{"id":345565,"date":"2025-09-01T20:20:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T14:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=345565"},"modified":"2025-09-02T22:08:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T16:38:53","slug":"restoring-jammu-and-kashmir-statehood-safeguards-federalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/restoring-jammu-and-kashmir-statehood-safeguards-federalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoring Jammu and Kashmir statehood safeguards federalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: The post Restoring Jammu and Kashmir statehood safeguards federalism has been created, based on the article \u201cThe importance of India\u2019<\/strong>s federal design<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 1 September\u00a0 2025. Restoring Jammu and Kashmir statehood safeguards federalism.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Restoring<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> GS Paper 2- I<\/strong>ssues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure<\/p>\n

Context<\/strong>: The Supreme Court asked the Centre for a detailed response on restoring Jammu & Kashmir\u2019s statehood while hearing Zahoor Ahmed Bhat v. UT of J&K<\/em>. The matter follows the Court\u2019s 2023 directions and concerns the present constitutional status and governance of Jammu & Kashmir.<\/p>\n

For detailed information on Supreme Court upholds repeal of J&K<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s Special Status<\/strong> read this article here<\/a><\/p>\n

What constitutional questions are before the Court?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Petitioners<\/strong>\u2019 <\/strong>claims on rights and federalism: <\/strong>They argue that the failure to restore statehood harms citizens\u2019 rights in J&K. They also say this failure violates essential federal features and thus the Constitution\u2019s basic structure.<\/li>\n
  2. Court<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s stance on institutional roles: <\/strong>The Court stated that it does not possess full policy expertise. Some decisions lie with the executive, within constitutional limits and the separation of powers.<\/li>\n
  3. Why the Centre<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s detailed reply matters: <\/strong>A comprehensive reply is needed to set out the Union\u2019s position and timeline. The reply will address the constitutional concerns raised in the petition.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How does the Constitution confer or reshape statehood?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Admission into the Union: <\/strong>To be admitted into the Union, a territory must be an organised political unit. If admission occurs through acquisition, the process must follow international law. J&K entered India in 1947 through the Instrument of Accession executed by Maharaja Hari Singh under the Indian Independence Act, 1947.<\/li>\n
    2. Establishment after acquisition: <\/strong>When India acquires territory in line with international law, Parliament may establish it as a State. Goa and Sikkim followed this route.<\/li>\n
    3. Formation by reorganisation (Article 3): <\/strong>Parliament may form new States, unite territories, change areas, alter boundaries, or rename States. Such reorganisation expanded India from 14 States in 1956 to 29 before the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What guardrails preserve India\u2019<\/strong>s federal balance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Article 3 powers bounded by federal design: <\/strong>Parliament\u2019s powers are broad, but they operate within federal constraints that protect constitutional balance.<\/li>\n
      2. No conversion of a State into a Union Territory: <\/strong>The Union may reduce a State\u2019s area, but it cannot convert a State into a Union Territory. Such a move would run against India\u2019s federal features.<\/li>\n
      3. Consequence for J&K: <\/strong>Restoring J&K\u2019s statehood follows the constitutional design. The timing may depend on conditions on the ground.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        How is India\u2019<\/strong>s federal architecture designed, and why does it matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. Union of States and indivisibility: <\/strong>Article 1 describes India as a Union of States with no right to secede. \u201cIndia\u201d denotes a unitary federation, and \u201cBharat\u201d reflects composite culture and unity in diversity.<\/li>\n
        2. Strong Centre with welfare federalism: <\/strong>The term \u201cUnion\u201d protects unity and integrity. The federal character enables equitable resource distribution and supports a welfare state. This federal character is part of the Basic Structure.<\/li>\n
        3. Continuous State voice at the Centre: <\/strong>The Rajya Sabha is permanent under Article 83(1) and is not subject to dissolution. This ensures ongoing State representation at the Union level.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Where do things stand after the 2023 ruling?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
            \n
          1. Supreme Court directions and elections: <\/strong>On December 11, 2023, the Court upheld the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. It also directed restoration of statehood and Assembly elections. Elections for the 90-member Assembly were held in October 2024.<\/li>\n
          2. Government<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s stance so far: <\/strong>There is no indication yet from the Union on restoring statehood.<\/li>\n
          3. Critics<\/strong>\u2019 <\/strong>concern and constitutional answer: <\/strong>Critics say restoration would empower the elected government and curtail the Lieutenant Governor\u2019s powers. Accepting that view would conflict with India\u2019s constitutional design and would erode federal features.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Examine how the question of restoring Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s statehood highlights constitutional processes of state reorganisation, the limits protecting India\u2019s federal balance, and the broader design of India\u2019s federal structure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Source: The post Restoring Jammu and Kashmir statehood safeguards federalism has been created, based on the article \u201cThe importance of India\u2019s federal design\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 1 September\u00a0 2025. Restoring Jammu and Kashmir statehood safeguards federalism. UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2- Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure Context: The Supreme… Continue reading Restoring Jammu and Kashmir statehood safeguards federalism<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":345623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[212,8131,10498],"class_list":["post-345565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-social-issues","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Restoring-Jammu-and-Kashmir-statehood-safeguards-federalism.png?fit=1280%2C850&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}