India announced last week it was scrapping a provision in the constitution that had granted special status to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan both claim the Kashmir region in its entirety and have fought several wars over the issue. Article 370 of the constitution -- which had been in place since 1949 -- granted Jammu and Kashmir the power to have its own constitution, flag and autonomy over all matters, save for certain policy areas such as a foreign affairs and defense.
The scrapping of Article 370 will allow non-residents to purchase property in Jammu and Kashmir, and apply for jobs or scholarships that had previously been reserved for residents. Experts fear the move could lead to a demographic change in Hindu-dominated India's only Muslim-majority state. Article 370 has been a bone of contention in Indian politics for years, and revoking it was one of the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of recent national elections.
