Article 370 specifies that except for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Communications and Ancillary matters (matters specified in the Instrument of Accession) the Indian Parliament needs the State Government's concurrence for applying all other laws. Thus the state's residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians.
Similar protections for unique status exist in tribal areas of India including those in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Nagaland.
Moreover, the accord signed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1974 committed itself to keep the relationship between the Union of India and Jammu and Kashmir State within the ambit of article 370. |
