New Delhi, Aug 5 (TIWN) Even as the new BJP government explores all options to bring an end to the brutal cage match taking place in Kashmir, with the setting up of a Delimitation Commission as one of the prongs available on the table to correct the regional disparity, it is actively taking a view on the contentious Article 35A which prevents mobility and greater integration with the Union of India.

In its election manifesto for the hustings that concluded recently, the BJP laid bare its thought process on the sensitive issue. The manifesto said: "In the last few years, we have made all necessary efforts to ensure peace in Jammu and Kashmir through decisive actions and a firm policy. We are committed to overcome all obstacles that come in the way of development and provide adequate financial resources to all the regions of the state.  "We reiterate our position since the time of the Jan Sangh to the abrogation of Article 370. We are committed to annulling Article 35A of the Constitution of India as the provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir. We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state. We will take all steps to ensure a safe and peaceful environment for all residents of the state. We will make all efforts to ensure the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits and we will provide financial assistance for the resettlement of refugees from West Pakistan, Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Chhamb."  It is believed that several Kashmir experts familiar with the ongoing drift in the Valley have been used as a sounding board on this issue on Wednesday. While the Narendra Modi government failed to submit an affidavit stating its position on Article 35A in the Supreme Court, where a bunch of PILs have been pending since August 2014, two successive Attorneys General -- Mukul Rohatgi and K.K. Venugopal -- had sought successive extensions until Governor's rule was imposed in J&K in June 2018.  What then is this Article 35A which has everyone in a state of frenzy. Does it impact Kashmir Nationalism in any way? It is a provision incorporated in the Constitution, giving the J&K Legislature the right to decide who all are "permanent residents" of the state and confer on them special rights and privileges in public sector jobs, acquisition of property in the State, scholarships and other public aid and welfare. 

The provision mandates that no act of the legislature coming under it can be challenged for violating the Constitution or any other law of the land.  It was incorporated into the Constitution in 1954 by an order of the then President Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet. The controversial Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 1954 followed the 1952 Delhi Agreement entered into between Nehru and the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah, which extended Indian citizenship to the "state subjects" of Jammu and Kashmir.  The Presidential Order was issued under Article 370 (1) (d) of the Constitution.

This provision allows the President to make certain "exceptions and modifications" to the Constitution for the benefit of "state subjects" of Jammu and Kashmir. Ergo, Article 35A was added to the Constitution as a testimony of the special consideration the Indian government accorded to the "permanent residents" of Jammu and Kashmir.  Significantly, the legislative or parliamentary route was bypassed with the Presidential Order which incorporated Article 35A into the Constitution. Article 368 (i) of the Constitution empowers only Parliament to amend the Constitution. Which begs the question whether this Presidential Order overwrote the Constitution?