Why it was important to abolish Article 370 of Kashmir

Kashmir and Article 370 has been a major issue for all the government. I believe it isn’t an easy task to abolish Article 370 even current govt took many years to take this step. I would appreciate the step taken as it will bring development opportunities to the valley and hopefully helpful in removing terrorism.

The reason why Articles 370 And 35A Should Be Scrapped

In the backdrop of the Pulwama Attack, once again the justified rage of the public turns to the special status on the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Before proceeding to the crux of why this timid stop-gap has been deleterious for the country, it must be pointed out that radicalisation of Kashmiris is a disparate issue, best dealt with through the Vajpayee doctrine of “Insaniyat”, combined with no countenance of separatists.

However, the provision empowering the state with ‘special’ status has always been the elephant in the room. Jammu & Kashmir has, along with its sensitive topography, appears like a foreign policy issue, instead of a domestic one due to its status in our Constitution.

Article 370 details the relationship Kashmir will share with the rest of the country; Article 35-A grants permanent residents of Kashmir some special rights.

Article 370 itself is gender-neutral, but the way permanent residents are defined in the state constitution based on the notifications issued in April 1927 and June 1932 during the Maharaja’s rule — seems biased against women.

The 1927 notification included an explanatory note which said: “The wife or a widow of the state subject … shall acquire the status of her husband as state subject of the same class as her husband, so long as she resides in the state and does not leave the state for permanent residence outside the state.” This was widely interpreted as also suggesting that a woman from the state who marries outside the state would lose her status as a state subject.

Women in J&K cannot choose her life partner outside the state. All of this is happening due to the implementation of Article 35A in the state of J&K. This article is unconstitutional, discriminatory and biased.

If a woman marries in other states of India, she will lose her Kashmiri citizenship, however, on marrying a Pakistani man, the groom will get the citizenship