Article 370

Article 370 deals exclusively with Jammu & Kashmir State that came under the administrative control of the Government of India after the country' 15-month war that Pakistan started in 1947 to seize sovereignty and is arguably the most controversial provision of the Constitution of India. x The origin of Article 370 can be traced back to British Raj in India.The communal basis of division of British India would not affect the States at all thus, with the withdrawal of power, the princely States would become "˜independent"™. Neither the British Government nor the cabinet mission made any suggestion regarding the future of the princely States except that they would become legally independent. 1947: The Maharaja of the State of Jammu and Kashmir signs the Instrument of Accession (IOA) on 26 October, acceding the 75% majority Muslim region to the Indian Union, following invasion by the tribesmen from Pakistan, according to the 1948 Indian White Paper; India accepts the accession, regarding it provisional until such time as the will of the people can be ascertained by a plebiscite, since Kashmir was recognized as a disputed territory. The instrument of accession was signed by the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir whereby only Defence, Communications and External Affairs were surrendered by the State to the Dominion of India. In October 1947, the then prime minister of India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru made certain commitments and in consideration of those the accession was made by the ruler in favors of India. Article 370 was then incorporated in the Constitution in the pursuance of those commitments. Article 370 gave J&K a greater measure of autonomy as compared to other states and the power of the Union of India is restricted in the state. The Indian Parliament would need the state government's concurrence for applying all other laws. 1947-1952: Sheikh Abdullah drifts from a position of endorsing accession to India in 1947 to insisting on the self-determination of Kashmiris in 1952. In July 1952, he signs Delhi Agreement with the Central government on Centre-State relationships, providing for autonomy of the State within India and of regions within the State; Article 370 is confirmed and the State is allowed to have its own flag. The domination of Kashmir Valley (which has a 95% Muslim majority and accounts for more than 50% of the total population of Indian J&K) and Abdullah' land reforms create discontent in Jammu and Ladakh; An agitation is launched in the Hindu-majority Jammu region against the Delhi Agreement and in favour of full accession with the Indian Union; the movement is withdrawn later, due to pressure from the Center; Secessionist sentiments in the Valley and communalism in Jammu feed each other. Asim Jaiswal"Article 370" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-5 , August 2018, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd17026.pdf http://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/other/17026/article-370/asim-jaiswal