Even leaving aside this support for the permanence of Article 370, the process of its recent repeal has been conducted against the democratic and federal values emphasized by the Indian Constitution. Decrees 272 and 273, which rendered Article 370 ineffective, did not receive popular approval. The central government attempted to create a loophole through the barrier represented by the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly when Presidential Decree 272 was issued, stating that the words « Constituent Assembly » in Article 370 should now be read as « State Legislative Assembly. » [9] This would mean that the recommendation of the Kashmir National Assembly would be sufficient for the President to declare Article 370 invalid. What is Pakistan doing on Indian territory? After 50 years, how can they expect India to never draw a line in the sand by legal means to prevent more activism on their part? Pakistan`s international border excludes any part of India, making it an Islamic republic from the outset and not a democratic nation like India, of which Kashmir is a state by accession. It`s simple. There will be no peace until the colonization of this region by anti-democratic elements ceases. [1] »Kashmir Special Status Explained: What Are Articles 370 and 35A? », Al Jazeera (Al Jazeera and News Agencies, 5 August 2019), www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/kashmir-special-status-explained-articles-370-35a-190805054643431.html. According to media reports, India`s Supreme Court is considering fourteen public interest petitions on Jammu and Kashmir. Some of the petitions concern challenges to the repeal of Article 370 and the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The court is also hearing a series of motions « calling for an end to restrictions on movement and communication imposed in the Kashmir Valley ». On 28 August 2019, India`s Supreme Court ruled that a five-member chamber would hear petitions submitted challenging the validity of the government`s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir`s special status under Article 370.
This article explains some of the controversies surrounding the recent abrogation of the special constitutional status of the State of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and the repeal of Article 35A, which had allowed the State to define the permanent residents of the State and certain special rights and privileges associated with that residence. It also contains a brief history of the dispute, the legal steps to revoke the special status, and legal challenges to this decision. Rai expressed concern over the fear that has taken root in the minds of the people of the valley following the repeal and the new laws that have come into force there. This has aroused the suspicion of many Kashmiris, she said, and it is time for them to be heard and consulted. In 2019, it was precisely this superpower that facilitated the repeal of Article 370. The president (with the approval of the governor of J&K) made a constitutional amendment that changed the procedure for repealing Article 370. The power to repeal Article 370, which was originally conferred on the « J&K Constituent Assembly, » was effectively transferred to « Parliament » by Constitutional Decree 272. This was followed by resolutions by the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha purporting to exercise power originally transferred to the J&K Constituent Assembly. After that, Constitutional Decree 273 was issued to amend the text of Article 370 and end J&K`s « special status ». 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 in 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] The new report « We Are Punished by the Law »: Three years after the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, documents how civil society in general and journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders in particular have been subjected to relentless interrogation, arbitrary travel bans, revolving door arrests, and repressive media policies. while access to appeals or justice has been blocked in courts and human rights bodies.
Today, it is two years since Article 370 of the Indian Constitution was repealed. A lot has happened since then, but it`s worth looking back and taking a closer look at the repeal. This blog does just that: it presents the results of a judicial inquiry into Article 370, its repeal and its past. The book`s publication coincides with the third anniversary of the repeal of Article 370 – the constitutional provision that granted special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir – by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government. After its demolition in 2019, J&K was stripped of its statehood and divided into two Union Territories – J&K and UT of Ladakh. Pranay was a Project Fellow in Vidhi`s Legal Design & Regulation team. He graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2019 with a BA LLB. During his stay in Vidhi, he conducted extensive research on the legal history of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir`s special status). His scientific areas of interest are constitutional law, political theory and legal history. As his career progresses, Pranay hopes to help shape effective governance structures. A large number of protesters took to the streets of Toronto, Canada, on August 11, 2019, in support of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. [293] Demonstrators chanted protest slogans and carried placards.
[293] The description of the event was: « Kashmiris do not accept India`s illegal occupation or unilateral colonial conditions. Kashmiris are sovereign indigenous peoples who have the right to self-determination and government. [293] Raids without legal basis constitute a flagrant violation of freedom of expression as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In July 1952, an agreement was reached between the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah, requiring that India`s citizenship law be made applicable to the state and allow the state to regulate the rights and privileges of its own permanent residents. This agreement was codified by the President of India, who promulgated the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954 (in accordance with Article 370(1) of the Constitution), which added Article 35A to the Constitution of India, which allowed the State of Jammu and Kashmir to define permanent residents of the State and certain « special rights and privileges » associated with such residence. including the power to restrict settlement to the state and to acquire real estate: the combined effect of these documents was that the text of Article 370 was replaced by an alternative text ending J&K`s « special status ». This was achieved through complex legal manoeuvres, the real meaning of which is difficult to discover.
