Article 370 was bought into Part XXI (Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions) of the Constitution but it mocks the concept of "One India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari". The Article, which was meant to be temporary, grants a special status to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and was included in the Constitution at the behest of Jawaharlal Nehru, primarily to satisfy his ego. Consider some of the salient features of this political fraud.
1. Laws made by the Indian Parliament are not applicable in J&K unless ratified by the state government. Doesn't this undermine the authority of the Indian government?
2. J&K has its own constitution, flag and dual citizenship for residents. Even the fundamental rights of the J&K resident are different from that of other Indian citizens.
3. The President of India has no power to suspend the J&K state government even in case of an emergency.
4. Most central laws like Right to Education (RTE), Right to Information (RTI), provisions related to CAG audit, fiscal laws like Finance Act 1994 (related to service tax), wealth tax and so on are not applicable to J&K.
5. No outsider can own property in J&K but Kashmiris can buy property anywhere in the country.
6. If a Kashmiri woman marries an outsider then she loses her citizenship but it doesn't apply if a man marries an outsider. Isn't this a gross violation of women's rights?
This provision of the Constitution has created a wave of separatism and failed to achieve its objective. This Article could be repealed either through a constitutional amendment or Presidential notification. The technical requirement of a recommendation by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir before issuing the notification no longer applies since the constituent assembly no longer exists. The next government should make every effort to abolish this law.
Shshank Saurav New Delhi
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