Kashmir special status explained: What are

Articles 370 and 35A?

 What is Article 35A?

• Article 35A was introduced through a presidential order in

1954 to continue the old provisions of the territory regulations
under Article 370 of the Indian constitution.

• The article permits the local legislature in Indian-

administered Kashmir to define permanent residents of the
region.
• It forbids outsiders from permanently settling, buying land,
holding local government jobs or winning education
scholarships in the region.
• The article also bars female residents of Jammu and Kashmir
from property rights in the event that they marry a person from
outside the state. The provision also extends to such women's
children.
 What is Article 370?

• The article came into effect in 1949

• It allows the Indian-administered region jurisdiction to make
its own laws in all matters except finance, defence, foreign
affairs and communications.
• It established a separate constitution and a separate flag and
denied property rights in the region to the outsiders.
 Articles were revoked
• On 5 August 2019, the Government of
India revoked the special status, or limited autonomy,
granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to
Jammu and Kashmir
• Article 370 of the Indian constitution permits revocation
of the law by presidential order. However, such an order
must be introduced before the state's Constituent
Assembly.
 Why are they abolished?

• Prime Minister Modi led his BJP to a landslide win in May on

the back of a divisive campaign that ostensibly targeted
Muslims, vowing to remove Article 370 and its 35A provision.
• Indian government planning to form exclusive Hindu settlements
in the region
 What does this mean?

• With Indian-administered Kashmir's special status repealed,

people from the rest of India would have the right to acquire
property in Jammu and Kashmir and settle there permanently

• Kashmiris fear the move would lead to a demographic

transformation of the region from majority-Muslim to
majority-Hindu
 J&K Reorganization Act
• The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019, splits the
state into two Union Territories — one of Jammu & Kashmir,
and the other of Ladakh
• Lieutenant-governors for the two UTs will replace the J&K
governor
• The Election Commission will conduct polls for UT of J&K
as per the allocation of seats specified in the Delimitation of
Parliamentary Constituency
• Land ownership and employment will be open to all Indian
citizens
• Total number of seats in J&K assembly by direct election
will be 107, including SC/ST reservation
• The assembly, unless dissolved, will have a tenure of 5
years
• The assembly will legislate on items in the ‘State List’,
except public order and police, as is the case for other UTs
 Indian Human rights Abuses in Kashmir

• In the early hours of 5 August 2019, the authorities in Indian-

administered Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State imposed a
curfew on the entire territory of J&K and deployed several
thousand Indian army troops and J&K police across all 22
districts without any prior announcement
• In addition, on the evening of 4 August 2019 the Indian
government imposed a blanket communication blockade
across J&K
• Educational institutions and most shops in residential
neighborhoods were shut
• The ongoing communication clampdown has also prevented
journalists and human rights activists from assessing and
providing extensive reports on the situation on the ground
• Even health officials are not being allowed to move without a
curfew pass
• Political leadership is under house arrest