Article 370 of the Indian constitution grants autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was drafted as a temporary act and to last only till a new constitution for state was formed. However after the state assembly dissolved in 1957, it failed to either reverse or amend it thus the article became permanent in Indian Constitution.
The princely states sent their representatives for formation of constitutions. They were asked to formulate constituent assemblies for their own states. They came to common conclusion that all the states did not require a different constitution. This meant that legislation by the central and state governments was uniform across India. Jammu and Kashmir’s representatives of Constituent Assembly requested that only the provisions of the Indian Constitution that are in agreement to the original Instrument of Accession should be applied to the State. Thus article 370 was drafted. Dr BR Ambedkar, the principal drafter of the Indian Constitution, had refused to draft Article 370.
Instrument of Accession was implemented by Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 26 October 1947, where he declared that Jammu & Kashmir will be joining India after the partition. All princely states were asked to join either Pakistan or India after the partition by then Governor General of India - Lord Mountbatten. One of the points was “ Nothing in this Instrument shall be deemed to commit in any way to acceptance of any future constitution of India or to fetter my discretion to enter into agreement with the Government of India under any such future constitution..”
Government of India, adopted Article 370 and committed that the people of the state, through their own Constituent Assembly, would determine the internal constitution and the nature and extent of the jurisdiction of the India Union over the state, and until the decision of the Constituent Assembly of the State.
India took a political stand and provided special status to J&K due to the fact that it was a disturbed territory also to align with UN’s stance after the first Indo-Pak dispute in 1949 . It is speculated that another reason to grant autonomous rule to J&K could be to win the hearts of people.
What is Article 370?
Why are people urging for the removal of Article 370?
How does it affect India and terrorism according to politicans?
"Article 370 has made the state poor and deprived the people of opportunities to employment and industrialisation, and instead of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), it has led to Terrorism Direct Investment (TDI)," BJP MP Tarun Vijay : Source
After the Pulwama attack, there have been widespread protest about removal of article 370. It has also given to rise to a social media momentum. #removearticle370 has been trending on Twitter India.
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