[A]

Clause 7 of the Instrument of Accession, signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, dated October 26, 1947 reads:

"Nothing in this Instrument shall be deemed to commit me in any way to acceptance of any future Constitution of India or to fetter my discretion to enter into arrangements with the Government of India under any such future constitution".

[B]

Clause 8 of the IoA reads:

"Nothing in this Instrument affects the continuance of my sovereignty in and over this State, or save as provided by under this instrument, the exercise or any powers, authority and rights now enjoyed by me as Ruler of this State or the validity of any law at present in force in this State".

[C]

On page 102 of his book on the Constitution of J&K, Justice Anand writes:

"It was by virtue of this Article that special status was conferred on Kashmir in view of the "extraordinary circumstances". It was by virtue of this "special status" (under Article 370) that Kashmir did not accept the constitution of India as a whole and reserved the right to frame its own Constitution* (*footnote in Justice Anand's book: Clauses (7) and (8) of the "Instrument of Accession" also permitted it), when all other part B states (that is all other princely states) had accepted the Constitution of India in its entirety.

[D]

Justice Anand writes, further (also on page 102):

"The provisions under Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which covers Kashmir (i.e. J&K state) alone, meant a division of sovereignty and that was possible only if the Constitution of India was federal in nature". However, please note that on page 103 Justice Anand writes: "India is not a federation, in the same sense as USA or Australia". For further details, it is best to read Justice Anand's book.

[E]

On page 105, Justice Anand writes, about Article 370:

"This Article, as had been explained by Sardar Patel was a device to continue the existing relationship of the J&K State with the Union of India".

[F]

It is important to remember that well before India's independence, The Jammu and Kashmir Constitution Act, 1996 (of 7th September 1939 AD) gave J&K State its full-fledged Constitution and this important situation contrasts it with many other princely states. Details pertaining to the 1939 Constitution that played a vital rle in the genesis of the J&K Constitution are discussed in Justice Anand's book.

Conclusions:

(a) That J&K has a separate constitution is not because of some assurance given to Sheikh Abdullah by Nehru.It has a complex genesis over a number of years and includes the provisions in the Instrument of accession.

(b) Art370 is a core issue. Its abrogation is a necessary, but not sufficient, step toward the goals of Consolidation And Integration of J&K with India.

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