Without Article 370, questions may have arisen about definition of J&K territory and India’s claim to POK

While the Constitution explicitly provides for expansion, “such other territories as may be acquired”, there is no provision for Parliament to reduce the territory of India. Yet that is precisely what the Constitution Order 2019 has done. This in itself is a sufficient ground for it to be struck down by the Supreme Court.

Consequences of abrogation — The Indian state with all its might has been successful in not only containing it but in also getting the international community to by and large endorse its position. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)

By rescinding the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the territorial integrity of India has been impaired. For the last 30 years, the ideologically secessionist armed insurgency in Kashmir has been threatening the territorial integrity of India. The Indian state with all its might has been successful in not only containing it but in also getting the international community to by and large endorse its position. Ironically, the solution of the present BJP government to the long-standing problem of Kashmir — abrogating its special status in the Constitution of India which they see as the main cause of separatist sentiment — may have ended up not only compromising the territorial integrity of India, but also rekindled the intrusive interest of the international community in the happenings in Kashmir.