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Article 370 — Kashmir Issues
02-07-2025 international relations Pakistan Affairs
According to Article 370 of the Indian constitution, the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was granted special status. It had selective autonomy, meaning it could have its own constitution separate from the Indian constitution. It also allowed the region to manage its own affairs except for foreign affairs, defense, and communications.
There was also another article called Article 35A, which defined what a Kashmiri resident is. This meant that no outsiders were allowed to purchase property in Kashmir or participate in Kashmir's bureaucracy.
But in 2019, both these articles were abrogated by a presidential order, and now Kashmir is a territory of the Indian Union.
Technically, Article 370 had a clause in it that allowed for its removal. The clause stated that the Article could cease to exist with a presidential order in consultation with the constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, but the constituent assembly didn't exist, which meant that the powers of J&K's assembly were transferred to the Indian parliament. So the parliament of India could make the decision of the removal of Article 370, and that is what it did.
The removal of both Article 370 and Article 35A means that Jammu and Kashmir cannot have a separate constitution and assembly now, and that other Indians can purchase property and land in the region, and become part of the bureucracy.
Critiques against the removal of Article 370
- This decision was undemocratic. This decision was made behind the Kashmiris' backs. Hundreds of troops were sent into Kashmir to counter possible unrest, Kashmiri politicians were under house arrest, a curfew was implemented, and internet and communications were shut down.
- This decision was unconstitutional. The state assembly was dissolved, and the decision was made using an opportunistic loophole.
- Removal of the article gives Kashmir no reason to remain connected to India. The Kashmir issue could now be raised again in the United Nations Security Council (which it was after Pakistan did so again).
- Kashmir has now become an Indian military occupied state.
Another important decision was to make Jammu and Kashmir into one union territory and Ladakh into another. This demotes the region of Kashmir from a special state to not even a state but a union territory. A state is autonomous, but a union territory is controlled by the central government.
Consequences
While the justification behind the removal of the article was that Kashmir would be better able to integrate with India, doing so in a non-democratic and unconstitutional way only led to more regional and ethnic tensions. Since the Kashmiri people themselves didn't want to integrate with India, the removal of the article achieved nothing. Instead, this only led to more terrorism in the region.
Ever since the decision was made, Jammu and Kashmir has remained either in a partial or full lockdown. The internet has been shut down various times, and the local tourism and economy have gotten much worse.
Related Ideas
The Kashmir Issue and Article 370 The history of Article 370 — Kashmir Issues
References
Article 370 Removal: Right or Wrong? | Explained by Dhruv Rathee