Article 370, Explained

Article 370 was a provision of the Constitution that granted Jammu and Kashmir a special, autonomous status: its own constitution, separate laws in most areas, and limits on how Parliament could legislate for the state. A related provision, Article 35A, let the state define 'permanent residents' and reserve land and jobs for them.

The arrangement flowed from the circumstances of accession in 1947, when the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir joined India under specific terms. Article 370 was placed in the 'temporary and transitional provisions' of the Constitution, and its scope was gradually eroded over the decades through presidential orders that extended central laws to the state.

In August 2019, the central government used presidential orders to render Article 370 inoperative and passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, splitting the state into two Union Territories: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

In December 2023 the Supreme Court upheld the abrogation as constitutional and directed that statehood be restored and elections held; assembly elections took place in 2024. Article 35A's protections on land and jobs no longer apply, which supporters call integration and critics call a demographic and federal concern.

• Supporters argue abrogation completed J&K's integration, ended a source of separatism, and brought equal laws, investment, and reservation benefits.
• Critics question the process, using presidential orders to dismantle a state's status without its own legislature's consent, and its implications for federalism and Centre-region trust.

Asymmetric autonomy for a particular region is not unique to India. Spain grants Catalonia and the Basque Country special powers; Canada accommodates Quebec's distinct status; and Hong Kong's 'one country, two systems' framework is a sharper version. The recurring lesson is that such arrangements are unstable when the centre and the region disagree on whether they are permanent or transitional.

Article 370 ties directly into debates on federalism, the limits of central power, national security, and the place of nationalism in Indian politics.