The State Subject Rule of 20 April 1927, introduced by Maharaja Hari Singh of the princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, served as a cornerstone legal provision to preserve the cultural, demographic, and territorial integrity of the region.
This law prohibited non-residents and foreign nationals from acquiring land or property within the state, aiming to safeguard indigenous rights and ensure that the native population remained in control of their ancestral lands.
Maharaja Hari Singh, aware of the state’s limited size and economic vulnerability, feared that external actors including neighboring countries might exploit any legal loopholes to purchase land, alter the demographic balance, and ultimately marginalize or displace the native population. The rule was designed as a legal bulwark against such demographic engineering.
However, this protective legal framework has been systematically dismantled. Pakistan was the first to violate the rule in 1949, shortly after the region was divided following the 22 October 1947 Pakistani invasion of Jammu and Kashmir and the first Indo-Pakistani war.
Despite Jammu and Kashmir’s disputed status under international law, Pakistan began settling its citizens in Gilgit-Baltistan, in clear violation of the State Subject Rule. The situation deteriorated further in 1974 when Pakistan formally abolished the rule, removing all legal barriers to demographic change. In so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir, similar trends followed, where land—especially forested hills and tourist areas—was seized and allotted to non-locals under the guise of development or defense use.
India followed suit decades later. In August 2019, the Indian government unilaterally abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of its Constitution. Article 35A had constitutionally reinforced the State Subject Rule, restricting land ownership and public sector employment to state residents. With its removal, non-locals were permitted to acquire property in the region, effectively opening the doors to demographic alteration without the consent of the local population. This move violated India’s own commitments made during the Treaty of Provisional Accession in 1947, when the Indian state pledged to safeguard the life, liberty, and property of the Kashmiri people.
Jammu and Kashmir remains one of the longest unresolved international conflicts. The Kashmir dispute has been on the United Nations Security Council’s agenda since 1948. The UN’s Truce Agreement of that year called on Pakistan to withdraw its military and civilian presence from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan terms that Pakistan has consistently ignored.
While Pakistan claims to support the right to self-determination, it has undermined this very principle by altering the region’s demographic and political structure. On the other hand, India’s actions in 2019 have contradicted its historical promises and democratic values by bypassing the will of the native population.
The conflict has been further inflamed by Pakistan’s covert military campaigns, including Operation Gulmurg (1947–1948), Operation Gibraltar (1965), and the ongoing Operation Tupac, launched in the 1980s. These operations, masked as support for Kashmiri freedom movements, have evolved into a prolonged proxy war that has claimed over 150,000 lives and displaced countless more.
Today, so-called Azad Kashmir has become a haven for extremist groups and banned outfits. On 5 February 2025, extremists and militants including leaders of foreign organizations such as Hamas paraded openly in the streets of Rawalakot, Poonch (Azad Kashmir), armed with sophisticated weaponry. Disturbing footage widely circulated on social media showed militant leaders inciting violence and threatening leadership and members of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP), which advocates peaceful political engagement and opposes proxy warfare.
The UKPNP remains the one and only voice demanding the peaceful reunification of the historical State of Jammu and Kashmir and the complete demilitarization of the region. Despite intimidation, threats, and disinformation campaigns, the party continues to champion democratic representation, non-violent advocacy, and the restoration of the region’s original legal and territorial status.
Maharaja Hari Singh was the architect of the historic State Subject Rule of 1927, designed to safeguard the demographic and territorial integrity of the princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1947, Pakistan signed a Standstill Agreement with Maharaja Hari Singh, pledging to maintain the status quo. However, Pakistan violated this agreement and launched an armed invasion of the State of Jammu and Kashmir on 22 October 1947.
In response to the invasion, Maharaja Hari Singh was compelled to seek military help and signed the Treaty of Provisional Accession with India on 26 October 1947. The following day, 27 October 1947, Indian forces entered Kashmir to repel the incursion and protect the territory in accordance with the terms of the accession.
Pakistan has no locus standi on Jammu and Kashmir. It should comply with UN Resolutions on Kashmir and withdraw its troops and citizens from the disputed territories of the erstwhile Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.
India, as a key regional and international player, a serious country, and the largest democracy in the world, should fulfill its promises and commitments made to the people and the legitimate ruler of Jammu and Kashmir.
Democracies empower the native population by considering their issues, aspirations, and wishes. Serious nations honour historical treaties and instruments, and they fulfill their pledges and promises.
It is high time that these historical agreements are honoured and respected in both spirit and letter, as made with the legitimate ruler of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
The systematic dismantling of the State Subject Rule, combined with forced demographic transformation, stands in violation of several international legal instruments:
Article 1, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): Right to self-determination.
Article 27, ICCPR: Protection of minority rights.
Articles 13 & 17, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Rights to freedom of movement and property ownership.
UN Human Rights Reports (2018 & 2019): Documented systemic violations and recommended international investigations.
European Parliament Report (2007): Declared that neither India nor Pakistan has the right to unilaterally alter the status of a disputed territory.
The United Nations, European Union, and the broader international community must urgently address these violations. It is imperative to:
Cease all forms of demographic manipulation and illegal resource extraction.
Implement UN resolutions on the Kashmir dispute in letter and spirit.
End proxy warfare and armed insurgency across the region.
End proxy politics and political engineering in all parts of the disputed State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Restore unrestricted freedom of movement for all state subjects across the all parts of historical State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Uphold the right to self-determination as an inviolable and universal principle of international law.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve peace, dignity, and justice. The time for global action is now, before this legacy of dispossession and conflict becomes irreversible.
Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, originally from the State of Jammu and Kashmir, lives in exile and is a regular contributor to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He is a columnist, human rights defender, and political analyst.
