Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is described as a “temporary provision” granting the State of Jammu and Kashmir special autonomous status within the Union of India. In accordance with Article 370(1)(b), the Parliament of the Union may legislate on behalf of the State `only in consultation with the Government of the State` in certain matters provided for in the instrument of accession, namely defence, foreign affairs and communications. Other matters on the lists of legislative subjects may only apply to Jammu and Kashmir with the “consent of the State Government” by presidential decree. Article 370 (1) (d) provides that other constitutional provisions may be applied to the State from time to time, “subject to any modification or exception” made by the President of India, including by order of the President, so long as they do not fall within the aforesaid matters and except with the consent of the State Government. This article was contained in Part XXI of the Constitution, entitled “Temporary, transitional and special provisions”. [5] The Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly was empowered after its establishment to recommend which articles of the Indian Constitution should be applied to the state or to repeal Article 370 altogether. After consultation with the State Constituent Assembly, the Presidential Order of 1954 was issued, which established the articles of the Indian Constitution that applied to the State. Since the Constituent Assembly dissolved without recommending the repeal of Article 370, this section was considered an integral part of the Indian Constitution. [6] [7] In the months following the repeal of Section 370, however, there has been only a moderate reaction, particularly from the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia. [a] The few exceptions were Pakistan, China, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran, which expressed concern about developments in 2019. Criticism of India`s actions in Kashmir has been moderate and remarkable compared to, for example, the international reaction to China`s actions in Hong Kong. [b] This article attempts to understand the reasons for this relative silence.

It is based on interviews with foreign diplomats posted in India in August 2019, as well as an analysis of published secondary sources. [c] On January 13, 2020, a Reuters article reported that internet services in Kashmir had not been fully restored, forcing Kashmiris to board a crowded train – called “Internet Express” – to travel to a nearby town of Banihal to use internet cafes for 300 rupees ($4.20) per hour. The deputy chairman of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Majeed Mir, says nearly 500,000 jobs have been lost since the blockade, saying “irreversible damage has been done to the economy.” [88] On August 5, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah announced to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) that the President of India had issued the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019 (C.O. 272) pursuant to Section 370, replacing the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954. The ordinance states that all provisions of the Indian constitution apply to Jammu and Kashmir. While the 1954 Ordinance stipulated that only certain sections of the Indian Constitution were to apply to the State, the new Ordinance removed all these restrictions. This means that the separate constitution of Jammu and Kashmir has been abrogated. It was stated that the order was issued with the “consent of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir”, i.e. apparently the Governor appointed by the Union Government. [11] China has stated that it supports Pakistan`s position and stresses its opposition to the establishment of Ladakh as a separate territory ruled by New Delhi. China currently controls an area that India claims as an extension of Ladakh. Constitutional scholar Faizan Mustafa characterized the 1947 agreement (known as the instrument of accession), by which the Maharajah of Kashmir decided to join India, as an agreement between two sovereign states – in other words, it has the character of an international treaty.

He says that by repealing Article 370, the Indian government can be interpreted as Kashmir`s return to its pre-deal sovereign statehood. The Constitution of India is a federal structure. The legislative items are divided into a “list of the Union”, a “list of States” and a “competing list”. The list of ninety-six subjects of the Union, including defence, military and foreign affairs, major transport systems, trade issues such as banking, stock exchanges and taxation, provides that the Union government can only legislate. The list of sixty-six articles, covering prisons, agriculture, most industries, and some taxes, is available for states to legislate. The competing list, on which the center and states can legislate, includes criminal law, marriage, bankruptcy, unions, the liberal professions and price controls. In the event of a conflict, Union law shall prevail. The “residual power” to legislate on matters not provided for in the Constitution belongs to the Union. The Union may also designate certain industries, inland waterways, ports, etc.

as `nationals`; in that case, they become subjects of the Union. [64] The process of partitioning British India was governed by the Indian Independence Act of 1947. The princely states were not directly incorporated into the two dominions, and section 7(1)(b) of the Act provided that Her Majesty`s “suzerainty” over these states had expired and their powers had been restored to them. They theoretically had the option of remaining independent or joining one of the two Dominions. However, a magazine article states: “With British forces available to defend them, independence was not a real option for the princely states, many of which were quite small. States were encouraged by the viceroy of the time, Lord Mountbatten, to join either dominion” and did so because of their geographical location, religious identity, or other factors. The ruler of Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, was hesitating at the time between joining one of the two dominions and deciding to remain independent and neutral, as noted in another article: On August 5, 2019, the Indian Parliament passed a resolution by Home Minister Amit Shah to revoke temporary special status or autonomy. granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir – a region administered by India as a state consisting of most of Kashmir, which has been the subject of disputes between India, Pakistan and China since 1947.

[1] [2] A bill was also quickly passed by both houses of Parliament dividing the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two federal territories (also known as the Union). One will be called Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a state legislature. The other is Ladakh, which is ruled directly from New Delhi. When Article 370 was originally created, only two articles of the Indian Constitution fully applied to Jammu and Kashmir. Other provisions of the Constitution would apply, with exceptions and amendments to be determined by the President in his order in consultation with or with the consent of the State Government. [34] In exercising these powers, conferred by Article 370(3) of the Constitution, the President issued a series of orders with the consent of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed`s tenure lasted a decade, until October 1963. The sequence of events of this decade strongly suggests a contractual relationship between Bakshi and the Indian government, whereby he would be allowed to lead an unrepresentative and irresponsible government in Srinagar in exchange for facilitating the “integration” of the IJK with India on New Delhi`s terms. The result was twofold: paralysis of the rule of law and democratic institutions within the IJK; and an erosion of the IJK`s autonomy, achieved (as required by Article 370) with the “consent” of the IJK government – which consisted of a motley clique of New Delhi client politicians. [24] In the recent national elections, which it won by a wide margin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised to repeal Article 370. With the exception of one clause, to which the government raises no objection, this was done by presidential decree of 5 August.

[g] In December 2019, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar cancelled a meeting of the US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee due to the participation of Pramila Jayapal. Because of this status, the state of Jammu and Kashmir issued its own constitution, which was formally adopted by a constituent assembly on 17 November 1956 and adopted on 26 November 1956. It entered into force in January 1957. Pakistan, which claims the Kashmir region, called the move illegal and said it would take “all possible measures” to counter it – the measures were not taken.