Understanding Article 370 of The Indian Constitution

There is a Whatsapp message doing the rounds on Article 370, and its import... I am not an expert, but have read parts of the Indian Constitution - enough to know that this is a highly complex matter, and not given to such summarisation as in a Whatsapp Message that has the potential of giving a one-sided picture.

Please go through the Actual text of Article 370 given below {Source : Article 370 of the Constitution of India; }, verified with the constitution updated to 92nd amendment here : Page on cgsird.gov.in}


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Please update me in case of any error... I have personally read all the amendments after the 92nd - till the the 98th; and none concerns with Jammu and Kashmir. Do update me in case of a mistake; I have no intention of being wrong even inadvertantly

1.      Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution:

a.       the provisions of article 238 shall not apply in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir,

b.      the power of Parliament to make laws for the said State shall be limited to;

                                                        i.            those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List which, in consultation with the Government of the State, are declared by the President to correspond to matters specified in the Instrument of Accession governing the accession of the State to the Dominion of India as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for that State; and

                                                      ii.            such other matters in the said Lists, as, with the concurrence of the Government of the State, the President may by order specify.

Explanation—For the purpose of this article, the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers for the time being in office under the Maharaja’s Proclamation dated the fifth day of March, 1948;

c.       he provisions of article 1 and of this article shall apply in relation to this State;

d.      such of the other provisions of this Constitution shall apply in relation to that State subject to such exceptions and modifications as the President may by order specify

                                                        i.            Provided that no such order which relates to the matters specified in the Instrument of Accession of the State referred to in paragraph (i) of sub-clause (b) shall be issued except in consultation with the Government of the State:

                                                      ii.            Provided further that no such order which relates to matters other than those referred to in the last preceding proviso shall be issued except with the concurrence of the Government.

2.      If the concurrence of the Government of the State referred to in paragraph (ii) of sub-clause (b) of clause (1) or in second proviso to sub-clause (d) of that clause be given before the Constituent Assembly for the purpose of framing the Constitution of the State is convened, it shall be placed before such Assembly for such decision as it may take thereon.

3.      Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of the article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may notify:
Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in clause (2) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification.

4.      In exercise of the powers conferred by this article the President, on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, declared that, as from the 17th day of November, 1952, the said art. 370 shall be operative with the modification that for the explanation in cl.(1) thereof the following Explanation is substituted namely:

Explanation—For the purpose of this Article, the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State as the *Sadar-I-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of Council of Ministers of the State for the time being in office.

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As can be readily, this is not such a simple matter. Not one point of the message is mentioned above... that does not mean that all the points are wrong. My point - let us leave this to experts; this requires legal and constitutional experts, which we are not. Please dont forward such messages; we citizens simply do not know whether the content is accurate or not.

Further, there is a history involved in this, which we are not aware of. There are repercussions of this as well, and there is a history of negotiations, presidential decrees, and a lot of water under the bridge. It is not our task to create unwanted pressure on our newly elected Government - let us trust them to do the right thing. They have experts, we dont. If at all, as we are interested in this, please stick to known sources like our Media, or books.

Understanding Article 370

The above link analyses this in its entirety.  Please read it for a better understanding; or read any of the other articles on this matter in the media.

An excerpt :
Third, is Article 370 still intact in its original form? One of the biggest myths is the belief that the “autonomy” as envisaged in the Constituent Assembly is intact. A series of Presidential Orders has eroded Article 370 substantially. While the 1950 Presidential Order and the Delhi Agreement of 1952 defined the scope and substance of the relationship between the Centre and the State with the support of the Sheikh, the subsequent series of Presidential Orders have made most Union laws applicable to the State. In fact today the autonomy enjoyed by the State is a shadow of its former self, and there is virtually no institution of the Republic of India that does not include J&K within its scope and jurisdiction. The only substantial differences from many other States relate to permanent residents and their rights; the non-applicability of Emergency provisions on the grounds of “internal disturbance” without the concurrence of the State; and the name and boundaries of the State, which cannot be altered without the consent of its legislature. Remember J&K is not unique; there are special provisions for several States which are listed in Article 371 and Articles 371-A to 371-I.

Let us trust of Parliament, Our Prime Minister Modiji, Our Opposition and Our Courts to sort this matter out; please dont believe everything you read...that SMS may be 100% accurate, or it may not. We dont know; and as you can see from the text of the article, it is no simple matter. Further, we have no idea of the history... so let us forget it, and move on.

Trust our institutions, people... trust them. In this, they have delivered admirably well!