6th Year for Abrogation of Article 370

Context

5th of August 2025, marks the sixth year for the abrogation of Article 370.

Article 370

• Article 370 was drafted as a temporary provision under Part XXI and came into effect in 1952.
• It allowed the state to have its own charter, flag, and make laws on all topics except finance, defence, foreign affairs, and communications. 
  • This meant the state had significant control over its internal topics.
• Article 35A: This article was provided through a Presidential Order known as The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, issued under the powers of Article 370.

Key provisions of Article 35A had been

• It allowed the state to grant special rights to permanent residents in regions like land possession, government jobs, and education scholarships.
• It barred non-residents from completely settling, buying property, or gaining access to state services.
• It had a discriminatory clause: if a woman resident married someone from outside the nation, she should lose her property rights, and the same carried out to her children.
• The provision mandates that no act of the state legislature coming under the ambit of Article 35A can be challenged for violating the Indian Constitution or every other regulation of the land.

Need to Remove Article 370

• Integration and Uniformity: Article 370 averted J&K to merge with India in preference to being a foundation of its merger.
  • Its removal was aimed toward bringing J&K at par with other Indian states in terms of constitutional, legal, and administrative structures.
• Security and National Integrity: The region has suffered from many years of terrorism and instability, regularly because of the cross-border impacts.
  • Removal was a step to ensure national sovereignty and stronger internal security.
• Socio-Economic Development: Due to Article 35A (derived from Article 370), non-citizens could not purchase land or settle in J&K, proscribing investment and development.
• Constitutional and Legal Grounds: Provision were temporary in the first region and has to head in the larger interest of the people of J&K
• Discriminatory: Daughters of the state marrying outside the state lose their rights to property. It was discriminatory to women and their children.
  • 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution couldn’t be carried out to J&K because of article 370. Panchayat and Nagar Palika elections could not be held. 

Way Ahead

• Article 370 was abrogated to acquire full constitutional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India, enhance governance, give a boost to national cohesion, remove legal discrimination, and promote development and peace in the area.
• Restoration of J&K’s statehood remains a quality demand, the government has promised to repair it at the right time, however petitions in the Supreme Court urge faster action for statehood healing, emphasising the need to uphold federal ideas.
• Article 370’s abrogation marked a turning point in India’s constitutional records, with its complete impact nonetheless unfolding throughout J&K.

Source: The Indian Express

Mains PYQ

Q. To what extent is Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, bearing marginal note “Temporary provision with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir”, temporary? Discuss The future prospects of this provision in the context of Indian polity. (2016)

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