J&K Assembly Moves Resolution for Full Statehood: How a Union Territory Can Become a State Again
On 25 September 2026, the Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir moved a resolution in the Legislative Assembly. It asks the Government of India to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir immediately and urgently.
The resolution asks that it be sent to the Government of India. It was added to the House's supplementary list of business after Question Hour.
The resolution says it is "in addition to" two earlier resolutions of the House: the 26 June 2000 resolution that adopted the State Autonomy Committee's report (asking for a return to the pre-1953 constitutional position), and the 6 November 2024 resolution asking for talks on restoring special status and constitutional guarantees.
The mention of the 2000 autonomy resolution led to protests by opposition members, slogans and adjournments. The Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour, and later till Monday.
The Chief Minister said the resolution is only about statehood, not about special status or autonomy. He said it reminds the Centre of its three-step promise, made in Parliament and the Supreme Court: delimitation, then elections, then statehood. Delimitation (2022) and Assembly elections (2024) are done; statehood is still pending.
Historical note: the Union Cabinet had rejected the 2000 autonomy resolution on 4 July 2000.
Article 370: Special Status of Jammu and Kashmir
Article 370 was a special article in the Constitution of India that gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) a unique position. Most parts of the Indian Constitution did not apply to J&K automatically. They applied only when the President issued an order, and usually only with the agreement of the state government. J&K also had its own Constitution and its own flag. Since 2019, this special status no longer exists.
Today's resolution referred to the Assembly's 2000 autonomy resolution, which sought a return to J&K's pre-1953 constitutional position under Article 370. This reference caused the protests. The Chief Minister clarified that the new resolution seeks only statehood, which the Supreme Court's 2023 verdict had asked to be restored "at the earliest".
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is the law passed by Parliament that divided the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs). One is the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which has its own elected Legislative Assembly. The other is the Union Territory of Ladakh, which has no legislature and is run directly by the Centre through a Lieutenant Governor. The law came into force on 31 October 2019. It is the reason J&K today is a UT and not a state.
Because of this Act, J&K's elected government does not control police or public order, and the LG has wide powers. The Assembly's resolution asks the Centre to change this by restoring full statehood, the last step of the promised delimitation, elections and statehood sequence.
Article 3 of the Constitution: Parliament's Power to Reorganise States
Article 3 of the Constitution gives Parliament the power to change the map of India's states. Using an ordinary law, Parliament can create a new state, merge states, change a state's area or boundaries, or change a state's name. This power belongs to Parliament alone. The states themselves cannot stop it. This is also the article that would be used to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Restoring J&K's statehood will need Parliament to pass a new law under Articles 3 and 4 by a simple majority, on the President's recommendation. The Assembly's resolution has no legal force on this process, since a UT legislature's views are not required under Article 3. Its value is as a formal record of the elected House's demand.
- Statehood resolution moved in the J&K Assembly: 25 September 2026
- Earlier Assembly resolutions referred to: 26 June 2000 (autonomy, State Autonomy Committee report) and 6 November 2024 (special status and constitutional guarantees)
- Union Cabinet rejected the 2000 autonomy resolution: 4 July 2000
- J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 in force: 31 October 2019
- Supreme Court verdict on Article 370: 11 December 2023; statehood to be restored "at the earliest"
- Assembly: 114 seats (90 elected, 24 kept vacant for Pakistan-occupied areas); Jammu 43, Kashmir 47
- Assembly elections: three phases in September to October 2024; government sworn in 16 October 2024
- Promised sequence: delimitation (2022), elections (2024), statehood (pending)