Article 370 was a constitutional provision included in Part XXI of the Indian Constitution, titled "Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions," which granted a special autonomous status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It was added to the Constitution on October 17, 1949, as a temporary measure to reflect the unique circumstances of J&K's accession to India in 1947. The provision was intended to limit the Indian Parliament's legislative power over J&K to only three subjects: defense, external affairs, and communications, with all other matters requiring the concurrence of the state's Constituent Assembly. This mechanism allowed J&K to have its own constitution, a separate flag, and autonomy over internal administration.
Article 370 was the basis for the related provision, Article 35A, which was introduced via a Presidential Order in 1954. Article 35A empowered the J&K legislature to define "permanent residents" and grant them special rights and privileges concerning public employment, acquisition of immovable property, and settlement in the state.
The provision underwent a significant change on August 5, 2019, when the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, issued a constitutional order that effectively rendered Article 370 inoperative and made all provisions of the Indian Constitution applicable to J&K. This move also led to the scrapping of Article 35A. Following this, the state of J&K was reorganized into two new Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature), through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Supreme Court of India, in 2023, upheld the repeal, ruling that the provision was temporary and its removal was constitutionally valid.