Article 371, and the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
Context:
- Recently Union Home Minister Amit Shah offered to extend Article 371-like protections to the Ladakh region.
- The offer has come during a meeting with representatives from Ladakh, which has been witnessing protests recently.
- After the repeal of Article 370 in August 2019 and the subsequent enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, Ladakh has been recognised as a separate Union Territory but without legislature.
- Ever since the reorganization, organisations like the ABL and the KDA have demanded that Ladakh should be included under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
About Sixth Schedule of the Constitution:
- The sixth schedule contains provisions regarding the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
- Inclusion of Ladakh under this Schedule would allow it to create Autonomous District and Regional Councils (ADCs and ARCs) which are elected bodies with the power to administrate tribal areas.
- It include power to make laws on subjects such as forest management, agriculture, administration of villages and towns, inheritance, marriage, divorce and social customs.
- Also it is important to note that majority of the population in Ladakh belongs to Scheduled Tribes.
- The ADCs and ARCs may also constitute village councils or courts in order to decide disputes between parties from Scheduled Tribes, and appoint officers to oversee the administration of the laws they enact.
- In some cases where the offences are punishable with death or more than five years of imprisonment, the Governor of the state can confer upon the ADCs and ARCs the power to try them under the country’s criminal and civil laws.
- The Schedule also gives ARCs and ADCs the power to collect land revenue, impose taxes, regulate money lending and also trading, collect royalties from licences or leases for the extraction of minerals in their areas.
- They can even establish public facilities such as schools, markets, and roads.
What protections are offered under Article 371?
- Articles 371 and 371-A to J provide “special provisions” for specific states.
- These provisions are included to give representation to certain religious and social groups and to allow these groups to exercise autonomy over their affairs without interference from the state and central governments.
- Special provisions under Article 371 would allow protections to be extended to the local population of Ladakh, while also stopping short of the widespread autonomy that is provided to ADCs and ARCs under the Sixth Schedule.
