Ideological edifice of Article 370

Abstract

Article 370 of the Constitution of India relating to the State of Jammu and  Kashmir is now over sixty years old. The Constitution came into force on 26  January 1950 and with it, this unique provision. All other provisions were  debated in the Constituent Assembly of India after deliberations in its Drafting  Committee and, sometimes, in discussions in the Congress Parliamentary Party.

This article notes that the redrafting of Article 370 and a review of the  Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir are necessary. It holds those amendments  must be based on agreement between all the major parties in Jammu and Kashmir. Given the political will, sincerity of purpose, and a spirit of  compromise, it is not difficult to retrieve from the wreckage of Article 370 a constitutional settlement which satisfies the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.