reservations → 16% reservations for minorities. There were reservations under Article 370

ARTICLE 370 – IMPLICATIONS 16

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

IMPLICATIOMS

→ Right to Information was denied to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. With abrogation of the article, the
RTI Applicable people have got their Fundamental Right back

People from outside J&K

→ The Centre paved the way for people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to buy land in the union territory
can buy land there

Non-local spouses of J&K → Domicile certificate was allowed to be granted to the husbands of local women married to people from
women get domicile status outside Jammu and Kashmir.

Separate flag of Jammu and → After the abrogation of Article 370, the civil secretariat in Srinagar hoisted the Indian Tricolour, while the
Kashmir became defunct state's own flag was missing.

No security clearance for → The CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has ordered the denial of security clearance required for
passport to stone pelters: passport and other government services to all those involved in stone-pelting or subversive activities.

The formation of Gupkar → Many leaders have come together - along with four other parties in Kashmir - to forge an informal alliance
alliance that aims to work for the restoration of the region's special status.

ARTICLE 370 – IMPLICATIONS 17

ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

18
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

IMPACT

SOCIAL IMPACT
• Upliftment of Women: The spouses of women get domicile status even if they don’t live there. They can now
buy land and apply for jobs with the state government. It is indeed a massive win for the women, as they
don’t need to risk their right to hold real estate just because they married outside the state.

• Reduced Terrorism: The number of terrorist occurrences in 2020 has decreased by 59 percent compared to
2019. In April 2021, the ministry said that terrorism incidents had decreased by 60 percent following the
repeal of Article 370. Until June 2021, the number of occurrences decreased by an additional 32 percent
compared to a similar period in 2020.

• The number of stone-pelting incidents and attacks have also declined for the time being.

• Employment Opportunities: The AIIMS, IIT, IIM, and many more institutions are going to create opportunities
for at least 25,000 students.

For updated information, please visit www.ibef.org STATE ACTS & POLICIES 19
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

IMPACT

ECONOMIC IMPACT

• A total of 456 MoUs worth Rs 23,152.17 crore had been inked with potential investors. The Centre has also
approved a new Industrial Development Scheme for Jammu and Kashmir with a budget of Rs 28,400 crore to
promote industrial activity while also fostering the growth of existing enterprises. Moreover, the J&K
administration authorised a Rs 1,352,99 crore economic revitalisation plan in September 2020.

• Two huge IT Parks are being set up in Jammu and Srinagar and 15 power projects have been inaugurated and
20 more have been started

• The step has attracted many foreign investors to invest in the new Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir
and Ladakh. Investments proposals worth 20,000 crores have been received in the last 2 years

For updated information, please visit www.ibef.org STATE ACTS & POLICIES 20
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

Contents
v J&K – AN INTRODUCTION

v TIMELINE

v MEANING AND PROVISIONS

v TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

v PAKISTAN’S STANCE

v IMPLICATIONS

v IMPACT

v CONCLUSION

21
ARTICLE 370
A Constitutional Impediment to Resolving the Kashmir Crisis

CONCLUSION

The change has brought about socio-economic development in both the new UTs, i.e. UT of Jammu-Kashmir and
the UT of Ladakh. Empowerment of people, removal of unjust laws, bringing in equity and fairness to those
discriminated against since ages who are now getting their due along with comprehensive development are few
of the important changes that are ushering both the new Union Territories towards the path of peace and
progress.

Despite challenges, Jammu and Kashmir is seeing rapid transformation; it is fast changing into a modern state
with major development potential

However, with just 3 years into the Abrogation of the Article 370, it is very difficult to conclude that it has
brought about more harmony in the area. The short-term impacts are definitely showing a positive sign
though.

For updated information, please visit www.ibef.org STATE ACTS & POLICIES 22