Articles of the Constitution Applying of Their Own Force to J&K

Articles applicable to J&K of their own force were, before the constitutional changes of 2019, a narrow set — in effect Article 1 (which names India, the Union of States, and lists J&K in the First Schedule) and Article 370 itself. Every other provision of the Constitution extended to the State of Jammu and Kashmir only if the President, acting under Article 370(1), issued a specific Order applying it — with whatever exceptions and modifications that Order chose to specify. This structure made J&K's constitutional relationship with the Union fundamentally different from every other state, where the entire Constitution applied uniformly from the outset.

The Logic of Article 370(1)

Article 370 was drafted as a "temporary" provision governing how the Constitution would extend to J&K after accession. Under its scheme, the State did not automatically receive the full text of the Constitution the way other states did. Instead, the President was empowered to apply provisions of the Constitution to J&K by public notification, subject to such exceptions and modifications as specified in that notification — and, for matters outside the original Instrument of Accession, only with the concurrence of the State Government. Because this mechanism existed specifically to bring in "other" provisions, Article 370 necessarily had to be in force on its own, without needing an Order to apply itself. Article 1, which constitutes India as a Union of States and lists J&K among them, was similarly treated as operative from the commencement of the Constitution rather than as something requiring presidential extension.

The Presidential Orders: 1954 and 2019

The practical machinery for extending the rest of the Constitution to J&K was the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order. The first such Order was issued in 1954. It remained the governing instrument — amended periodically — until it was superseded by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 (C.O. 272), issued under Article 370(1) with the concurrence of the State Government of the time.

The 2019 Order did something the 1954 Order never did: instead of listing selected provisions to extend with modifications, it declared that "all the provisions of the Constitution, as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir," subject only to a limited set of exceptions and modifications. One such modification was to Article 367 (the interpretation clause), where a new clause 4 was inserted to adjust how certain constitutional references — including to the Constituent Assembly and the State Government — were to be read in relation to J&K. This single change was the operative device through which the special arrangements under Article 370 were substantively dismantled.

Article 35-A and Permanent Residents

The 1954 Order had inserted Article 35-A into the Constitution. This provision empowered the legislature of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir to define who qualified as a "permanent resident" of the State and to confer special rights and privileges on such residents in four areas: employment under the State Government, acquisition of immovable property in the State, settlement in the State, and access to scholarships and other forms of State aid. Because Article 35-A itself existed only by virtue of a Presidential Order under Article 370 — and not through the Constitution's ordinary amendment procedure under Article 368 — it shared the same dependent status as the rest of the Order's provisions. When the 2019 Order superseded the 1954 Order in its entirety, Article 35-A and the special permanent-resident regime built on it ceased to have effect.

Single Citizenship and the Post-2019 Position

One of the underlying features of the Indian constitutional scheme, unlike several other federations, is a single, uniform citizenship for the whole country — a design the Constitution shares with Canada rather than with the United States. The pre-2019 permanent-resident category under Article 35-A had created a state-specific layer of entitlements that sat awkwardly against this single-citizenship framework, since it distinguished between citizens of India who were "permanent residents" of J&K and those who were not, for defined purposes within the State. With Article 35-A's lapse following the 2019 Order, this distinct layer no longer operates, and the general principle of uniform rights under a single citizenship applies to J&K residents on the same footing as elsewhere, subject to whatever laws Parliament separately enacts for the successor Union Territories.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Which two provisions of the Constitution applied to J&K "of their own force," without needing a Presidential Order — Article 1 and Article 370.
• The Constitution (Application to J&K) Order that superseded the 1954 Order and applied the full Constitution to J&K was issued in 2019 (C.O. 272).
• Article 35-A was inserted into the Constitution through a Presidential Order under Article 370, not through Article 368 amendment procedure.

Mains

• Discuss how Article 370(1) structured the extension of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir differently from every other state, and the significance of the 2019 Order in altering that structure.
• Examine the relationship between Article 35-A, the principle of single citizenship, and the special permanent-resident provisions that existed in J&K before 2019.

FAQ

Q. Which articles of the Constitution applied to J&K without a Presidential Order? A. Article 1, which lists J&K as part of the Indian Union, and Article 370 itself applied directly; all other provisions required a Presidential Order under Article 370(1) to extend to the State.

Q. What was the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954? A. It was the first Presidential Order under Article 370(1) extending selected provisions of the Constitution to J&K with specified exceptions and modifications, and it also inserted Article 35-A.

Q. How did the 2019 Order change this position? A. The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 superseded the 1954 Order and applied all provisions of the Constitution to J&K, subject only to a modification of Article 367, effectively ending the earlier selective-application regime.

Q. What powers did Article 35-A give the J&K legislature? A. It let the State legislature define "permanent residents" and grant them special rights over government employment, property acquisition, settlement, and scholarships within the State.

Q. Does India follow single or dual citizenship? A. India follows a single, uniform citizenship for the whole country, a model closer to Canada's than to federations with dual citizenship.

Quick Revision

• Only Article 1 and Article 370 applied to J&K of their own force.
• All other provisions needed a Presidential Order under Article 370(1).
• 1954 Order: selective extension + inserted Article 35-A.
• 2019 Order (C.O. 272): superseded 1954 Order; applied entire Constitution with one modification to Article 367.
• Article 35-A lapsed once the 1954 Order was superseded.
• India has single citizenship, unlike the pre-2019 permanent-resident distinction in J&K.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Article 1, Article 367, Article 370 — legislative.gov.in
• The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 (C.O. 272), issued under Article 370(1)

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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