On October 26 1947, the then Maharaja of Kashmir Hari Singh signed an instrument of accession under which the state surrendered only three subjects that are Defence, external affairs and communication to the Dominion of India . in March 1948 the Maharaja appointed an interim Government in the state with sheikh Abdullah as Prime minister .The Government of India made a commitment that the people of this state through their own constituent assembly would determine the internal constitution of this state and the nature and extent of the jurisdiction of the Union of India over the state and until the decision of the constituent assembly of the state, the constitution of India could only provide an interim arrangement regarding the state.
In July 1949 Sheikh Abdullah and there other colleagues joined the Indian constituent assembly and negotiated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir leading to the adoption pf Art 370.The then President Rajendra Prasad under Art370 issued an order (Application to Jammu and Kashmir order 1954) through the constitution that defines permanent residents of state. when the Jammu and Kashmir constitution was adopted in 1956 , it defines the permanent residents someone who was a state subject on May 14 1954 or who has been a resident of the state for 10 years and has lawfully acquired immovable property . so under this Clause no outsider can own property in Jammu and Kashmir or get a state job.
Jammu and Kashmir under Art370
The parliament of India needed the Jammu and Kashmir government’s approval for applying laws in the state except in case of Defences , External affairs , Finance and communication.
Under Art 370 citizens from other states can’t buy property in J and k . under Art370 the centre has no power to declare a finance emergency in the state. The law of citizenship , ownership pf property and fundamental rights of residents of Jammu and Kashmir is different from the residents living in rest of India . It is important to note that Article 370(1)(c) explicitly mentions that Article 1 of the Indian Constitution applies to Kashmir through Article 370. Article 1 lists the states of the Union. This means that it is Article 370 that binds the state of J&K to the Indian Union.
But in the wee hours of 5 August 2019 GOI or BJP led Union government revoked the special status or limited autonomy granted under 370 of the India constitute to J and k and the state was divided into two union territories i,e Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh
Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Art370 and The new domicile law
Since revocation of Art370 a demand was made for a domicile policy and Home minister Amit shah gave assurance to the people of j and k that they will have a better domicile policy than other states in the country and a reasonable economic development policy will be drafted soon.
So finally, in the late evening of 1st April 2020 the centre has defined new domicile rule for people of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the latest gazette notification, Section 3A of the J&K Reorganization (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020, under the J&K Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, has been introduced to define domicile as that who has resided for a period of 15 years in the UT of J&K or has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in class 10th or 12th examination in an educational institution located in the UT of J&K.
The definition expands to include children of those Central Government officials, All India Services Officers, officials of PSUs and autonomous body of Central Government, Public Sector Banks, officials of statutory bodies, officials of Central Universities and recognized research institutes of Central Government who have served in Jammu and Kashmir for a total period of ten years or children on parents who Fulfil any of the conditions in sections.
Additionally, persons registered as a migrant by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) in the UT of J&K, will also be included in the definition. Children of such residents of J&K as residents outside UT of J&K in connection with their employment or business or other professional or vocational reasons but their parents fulfil any of the conditions provided.
Tehsildar will be the competent authority to issue domicile certificate .No Person shall be eligible for appointment to a post carry a pay scale of 25000 or less i,e level 4 unless s/he is a domicile of UT of J and k.
What are the effects on ground
1) By virtue of this order outsiders are also going to be claimants of jobs in Jammu and Kashmir which already has a huge unemployment problem.
2) state government will have a limited authority , law and order will b centre’s jurisdiction.
3) There will be no dual citizenship ,only India citizenship will b valid .
4) ’Hindi ‘and’ English’ will become the official language instead of ‘Urdu’
5) Indians from the other state would be able to buy property in J and k
6) Right to information (RTI) will be applicable in all aspects and for all.
7) State can’t decide on” permanent Resident” of state.
8) 7th pay commission will be applicable across all grades.
9) Law of eviction from ancestral property if girl marries non Kashmiri will stand null and void
10) Equal opportunity will be given to SC-ST as well without discrimination.
11) Economic reservation (Ews) 10% Quota will be applicable by default.
12) JK will have a Lt. Governor instead of CM.
The author is a political science student at Aligarh Muslim university and can be reached at [email protected].
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