UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Jammu and Kashmir — the elusive quest for Statehood

Q1. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 as amended in 2023, which one of the following best describes a 'migrant' eligible to be represented through nomination to the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir?

  • A. A person who migrated from the Kashmir Valley or any other part of the erstwhile State after 1 November 1989 and is registered with the Relief Commissioner
  • B. A person who migrated from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir after 1 November 1947 and is registered with the Custodian of Evacuee Property
  • C. A person who has resided continuously in the Union Territory for fifteen years and is registered as a permanent resident with the Revenue Department
  • D. A person displaced from the Chenab valley during the 1965 hostilities and registered with the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu

Q2. Of the 90 assembly constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the largest number falls in which one of the following?

  • A. The Kashmir region
  • B. The Jammu region
  • C. Constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes
  • D. Constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Castes

Q3. Under the arrangement introduced by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 1954, a person who was not living in the State on the date the Order came into effect could be counted among its 'permanent residents' after residing there for a minimum of how many years?

  • A. Five years
  • B. Ten years
  • C. Fifteen years
  • D. Twenty years

Q4. With reference to the constitutional arrangement that governed Jammu and Kashmir before 5 August 2019, consider the following: 1. Article 35A empowered the State legislature to define who the 'permanent residents' of the State were and to confer on them special rights in State government employment, acquisition of immovable property, settlement in the State and State scholarships. 2. Article 35A was brought into the Constitution through a Presidential Order of 1954 and did not appear in the main body of the Constitution. 3. The Union's legislative jurisdiction over the State under the original arrangement was founded on the Instrument of Accession, which confined it to a limited set of subjects. 4. Article 370 was a permanent provision of the Constitution which could be repealed only by a constitutional amendment ratified by all the State legislatures. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Article 35A empowered the State legislature to define who the 'permanent residents' of the State were and to confer on them special rights in State government employment, acquisition of immovable property, settlement in the State and State scholarships.
  2. Article 35A was brought into the Constitution through a Presidential Order of 1954 and did not appear in the main body of the Constitution.
  3. The Union's legislative jurisdiction over the State under the original arrangement was founded on the Instrument of Accession, which confined it to a limited set of subjects.
  4. Article 370 was a permanent provision of the Constitution which could be repealed only by a constitutional amendment ratified by all the State legislatures.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q5. The five-judge Constitution Bench that delivered the verdict of 11 December 2023 on the abrogation of Article 370 was presided over by which one of the following?

  • A. The Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud
  • B. The Chief Justice of India, U.U. Lalit
  • C. The senior-most puisne judge, Sanjay Kishan Kaul
  • D. The Attorney General for India, R. Venkataramani

Q6. In its judgment of 11 December 2023, the Supreme Court directed that Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir be held by 30 September 2024. Which authority was directed to conduct them?

  • A. The Election Commission of India
  • B. The State Election Commission of Jammu and Kashmir
  • C. The Delimitation Commission constituted for Jammu and Kashmir
  • D. The Ministry of Home Affairs through the Lieutenant Governor

Q7. In the context of the accession of princely States in 1947, an 'Instrument of Accession' is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A document executed by the Ruler of a princely State acceding to a Dominion in respect of specified subjects, the Ruler otherwise retaining authority over the State
  • B. An arrangement continuing existing administrative services such as posts, customs and communications between a princely State and a Dominion pending a final settlement
  • C. A covenant by which the Ruler of a princely State surrendered authority in full and merged the State's territory into a neighbouring province of a Dominion
  • D. An award by a commission demarcating which territories and districts were to pass to each of the two Dominions on the transfer of power

Q8. Under the Instrument of Accession executed by the Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947, the jurisdiction of the Union was confined to how many broad heads of subjects?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Six

Q9. Consider the following statements comparing the position of a State with that of a Union Territory under the Constitution: 1. A Bill for the formation of a new State may be introduced in Parliament only on the recommendation of the President, and Parliament is not bound by the views communicated to it by the legislature of the affected State. 2. Parliament may diminish the area of a State by ordinary law, but a law converting a State into a Union Territory requires ratification by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States. 3. Of the two Union Territories carved out of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, only one was provided with a Legislative Assembly. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A Bill for the formation of a new State may be introduced in Parliament only on the recommendation of the President, and Parliament is not bound by the views communicated to it by the legislature of the affected State.
  2. Parliament may diminish the area of a State by ordinary law, but a law converting a State into a Union Territory requires ratification by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States.
  3. Of the two Union Territories carved out of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, only one was provided with a Legislative Assembly.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. With reference to security-related developments concerning Jammu and Kashmir in 2025, consider the following: 1. The terror attack of April 2025 took place at the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam and was attributed by investigating agencies to the Lashkar-e-Taiba. 2. Operation Sindoor, launched in May 2025, struck terror infrastructure at locations including Bahawalpur and Muridke. 3. The car explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi in November 2025 was investigated along with an inter-State module from which a large quantity of explosives was seized at Faridabad in Haryana. 4. In response to the April 2025 attack, India terminated the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 with immediate effect. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The terror attack of April 2025 took place at the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam and was attributed by investigating agencies to the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
  2. Operation Sindoor, launched in May 2025, struck terror infrastructure at locations including Bahawalpur and Muridke.
  3. The car explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi in November 2025 was investigated along with an inter-State module from which a large quantity of explosives was seized at Faridabad in Haryana.
  4. In response to the April 2025 attack, India terminated the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 with immediate effect.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4