The Article 370 and Special Status
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Transcript of The Article 370 and Special Status
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TAOFFICERS.BLOGSPOT.IN The Article 370 And Special Status To Kashmir
The Instrument of Accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was signed by the Maharaja Hari Singh
in October, 1947 and a special status was given to the State through the Article 370.
The wordings of Article 370 and its title "Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and
Kashmir" are both significant as they imply that it was designed as a temporary or provisional
arrangement. Thus, among the main aims of granting a special status were, (a) to ensure the
Kashmiris that their distinct identity would be preserved and (b) to placate the Muslims of the Valley
who were felling uncertain over their future.
According to many legal experts Article 370 is the umbilical cord only that links J&K to India. The
Article essentially governs central-state relations pertaining to J&K Centre-State relations and issues
of regional balance within States are similarly dealt with in the case of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal etc. In Article 371-A to I
and schedules 5 and 6. Kashmir, in this sense, is not uniquely treated. Article 371-A relating to
Nagaland provides that no Act of Parliament with regard to certain matters specified shall apply to
Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of that state by resolution so decides.
Since the State of Travancore insisted that payments to its Devaswom Fund for the maintenance of
certain Hindu temples must be continued as a condition for extension of the Indian Constitution to its
domain, this was accepted incorporated in Article 290-A. The Constitution is replete with such 'special
provisions'.
When objections were raised in the Constituent Assembly regarding the inclusion of Article an
assurance was given by the farmers of the Constitution that it would get eroded gradually. This
happened to some extent during the premiership of Bakshi Ghulam Mohmmad, but it was not taken to
its logical conclusion. So stating the Article as the root cause of all the trouble over J&K and in the
fear of demand for a plebiscite, a promise made by Mr. Nehru in 1948 some political parties have
been demanding abrogation of the Article. They also believe that this Article has encouraged the
secessionist elements in other part of the country. The Bharatiya Janta Part made abrogation of this
Article as one of its commitments in the election manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls also.
Article 370 servers as a reminder to the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country
that it is yet to merge with the country. This impression creates uncertainty and ambiguity. It is also
argued that the situation has become grave despite that the factor that the Article is very much a part
of the Constitution and as a result, the state continues to enjoy the special status accorded to it when
it acceded to India.
The fact is that Article 370 is the only legal window through which the Republic of India maintains its
territorial link with J&K and extends it jurisdiction to the State. To scrap this special provision would
mean reverting to the Instrument of Accession. Such reversion would merely offer an opportunity to
the secessionists in Kashmir to demand a plebiscite and proved further ground to those seeking to
internationalize the issue. After Kashmir's accession, this state was permitted to enjoy two special
rights - a separate Constitution and retention of Kashmir State subject laws, in vie the unusual
historical circumstances leading to the accession.