Home Minister Amit Shah on September 8, 2019 declared that the centre will not touch article 371 which grants special provisions to the north east. He assured that the Bharatiya Janata Party government is not planning on making any amendments to article 371 and they are committed to it. After the abrogation of article 370, people of north east were misguided by spreading wrong information regarding scrapping of article 371 too.
What are the provisions under article 371?
Article 371( A-J) provides special provisions to the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka. Basically, it focuses on the development of north-eastern states. It involves provisions for setting up of development boards, preservation of culture, administration of hill areas, employment, education opportunities and local reservation in government jobs and education.
· Article 371- Special provision with respect to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat
· Article 371A- Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland
· Article 371B- Special provision with respect to the State of Assam
· Article 371C- Special provision with respect to the State of Manipur
· Article 371D- Special provisions with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh
· Article 371E- Establishment of Central University in Andhra Pradesh
· Article 371F- Special provisions with respect to the State of Sikkim
· Article 371G- Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram
· Article 371H- Special provision with respect to the State of Arunachal Pradesh
· Article 371I- Special provision with respect to the State of Goa
· Article 371J- Special provision with respect to the state of Karnataka
Article 371 was a part of constitution when it came into effect on January 26, 1950. 371(A-J) were added subsequently. Article was incorporated considering the need for special provisions in these states.
Difference between articles 370 and 371:
There is a huge difference between articles 370 and 371. Article 370 is temporary in nature and article 371 is regarding provisions for the north-east, it is more permanent in nature. Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, have absolutely no relationship with article 371. Moreover, article 370 deprived the state of Jammu and Kashmir of various welfare provisions and laws which all other states enjoyed. The states coming under article 371 are in need of these provisions and these will help in the development and protection of culture in these states.
The abrogation of article 370 left the people in chaos regarding article 371. The assurance by home minister pours relief to this chaos and asserts that article 370 and 371 are two entirely different articles.
In conclusion,
The chaos related to abrogation of article 371 reduced as a result of minister’s declaration. Until then, the north-eastern states were under confusion about their special provisions. Moreover, basic awareness about the fact that articles 370 and 371 are completely different and serve two different purposes. So, they cannot be correlated and abrogation of one would not necessarily mean abrogation of other too. Hence, it is indeed necessary that we understand the essence of articles in the way they are intended to be understood.
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