ABSTRACT
The Muslims of the Valley were inclined to stand their ground on Article 370, no matter how diminished it was by now, but the Hindus and Sikhs of Jammu as well as the Buddhists of Ladakh would have liked to see it abolished. Indira Gandhi would also have preferred a contracted modus operandi not to shatter a precarious balance by encouraging some other Indian states to seek the same exemptions. The proPakistan Jamaat-e Islami had won five seats in the 1972 elections against the majority of the Pradesh Congress Party, led by Syed Mir Qasim, who now filled the deceased Sadiq's place. Under the changing circumstances, the Central Government, hoping to achieve a more stable government under Sheikh Abdullah, who had remained in the political wilderness for more than two decades, announced (24 February 1975) a "Kashmir Accord", which stated that J&K, still governed by Article 370, was a "constituent unit" of the Indian Union and while residuary powers of legislation would remain with the state, the Union Parliament would continue to have the power to make laws relating to the prevention of activities towards disrupting the "territorial integrity of India or secession of a part of the territory from the Union".
