Article 370 - Reason for J&K dispute

By -

The article 370 of the Indian Constitution deals with a temporary autonomous status given to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. After Independence, the people of Kashmir having majority of Muslims, were apprehensive about their identity having lost in a Hindu dominated country. Moreover, there was a tremendous pressure from different Islamic groups to give special powers or autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Under such internal and external circumstances, the Indian government had to give special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir under article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

History Background

In 1947, the British before leaving India tried to further divide India into different parts by provoking the various princes and maharajas to choose their rightful destinies. This could have lead to splitting of India into more than 100 different nations. But the iron man, sardar Patel, did not allow it to happen by bringing into confidence hundreds of those kings or princes into forming the union of india. But one, the maharajah of Kashmir which was completely ignorant about the geopolitics around him, stood alone. On the other hand, Pakistan which was holding one-third of kashmir, took hold of his independent nation. Maharajah of kashmir was left with no other option than to join India in October 1947. After joining India, maharajah appointed Sheikh Abdullah as the prime minister of Kashmir. When the Indian Constitution was being drafted, pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru ( the prime minister of India), appointed N.Gopalaswami Ayyangar ( ex-prime minister of Kashmir ) to draw relevant clauses for the state. Sardar Patel, who successfully integrated the rest of India, was sidelined. At the crucial time of framing the article 370, Pandit Nehru was in United States leaving the crucial matter entirely to Mr. Ayyangar argued that since Kashmir had the majority of Muslims and the issue was with the United Nations security council, there should be special provisions for Kashmir temporarily and the article 370 was formed. Sardar Patel and Baba Sahib Ambedkar showed much displeasure on enacting of the article. Dr. Ambedkar, the principal drafter of Indian Constitution, even refused to draft the article 370. The article 370 empowered the state residents to live under different laws regarding their citizenship, ownership of property and fundamental rights as compared to other Indians.

Special Provisions

Article 370 gave following special Provisions to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • The state will have its own Constitution.
  • Central powers on the state were restricted to defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications.
  • Indian nationals from other states cannot buy land or property in the state.
  • Woman who married a person belonging to any other state will lose her right to ownership in the state.
  • Central government has no power to impose emergency on grounds of international disturbance, financial emergency in the state. Emergency can be imposed only on grounds of external aggression or war.
  • The state government will govern the state without the consent of the central government.
  • Any constitutional laws of the Central government can be extended to the state only with the consent of the state government.
  • The central government cannot alter the boundaries of the state without the approval of the constituent Assembly of the state.

Consequences

The article 370 deprived the citizens of India to settle permanently in Jammu and Kashmir. If some Hindu families migrated to kashmir and settled there, after a long time they are still deprived of their fundamental rights. They cannot purchase land or build houses. They are not included in the electoral rolls of the state Assembly. They cannot get government jobs or semi-government jobs. They are not granted any loans under the state government schemes. They are not granted government licenses for businesses. Their children do not get admission to medical or engineering colleges although theses colleges are run by government of India. In fact, they are treated as second class citizens of the state. Some unfortunate Hindu were deprived of their ancestral property in the state. Even supreme Court is unable to give its judgement for these unfortunate citizens because of article 370.
The article is very detrimental to women of the state, even though they are born and brought up in the state. Woman of the state loses her property if she is married to a man of another state. She is even deprived of her ancestral property. The domicile certificates are issued to women up to their marriage only. They require ‘Permanent Residence Certificate’ after marriage. A woman, married to a man outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir, cannot get a job in the state, nor she can get admission to any colleges though established by the Union of India.
Due to article 370, the tendencies of separation and secessionism spread to the states of Punjab, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The article created regional conflicts, collisions and controversies in truncated India. The Indian government is unable to adjust the boundaries of Kashmir to abolish the majority of Muslims.
On account of the article 370, CBI ( central Bureau of Investigation ) is not permitted to work in Jammu and Kashmir and the reports of any kind of conspiracies with Pakistan cannot be spied out to the government of india.

Conclusion

Presently the article is diluted enough. Almost all the institutions including the election commission of India are working in the state. Initially, the state government had its President and Prime minister of the state. But now the things have changed and proper constituent elected assembly is working in the state. The new Indian government wants to revoke the article as it believes that the article has done more harm than good. But the state leaders feel that the revoking of the article will endanger the integrity and security of India and will further alienate the people of the state.
With the recent alliance between BJP ( Bharatiya Janta Party ) and PDP ( People's Democratic Party), it is evident that there will be no change in the article 370 and will remain as it is. But let us hope that one day, Jammu and Kashmir will integrate like other states of India which can happen only when there is real peace and the people of the state are acquiesced to such an arrangement.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ram Janambhoomi - Start to End

By -
Image
Ram Janma Bhoomi is the birthplace of Lord Rama, the 7th avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. It is situated on the banks of the river Sarayu in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state of India. According to the history, Mughal Emperor Babar demolished an old temple at Ram Janmabhoomi and built a mosque in its place. The mosque was named as ‘Babri Masjid’ after the name of Babar. This Babri Masjid became a spot of dispute between Hindus and Muslims. The political, historical and social-religious debate over whether a temple was demolished to create mosque , has become an hot issue as ‘Ayodhya Dispute’. The dispute started in 1855 between Hindus and Muslims over the possession of the Babri Masjid. The British administration in 1859 constructed railways to split the place of worship. Inner area was allowed for Muslims and outer for Hindus to worship. It continued for about 90 years. In 1949 , suddenly an idol of lord Rama appeared inside the mosque. Hindus claimed it as ...
Read more

Typhoid - Catch it before it catches you

By -
Image
S ummers are ahead and one should be ready to face various summer diseases. It is not that everyone should suffer from these diseases, but still precautions have to be taken by everyone. Precautions are better than Cure, so be ready to check out common summer diseases so that this summer may stay you healthy and fit. Typhoid is the most chronic disease among the summer diseases. Here are the efforts to give some collected tips about typhoid for one’s sound health. T yphoid fever is an infection caused by a strain of bacteria called Salmonella typhi. Salmonella infection is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. Salmonella bacteria typically live in animal feces(waste matter discharged from the bowls after food digestion). Causes Humans are most frequently infected through contaminated water or food. So this fever is mostly found in those parts of the world where levels of sanitation and hygiene are poor. It is also spread by flying insects f...
Read more

How to live the best phase of your life - Retirement

By -
Image
R etirement is the beginning of a new stage of life after cessation of routine work on attaining a certain age or leaving one’s job. Leaving aside one’s personal tensions, retirement is a stage of relaxation from his routine job work. After retirement, one has to readjust his routine regarding spending time with his family, his friends, on worship and in personal hobbies. This stage is in fact a second innings of his life and he has to readjust his daily routine according to his choice and necessities. Many people sweat dream about retirement , but the reality is not always positive. There are pros and cons of retirement in terms of lifestyle and finances depending upon one’s background, responsibilities and events happened in his life. T ime is very precious and a retiree has an abundance of it. Retirement provides a great level of  freedom and flexibility in doing whatever one wants to do. Retirees who love to travel are free to make any travelling programme instantly wi...
Read more