Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar hosts maiden Formula 4 car racing on banks of Dal Lake, PM Modi appreciates

Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city on Sunday wore a mood of festivity as motor enthusiasts lined up near the Dal Lake to witness the first-ever Formula-4 car racing event held in the city.

The race was held in a collaboration between Formula-4 and the Indian Racing League under the aegis of the Tourism Department.

The 1.7 km long Formula-4 car race was held from Lalit Ghat to the Nehru Park region in the city, which once witnessed bloodbaths and blasts due to terror attacks in the past.

Modi appreciates the event

Indian PM Narendra Modi said Srinagar offers to be the perfect venue to host motorsports events in future.

"This is very heartening to see. It will help further showcase the beauty of Jammu and Kashmir. India offers great opportunities for motorsports to thrive and Srinagar is right on top of the places where it can happen!" he posted on X.

A large number of youths had arrived at the venue to witness the sporting event.

Authorities had made elaborate arrangements in the city to host the event.

On 5 August 2019, the Indian government issued a Presidential Order superseding the 1954 order, and making all the provisions of the Indian constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.

The order was based on the resolution passed in both houses of India's parliament with two-thirds majority.

A further order on 6 August made all the clauses of Article 370 except clause 1 to be inoperative.

Article 370 Explained

Oct 26, 1947: On this day the Instrument of Accession,1947 was signed between Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir and the Government of India paving the way for Jammu and Kashmir to merge with independent India. Singh signed the instrument amid a tribal invasion by Pakistani forces, who were genociding the non-Muslims of the region.

Oct 17, 1949:  Article 370 that granted special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir was incorporated into the Constitution of India which itself came into effect on January 26, 1950.

Jammu and Kashmir was administered by India as a state from 17 November 1952 to 31 October 2019. Article 370 conferred on the state the power to have a separate constitution, a state flag, and autonomy of internal administration. It also barred Indians from outside the state from purchasing property or settling there.

Article 370 stipulated that the other articles of the Constitution that gave powers to the Central Government would be applied to Jammu and Kashmir only with the concurrence of the former State's constituent assembly.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution said it was a temporary status of Jammu and Kashmir. It was titled "Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions", stating that the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir would be empowered to recommend the extent to which the Indian constitution would apply to the state.

On May 14th, 1954, then President Rajendra Prasad issued the Presidential order guaranteeing territorial integrity to Jammu and Kashmir and introduced Article 35A which conferred special rights and privileges to permanent citizens of Jammu and Kashmir which its non-permanent residents, even if they were Indian citizens, were not entitled to. This order was passed with the concurrence of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the state constituent assembly dissolved itself without recommending the abrogation of Article 370, the article was deemed to have become a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution.