Article 370 was introduced and enacted by Maharaja Hari Singh to stop people from Punjab settling in Jammu in the wake of India’s partition, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah said while addressing the media in Baran village on the outskirts of Jammu on Monday.
“We didn’t bring Article 370. This was introduced and implemented by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947. It was only out of fear that the people of Punjab would come here after partition and settle down and the poor people of our state would sell their land at lesser rates,” he said while addressing a press conference in Jammu.
Abdullah stressed that Maharaja’s intent behind Article 370 was to safeguard the interests of the people in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the marginalized communities, in the aftermath of partition.
He reiterated that the article was put in place to reserve jobs exclusively for the locals of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, serving as a protective measure for their socio-economic well-being.
