What is Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and why it is in news today - Everything that you should know

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a temporary provision that grants a special status of autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 was enacted under part XXI of the constitution that pertains to "Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions". Article 370 accords special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. As per this article, all the different provisions of the constitution that are applicable to other states of India are not to be extended to Jammu and Kashmir.

How and when Article 370 came about?

The provision of Article 370 was drafted in the year 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, who was appointed as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir together by Jawaharlal Nehru and Maharaja Hari Singh. During a discussion in the Parliament, Sheikh Abdullah argued that Article 370 must never be kept under the temporary provisions of the Constitution. He insisted that Jammu and Kashmir must be granted what he described as ‘iron clad autonomy’. However, the center did not comply with this demand.

The provisions contained in Article 370

Article 370 exempts the state of Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian Constitution excepting in cases of Article 1 and Article 370 itself. The provisions of article 370 permit the state to draft its own constitution. Ultimately this means that the Parliament’s legislative powers are restricted with regard to Jammu and Kashmir.

Article 370 states that the parliament will need the concurrence of the state government of Jammu and Kashmir for applying any law in the state other than those related to defense, foreign affairs, communications and finance. This will mean that the residents of the state of Jammu and Kashmir are governed by a separate set of laws in matters of property ownership, fundamental rights, citizenship and some others when compared to the Indians living in other states.

As per the provisions contained in Article 370, the citizens of India from the other states of the country cannot purchase any property or land in Jammu and Kashmir.

Also, this article says the central government has no powers to declare any financial emergency in the state as per Article 360. Emergencies in Jammu and Kashmir can be declared only during the times of external aggression or wars. If there are any internal disturbances within the state or there are any instances of imminent dangers, the central government cannot declare an emergency in the state unless the state government concedes to the moves of the union government.

Under Article 370, the Union government cannot increase or decrease the borders of Jammu and Kashmir.

Is it possible to delete Article 370?

Article 370 permits deletion through a presidential order. Such an order must be however preceded by the concurrence of the constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. One view says that this article cannot be deleted since such an assembly was dissolved in 1957. Another view says that it can be deleted if the state assembly concedes to deleting it.