Who wrote Article 370 in the Constitution?

Article 370 was primarily drafted by N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, who served as the chief drafter, working in collaboration with Sheikh Abdullah, the first elected Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. This constitutional provision emerged from the unique historical circumstances surrounding Kashmir's accession to India in 1947.

N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar's Role: Diwan Bahadur Sir Narasimha Gopalaswami Ayyangar (1882-1953) was an Indian civil servant and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1937-1943 and later became a member of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India. After Kashmir's accession, Jawaharlal Nehru appointed Ayyangar as a cabinet minister without any specific portfolio and tasked him with handling Kashmir affairs.

Collaborative Drafting Process: The article was worked out in late 1947 between Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru, with Nehru bringing in Gopalaswami Ayyangar as a minister without portfolio to help deal with the Kashmir portfolio and plead the case of Article 370 in the Constituent Assembly. The drafting process was politically sensitive, as Nehru finalized the draft of Article 370 alongside Sheikh Abdullah without initially informing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Home Minister.

Constitutional Assembly Deliberations: Ayyangar provided a detailed exposition of Article 370 in the Constituent Assembly on October 17, 1949, defending the provision against significant opposition. The provision was originally debated as draft Article 306A and was based on the Instrument of Accession, under which the central government's jurisdiction was restricted to defense, external affairs, and communication.

The drafting represented a constitutional compromise designed to accommodate Kashmir's unique circumstances while maintaining its integration with India, reflecting the collaborative expertise of both constitutional law specialists and regional political leaders.