Special status of Northeast States

Special status of Northeast States

Subject: Polity

Section: Federalism

Context: Supreme Court accepted Centre’s commitment to not alter the special provisions safeguarding northeastern states, during Article 370 challenge hearing.

More about the news:

• Centre’s assurance of non-interference with special constitutional provisions safeguarding northeastern States was accepted by the Supreme Court Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.
• The apprehensions were raised by petitioners regarding the potential serious implications of tampering with the “periphery” of the country.

What are the Special Provisions for Some States.

• Articles 371 to 371-J in Part XXI of the constitution contain special provisions for twelve states– viz., Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka.
• Originally, the constitution did not make any special provisions for these states. They have been incorporated by the various subsequent amendments made in the context of reorganization of the states or conferment of statehood on the Union Territories.
• Meghalaya and Tripura don’t come under these special category states.
• There are a total of 11 articles for these states.

Why North-East State gets special status:

• Article 371 was inserted in the Constitution to grant special status to certain states through some special provision to meet the unique need of some backward regions of these states. These special provisions were inserted in the Constitution to bring peace and harmony and to deal with the disturbed law and order in some parts of these states.
• The main reason behind granting special status to these states was to protect and preserve the cultures, traditions, languages, and ethnic diversity of the tribes of these states.
• The north-eastern states of India consist are home to more than 200 fascinating tribes, and each tribal group has its own unique culture and tradition and other ethnic diversities. For ages, the north-eastern region of India had been struggling equal opportunities that the rest of the states enjoyed, hence another important reason to grant special status to the northeast states was to bring them to an equal footing with the rest of the states in India, to provide them with similar opportunities in terms of educational and employment facilities.