Article 35A of the Constitution of India

Article 35A of the Indian Constitution was an article that empowered the Jammu and Kashmir state's legislature to define "permanent residents" of the state and provide special rights and privileges to them which were not available to Indian citizens in general. It was added to the Constitution through a presidential order, i.e., The Constitution Order, 1954 – issued by the President of India under Article 370. Under the state's separate constitution, which is now defunct, permanent residents had could purchase land and immovable property, vote and contest elections, seek government employment and avail themselves of other state benefits such as higher education and health care. Non-permanent residents of the state, even if Indian citizens, were not entitled to these 'privileges'.