Article 370 and Article 35A

Article 370

• Article 370 was included in the Indian Constitution on October 17, 1949, as a ‘temporary provision’, which exempts Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian Constitution.
• It provides special status to J&K and permits the state to draft its own constitution. Further, It also restricts the Indian Parliament’s legislative powers in the state.
• In short, it accorded special status to the state, giving the J&K legislature free rein to draft its own laws, except in the areas of communications, defence, finance, and foreign affairs.
• As a result, Jammu and Kashmir had their own constitution, flag, and penal code.

Article 35A

• Article 35A stems from Article 370 and was introduced through a Presidential Order in 1954, on the recommendation of the J&K Constituent Assembly.
• Article 35A empowers the Jammu & Kashmir legislature to define the permanent residents of the state, and their special rights and privileges.
• Special rights and privileges in matters related to,
  • Public employment
  • Acquisition of immovable property in the State
  • Settlement in different parts of the State.
  • Access to scholarships
  • Voting rights
  • Other such aids that the State government might provide.
• Legislations to confer special rights and privileges are exempt from being annulled on the ground that they infringe on any of the fundamental rights provided under the Indian Constitution.

Present Status:

On the 5^th of August 2019, the President of India promulgated the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019. It revokes the special status given to Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370 and Article 35A.

A separate Bill – the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 – was passed and bifurcated the State into two separate union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature), and Ladakh (without legislature).