1. On 26th Oct 1947, the Instrument of Accession was signed between the Government of India and Hari Singh, who was the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. It was agreed that Jammu and Kashmir would become a part of India.
2. On 17th Oct 1949, Article 370 was incorporated in the Constitution of India. According to this, Jammu and Kashmir was given a different Constitution and different Flag from India.
3. On 26th Jan 1950 (Republic Day), the Constitution of India came into force. Two important articles related to Jammu and Kashmir were:
Article 1: Jammu and Kashmir is a state of India.
Article 370: Jammu and Kashmir was given temporary status.
4. On 14th May 1954, 1st presidential order was passed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad – the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954. By this presidential order, Article 35A was included in the Constitution.
Article 35A: Puts restrictions on Indian citizens and tells about who can be a permanent resident in Jammu and Kashmir. Article 35A is not given in the Constitution of India but provided in the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.
5. On 17th November 1956, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir came into force which declared Jammu and Kashmir to be an integral part of India.
From 1947 to 1990, many changes came in Jammu and Kashmir.
Interesting Fact: From October 1947 to March 1965, the office of the head of government of J&K was known as ‘Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.’ Later from 30 March 1965, it was known as ‘Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.’
6. In 1990, Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act: According to this Act, if the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir or the Central Government, is of the opinion that the whole or any part of the State is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition then this Act can be imposed.
7. In 2015, BJP with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formed a government in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2016, Mehbooba Mufti became the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after her father’s demise.
8. In June 2018, BJP broke alliance with People Democratic Party. After this, Governor rule started in Jammu and Kashmir (According to Article 92 of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, if state constitutional machinery is not working then in state, Governor rule will be applicable.)
9. In December 2018, President’s rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir.
10. In May 2019, BJP won the parliamentary election. Their election manifesto talked about the scrapping of Article 35A and Article 370.
11. On 5th August 2019, the Rajya Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill that scrapped Article 370 and Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir, while also bifurcating the state into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
12. On 6th August 2019, the Lok Sabha passes Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill.
13. The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, is replaced by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019.
14. Now Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory with legislature.
15. On 2nd April 2020, Justice Rajnesh Oswal became the first Judge to take the oath as a Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court under the Indian Constitution.
This is a guest post that has been written by the below-mentioned author. Opinions expressed are theirs.
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