THE TRUTH ABOUT ARTICLE 370

Abstract

The average educated Indian believes that every law of the Parliament is applicable throughout the country, including the State of Jammu & Kashmir. Nothing is further from the truth. Using the freedom provided by Article 370, the J&K State has not accepted Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and several other laws passed by the nation’s Parliament.

Another truth is that, because of the leeway provided by Article 370, the Jammu & Kashmir State governments have, down the years, declined the applicability of dozens of other Articles of the Indian Constitution to their State or accepted them in only a modified form. A glaring example of this is that while the Preamble of the Indian Constitution proclaims the Union of India as being ‘Secular’ (whatever that may mean), the corresponding Preamble of the J&K State Constitution does not avow that the State is ‘Secular’.[1]