The Indira–Sheikh Accord signed in 1975 between Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah and then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, decided the terms under which Abdullah would reenter the politics of Kashmir. It allowed Abdullah to become Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir again after 22 years and enabled competitive politics in the State. Context The shift in power balance in the subcontinent in favour of India, following the Indian victory in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, led Sheikh Abdullah to the conclusion that he had little choice but to follow the terms India dictated. The Indian victory in Bangladesh increased Indira Gandhi's status as premier in India, and she dealt heavily with the Kashmiri demand for plebiscite. She also stated that it was inconceivable to accept Sheikh Abdullah's demand for the restoration of the pre-1953 relationship between Kashmir and India because "the clock could not be put back in this manner". In 1975, Sheikh Abdullah dropped his demand that the people of Kashmir be given the right to self-determination. Scholar Sumantra Bose states that Abdullah, whose popularity since 1953 arose from his opposition to India, would not have agreed to such terms even five years prior to the Accord. Accord The agreement restated the conditions of Jammu and Kashmir's incorporation into India since 1953 with a clause that the state's administration would be maintained under Article 370. Sumantra Bose points out that 23 constitutional orders had already been made by the mid-1970s to integrate the state into the Indian Union and 262 Union laws had been applied to the state. Despite retaining Article 370, the state was called "a constituent unit" of the Indian Union. The Indian government was able to control "the areas which mattered most" by being able to make laws concerning activities aimed at rejecting Indian sovereignty. The Accord only granted the state government the right to review the laws which were specifically from the Concurrent List (list of powers shared by the Center and the State) extended after 1953. Only these laws could be considered for amendment or repealment. The Accord also recognised the State's right to legislate on matters such as welfare, social and cultural issues and Muslim personal law. Text of the Indira–Sheikh Accord The State of Jammu and Kashmir which is a constituent unit of the Union of India, shall, in its relation with the Union, continue to be governed by Article 370 of