NEW DELHI - Article 35A of India's constitution permits the local legislature in IoK to define permanent residents of the region.
The article came into being in 1954 by a presidential order under the constitution's Article 370, which grants special autonomous status to IoK.
Article 35A forbids Indians from outside the state from permanently settling, buying land, holding local government jobs or winning education scholarships in the region.
The article, referred to as the Permanent Residents Law, also bars female residents of IoK from property rights in the event that they marry a person from outside the state. The provision also extends to such women's children.
While Article 35A has remained unchanged, some aspects of Article 370 have been diluted over the decades.
Critics of Article 35A say the provision did not have parliamentary sanction, and that it discriminates against women