Article 35A was added to the Indian Constitution in a hush-hush manner (without routing it through the Parliament as required under Article 368) through a Presidential Order of 1954 (in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 370) on the advice of the Union Government headed by Nehru empowering the J&K state to define ‘Permanent Residents’ (PR) of the state, and accord them rights and privileges denied to other citizens of India.
