New Delhi: In 1947, following India’s independence and the craetion of Pakistan, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh tried to avoid declaring his state’s accession to either of the two dominions.
On October 6, 1947, Pakistani Muslim tribes supported by the government of Pakistan attacked J&K to achieve forcible accession to Pakistan. The Maharaja sought India’s assistance. India requested the signing an Instrument of Accession (IoA) to India, and the Maharaja signed it so that India could help in defence.
The IoA gave only limited powers to the Indian government in the matters of Foreign affairs, Defence and Communications. While other princely states later signed merger agreements, J&K’s tires with the Union of India was governed by special circumstances. In view of that, Article 370 was incorporated in the Constitution, which states that the jurisdiction of Parliament of India and the Union Government extends over limited matters with respect to J&K. The Constitution of J&K was adopted on November 17, 1956, and came into effect on January 26, 1957. As of 2002, 29 amendments have been affected to the Constitution.
