ARTICLE 370: THE EPISODE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR Article 370 of the Constitution is

making a mockery of secularism, nationalism and the structure of unity.

REALITY CHECK!

Article 370 no longer puts that State on a special pedestal.

Article 370 has been largely confined to discussions of how the Indian government has undermined the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir or how it threatens India’s territorial integrity.

Article 370 is arguably the most contentious provision of the Constitution of India .

The state has managed to refute almost all the articles of the constitution or accepted them only in their modified version

WHEN IT ALL STARTED!

Prior to the partition of 1947, the British control over what was then known as India.

All rulers of these States owed allegiance to the British Crown. On 20th February, 1947, His Majesty’s Government announced

that independence would be given to British India The prospect of all 562 Indian States exercising their

independence was too mind-boggling. Military takeovers and civil wars were on the cards.

It was only by the instrument of Accession signed by the Maharaja the state acceded to India.

By its clause 370, the Maharaja accepted that the matters specified in the schedule are the state matters with respect to which the Indian legislature may make laws for the state J. & K.

Special relationship of J. & K. found its reflection in Article 370 of the Constitution when sheikh Abdullah gave his consent to it.

THE PLAGUE OF AFTERMATHS!

It was added temporarily and was to be removed within a time- period but it didn’t happen.

Kashmir being one such state was free to merge either in India or Pakistan and the ruler there decided to merge the state in the Union of India.

A separate part called PoK was formed as a tribal attack in 1947 over which the government of India had no control over.

The feelings of regionalism, communalism and separatism have been developed.

It is the tale of local versus non-local who are not state subjects.

PRESENT STATE

The provision dealing with the governmental machinery in the other states of the Union do not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Legislative authority of the Union Parliament in respect of this state is limited to those matters in the Union and Concurrent list.

Only such of the other provisions of the Constitution shall apply to this State as the President may by order specify.

SOME LANDMARK CASES

Sampat Prakash v State of Jammu & Kashmir“Article 370 could only have been intended to

remain effective until the Constitution of the State was framed and thereafter it must be held to have become ineffective without authority of law”

Mohammad Maqbool Damnoo v State of Jammu and Kashmir

“ Article 370 (1)(b) and (d) places no limitation on the framing or amendment of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir”

WHY ABROGATION IS NEEDED??

This Article is the root cause of all the trouble over J. & K.

it has encouraged the secessionist elements in other parts of the country.

Abrogation of the Article will prove that the Government is serious in tackling the menace of terrorism.

On objections by assembly for the inclusion of Article 370, an assurance was given by the framers of the Constitution that it would be weakened and modified gradually.

WHY NOW???

Article 370 serves as a reminder to the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country that the merger of the state is not complete.

The situation has become grave despite the fact that the Article is very much a part of the Constitution and as a result the State continues to enjoy the special status accorded to it when it acceded to India.

This special status delinks the state from rest of the country. It is called constitutionally recognized separatism.

SOME MIND BOGGLING QUESTIONS!

Is accession of Jammu and Kashmir complete like other states?

If the accession is complete, why then the special appeasement?

Is it so because there is Muslim majority ? Had there been Hindu majority in the

Kashmir valley, would there have been this clause of the Constitution ?

Does not this clause give an opportunity to the world to doubt our honesty ?

THE TRUTH ABOUT ARTICLE 370!

Jammu and Kashmir with the result the state does not come within the ambit of secularism

The President of India cannot dare to issue any order under Article 356, 360 0r 352 to Jammu and Kashmir.

A citizen has a dual citizenship. He does not have the right to have property and the right to vote in Jammu and Kashmir.

political groupism receives encouragement and no local nationalist Government can remain durable if it is not the product of anti-national elements.

Under Article 370 the Indian Parliament cannot increase or reduce the borders of the state. It is beyond its jurisdiction (Article 253).

NEED OF THE HOUR!

Article 370 is like a piece of bone stuck in the gullet: if it is swallowed, it may lead to death and if not, still death is there. But when the bone has become dangerous for the existence of the body. it is better to throw it out.

The root of the Kashmir conflict is not oppression but identity. The desire and right to fight for a separate nation-state are

given in their feeling that they are different from Indians, and this would be so even if they were not oppressed by the Indian state and enjoyed all democratic rights (which, of course, is not the case at present).

So Kashmiri “self-determination” would come at the expense of another “nation” or entail further partitions on ethnic lines. One atrocity after another without any justice in sight is a recipe for barbarism.

Kashmir will not be “free” if India withdraws because it is also occupied by Pakistan.

CONCLUSION: WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A WAY

Article 370 is a blot which is needed to be removed from the Constitution to help the state to come on equal footing with other states in the matter of development.

This pampering of Jammu & Kashmir has not only ignored the injustices but also the root of terrorism in India and violates the right to be equal.

The ultimate goal, of course, should be to bring Jammu & Kashmir within the mainstream of the Indian Constitution without Article 370.