RAS question
Article 370 (now abrogated) provided J&K with:
Correct answer: (D) Special autonomous status with own Constitution.
Article 370 provided Jammu and Kashmir with special autonomous status, including its own Constitution, before it was effectively abrogated in August 2019.
Explanation
Article 370 was the constitutional provision that created special arrangements for the governance of Jammu and Kashmir. Under those arrangements, Jammu and Kashmir had its own Constitution and a degree of autonomy, while defence, foreign affairs and communications remained outside that autonomy. The Supreme Court judgment in In Re: Article 370 records that Article 370 incorporated special governance arrangements for the State and that the 2019 constitutional orders applied the Constitution of India to Jammu and Kashmir and made Article 370 cease to operate. That is why the best description among the options is not independence or ordinary Union Territory status, but special autonomous status with its own Constitution.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 370 gave Jammu and Kashmir special autonomous arrangements, not complete independence from India.
- (B) Union Territory status was not what Article 370 provided; the provision concerned special governance arrangements and its own Constitution before the 2019 changes.
- (C) Article 370 did provide special status, so saying there was no special status contradicts the provision's core effect.
Concept
This tests asymmetric federalism and special constitutional provisions under Indian polity. It recurs in RAS because Article 370 links constitutional design, Centre-State relations and the 2019 reorganisation debate.