Article 370 Has Been Redefined
The Supreme Court continued the Centre’s decision to abolish Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also described Article 370 as a ‘temporary provision’. The term permanent resident kept coming up again and again during the debate on Kashmir, both in Parliament and among the common people. Since the time of the Dogra rulers, successive governments have known the original inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir in different ways.
The concept of insiders and outsiders was quite old in Kashmir. It had started since the 19th century, when people from other parts of the country started coming and getting jobs in this concession. The people settled in Kashmir were worried about this. To pacify the local residents, the first circular came in the year 1889 during the British rule. It was said that only local people will be given priority for government jobs in Kashmir. This circular continued further and reached the time of the last Dogra king Hari Singh.
In the year 1927, Hari Singh divided the residents into 4 parts. This included those people who were born and brought up in Kashmir, as well as those who had come from other places and had settled in Kashmir for a long time. People who had acquired real estate through legitimate means were also involved. Although all categories had more or less rights. It was also made clear in the order that the future generations of these categories will also enjoy the same rights in the state as their ancestors enjoyed.
In November 1956, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly adopted a new constitution. In this, the ‘State Subject’ of the time of Raja Hari Singh Dogra was made a permanent resident. It states that every person who is an Indian citizen under the Constitution of India and who has been in the first two categories of state subject till 1954, will be a permanent citizen. Or the one who has been living for the last 10 years and has purchased immovable property in Kashmir for the same period, will also be considered a permanent resident.
If someone, while living in Kashmir, had settled in those areas which went to Pakistan after partition, scope was kept for such people also in Jammu and Kashmir. If they want to return for resettlement, then under the rules they can also be considered as permanent residents.