How did this article come to be in 1950? What happened over the course of the last 70 years that made Jammu and Kashmir a ‘special state?’ Arghya Sengupta and Jinaly Dani, co-authors of the book ‘Hamīñ Ast? A Biography on Article 370’ here introduces the viewer to the complex topics delved into by the authors.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution of India on 5th and 6th August, 2019 ended the ‘special status’ of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 was the constitutional basis for this special status, keeping the state distinct from the rest of India.

Much has been said and written on the political and constitutional history of Jammu and Kashmir. The existing literature and scholarship on the state covers aspects of its ethnography, history, politics, the dispute at the United Nations, militancy and its consequent militarisation leading to a near-permanent state of internal turmoil. When it comes to work specifically on Article 370- the constitutional link that bound the state to India- the literature is comparatively sparse. Some academic documentation exists, but very little that can be read by an interested non-academic audience.

This book fills that void with a detailed biography of Article 370, one of the most complex provisions in the Constitution of India. It is the journey of a provision of law from its cradle to its grave through a contested birth, lawyerly machinations in its early years, endemic political skulduggery, episodic displays of judicial statesmanship and a sudden and swift demise. It is a book that can be read by anyone interested in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian federalism, the Indian Constitution or the Supreme Court where the fate of the article currently hangs in the balance.