What is Article 370 and its importance

Article 370

What is Article 370?

The Article 370 of the Indian constitution had the special status for Jammu and Kashmir region. The article was drafted in Part XXI of the Constitution - Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions.


The article, which came into effect in 1949, exempts Jammu and Kashmir state from the Indian constitution. 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.


And, 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. It permits the local legislature in Indian-administered Kashmir to define permanent residents of the region.

The importance of Article 370

• During the British period the state of Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by a hereditary king. Like many rulers Maharaja Hari Singh joined Dominion of India by signing the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947
• India agreed to accept the accession of Jammu and Kashmir on the request of Maharaja, who had found it necessary following the attack of the Azad Kashmir forces in the wake of the formation of Pakistan
• Accordingly the subjects of Defense, External Affairs and Communication in respect of Jammu and Kashmir like other states which joined India as per the Instrument came under the jurisdiction of the Dominion of India. With the implementation of the Constitution in 1950, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was included in the Part B of the First Schedule. Despite being a member of the Part E3 states, the part in which the erstwhile big Princely states were placed, special provisions were devised for the governance of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• These provisions were different from those meant for other states of the part B. These were incorporated in the Article 370 of the Constitution.
• The “permanent residents” of Jammu and Kashmir enjoys all rights which are guaranteed in the Constitution of the Country.
• No law passed by the Parliament regarding the state of Jammu and Kashmir can be applied to the state without the Order of President of India in concurrence of the State government.
• Though the executive and legislative powers of the State government cover the entire state, yet these powers do not apply to those areas which come under the jurisdiction of Parliament.
• A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the house can amend the Constitution by passing a bill. But the bill cannot make the changes in provisions relating to the relationship between the state and the Union.
• The aim of the Constituent Assembly was to write the constitution of the state and demarcate the jurisdiction of Union of India over the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The provisions of the Constituent Assembly were; applied as interim arrangements.
• No amendment of the Constitution of India can extend to Jammu and Kashmir unless it’s extended by the order of the President under Article 370 (1).
• The provisions of Part IV relating to the Directive Principle of State Policy do not apply to Jammu and Kashmir.
• The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir enjoys very limited powers. It cannot declare any law unconstitutional or issue writs, except for the enforcement of the Fundamental Right. By amendments of the Constitutional order, the jurisdiction of the Comptroller & Auditor- General, Election Commission and the special leave jurisdiction of the Supreme Court have been extended to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Latest Updates

On 5 August 2019, minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah told parliament that the president Ram Nath Kovind had signed a decree abolishing Article 370 of the constitution, stripping the significant autonomy Kashmir had enjoyed for seven decades.


The President of India issued a constitutional order revoking the 1954 order, and making all the provisions of the Indian constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. The order rendered the Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian constitution ineffective.


The government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also moved a bill proposing the Jammu and Kashmir state be divided into two "union territories" directly ruled by New Delhi.


Home Minister introduced the bill in the upper house of the Parliament that seeking to reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as a Union Territory and Ladakh region as a separate union territory. The bill stipulates that the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be split into two union territories of Ladakh and an eponymous Jammu and Kashmir region.


And now, the Jammu and Kashmir union territory will include the Hindu-majority Jammu region and will have a legislative assembly.


The Buddhist-majority Ladakh region, which has a considerable population of Shia Muslims, will also be a union territory, but it will not have an assembly.


From now on, people from the rest of India would have the right to acquire property in Jammu and Kashmir and settle there permanently.


All Indian laws will be automatically applicable to Kashmiris.

The government led by the BJP says this will bring development to the region.