SSC
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed by Parliament in:
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Answer: Option C — 2019
Detailed Solution
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed by Parliament in August 2019 (by the Rajya Sabha on 5 August and the Lok Sabha on 6 August) and came into effect on 31 October 2019, observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day, Sardar Patel's birth anniversary).
The Act reorganised the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories:
- The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, with a Legislative Assembly (like Delhi and Puducherry), headed by a Lieutenant Governor.
- The Union Territory of Ladakh, without a legislature, comprising the Leh and Kargil districts, headed by a Lieutenant Governor.
This was the first time that a state was converted into Union Territories. As a result, the number of states in India fell from 29 to 28, and the number of Union Territories increased from 7 to 9. In January 2020, the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and of Daman and Diu were merged, bringing the number of Union Territories to 8.
At the same time, on 5 August 2019, the President issued an order (C.O. 272) under Article 370, and Parliament passed resolutions, which made all provisions of the Indian Constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir and effectively ended its special status under Article 370 and Article 35A. In December 2023, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the abrogation of Article 370's special status (In Re: Article 370 case) and directed that elections be held and statehood restored as soon as possible.
After delimitation, the first Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir were held in September-October 2024, in three phases. Omar Abdullah of the National Conference became Chief Minister in October 2024. In 2024, five new districts were announced in Ladakh.
Other important reorganisation acts:
- Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014: created Telangana (2 June 2014), India's 29th state at that time.
- Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966: created Haryana and made Chandigarh a Union Territory.
- States Reorganisation Act, 1956: reorganised states on linguistic lines.
Why not the other options?
- ✗2014 is the year Telangana was formed.
- ✗2015 is incorrect.
- ✗2020 is the year the two western UTs were merged.
Quick tip
Remember: J&K Reorganisation Act = 2019 (in force 31 October 2019): UTs of J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without); Article 370 abrogation upheld by the Supreme Court (December 2023); 28 states and 8 UTs now.
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Union, Territory & Citizenship — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Union, Territory & Citizenship, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers Part I and Part II of the Constitution: the Union and its territory (Articles 1-4), the formation and reorganisation of states, and the provisions on citizenship (Articles 5-11), including how citizenship is acquired and lost under the Citizenship Act, 1955. Questions commonly ask which article describes India as a 'Union of States' (Article 1), how Parliament can create new states (Article 3), and the five ways of acquiring citizenship (birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory). Remember that India provides for single citizenship. Practise the union, territory and citizenship questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.