Question

Trace the changes that have taken place in Art 370 of the Indian constitution.

Answer 1

Article 370 dealt with the special constitutional position of Jammu and Kashmir. The main changes can be traced as follows:

1. Original position: Article 370 allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have special constitutional arrangements. Many provisions of the Indian Constitution were applied to the State gradually through Presidential Orders.
2. Changes in August 2019: On 5–6 August 2019, Presidential Orders were issued which applied the Constitution of India more fully to Jammu and Kashmir and made the special operation of Article 370 ineffective.
3. Reorganisation of the State: The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 reorganised the former State into two Union Territories:
4. Jammu and Kashmir, with a legislature
5. Ladakh, without a legislature.
6. Supreme Court decision: In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional actions taken in 2019 regarding Article 370.

Thus, the special constitutional arrangement associated with Article 370 was effectively ended in 2019, and Jammu and Kashmir became fully subject to the Constitution of India under the new arrangement.