Want to Know Why Kashmir is a Special State? Article 370 is the Answer
WHAT IS ARTICLE 370?
Article 370 of the Indian Constitution deals with the special status given to the state J&K. It provides a high degree of autonomy to the state. Now everyone knows about this Article 370 but what some people don’t know is the history behind it. The reason this special status is given to J&K.
When the East India Company decided to leave India they gave various Indian kings the right to choose their destiny. This was one of their foremost policy of dividing the entire nation into smaller nations. But Sardar Patel, The Iron Man of India, bought these kings together. He convinced them to unite with INDIA and 572 princely states become an integral part of the India. But Maharaja Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Kashmir, wanted to stay alone ignoring the geopolitics around him.
The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, sensing the opportunity to attack the stand alone Kashmir decided to invade it. The maharaja then appealed to India for help and in return agreed to execute The Instrument of Accession to accede to the dominion of India. The Article 370 was worked out between Sheikh Abdullah, who had been appointed PM of J&K and Jawahar Lal Nehru, the PM of India.
Sheikh Abdullah, driven by his ambition to be the ruler of an independent Kashmir, asked Nehru to give special status to J&K. Among his reasons were – occupation of one-third Kashmir by Pakistan, reference to the UN and Referendum. Nehru then finalized the draft of Article 370 along with Sheikh Abdullah. When the draft was put in constituent Assembly discussions, the proposal was torn to pieces. And Nehru had to call Patel for his help to get Article 370 approved.
Despite his own misgivings, he managed to convince the members and draft were passed. Nehru’s promise that Article 370 was a temporary provision and will get eroded over a period of time has turned out to be a fantasy. WHY ARTICLE 370 IS DETRIMENTAL TO THE FULL INTEGRATION OF J&K INTO INDIA.
The Central Government can make laws only when the bill is passed by the State Government, practically giving it the veto power. Article 352 (national emergency), Article 360 (financial emergency) cannot be applied in Kashmir. The citizens of J&K have 2 citizenships. Anti defection law is not applicable to J&K. Even Article 356 under which president can impose his rule cannot be enforced in J&K without the consent of the governor. Many taxes cannot be levied here.
This Article included in the constitution on a temporary basis should have been gradually abrogated. Why should an Indian state have a special status? It conveys the wrong signal to Kashmiris as well as to the international community. Due to this article 370, Kashmir is still holding a special status . This status prevents the state from being an integral part of the country. however, this special status has misled the state to poverty and leading to a lot of migrants. The situation of article 370 and Kashmir can be sadly explained as “370 to tab hate jab 272( the majority in the house ) ho !! “