{"id":125587,"date":"2026-09-22T11:22:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T05:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=125587"},"modified":"2026-09-22T11:22:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T05:52:47","slug":"article-371k-for-ladakh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/article-371k-for-ladakh\/","title":{"rendered":"Article 371K for Ladakh: Understanding Article 371 and Special Safeguard"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Article 371K Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union government has proposed inserting a new Article 371K in the Constitution to give special safeguards to Ladakh.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposal follows an &#8220;in-principle understanding&#8221; between the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and representatives of the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It envisages a directly elected Union Territory-level body with legislative, executive, financial and planning powers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Article 371 Originally Was<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Article 371 is now associated with special protections for the Northeast and tribal regions. But that was not its original purpose.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Independence, India comprised not just British-administered provinces but also hundreds of <\/span><b>princely states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that had acceded under very different circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Constitution classified these \u2014 Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and others \u2014 as <\/span><b>Part B States<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The original Article 371, adopted in <\/span><b>1950<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was a <\/span><b>transitional provision<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It placed Part B State governments under the <\/span><b>general control of the President<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for 10 years, or a period Parliament could adjust.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its purpose was Central supervision during integration, not cultural protection.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The 1956 Turning Point<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Six years later, the <\/span><b>States Reorganisation Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>Seventh Constitutional Amendment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of 1956 abolished the Part A, B and C classification, creating a uniform structure of states and Union Territories.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The original Article 371 disappeared. Parliament <\/span><b>replaced it with a new version<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 the one that exists today \u2014 providing special arrangements for Maharashtra and Gujarat, focused on equitable development of regions like Vidarbha, Marathwada, Saurashtra and Kutch.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How 371 Became a Family of Provisions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From here, India&#8217;s Constitutional system showed its flexibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parliament repeatedly built bespoke arrangements for regions whose history, social structure or political demands differed from the rest of the country. This is often called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/asymmetric-federalism\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>asymmetric federalism<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-125633\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiramias.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp\/current-affairs\/2026\/09\/22112138\/Article-371A-K.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"468\" height=\"457\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each provision, notably, emerged from a <\/span><b>distinct political settlement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 an insurgency, a peace accord, a regional grievance, or an integration process. There is no single template.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Ladakh Is Seeking<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ladakh&#8217;s demand does not fit neatly into any existing 371 model, for a key reason: it would apply to a <\/span><b>Union Territory without a legislature<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 something unprecedented.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The emerging proposal includes:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>directly elected UT-level body<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with legislative, executive, budgetary, planning and financial powers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legislative powers over <\/span><b>land, culture, language, forests, environment and natural resources<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and other subjects reserved for the UT under <\/span><b>Article 240<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Control over <\/span><b>civil servants<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including their <\/span><b>APARs (performance appraisals)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for subjects under the elected body&#8217;s jurisdiction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Control over <\/span><b>law and order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 notably the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">opposite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Article 371H, which gives Arunachal Pradesh&#8217;s Governor special responsibility over law and order.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Land protection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> resembling the philosophy of 371A and 371G, where certain Parliamentary laws don&#8217;t apply automatically.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Would Make 371K Strong or Weak<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final strength of 371K depends entirely on its drafting.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it merely creates an elected body and lists subjects it can legislate on, protection would be <\/span><b>relatively limited<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Manipur is a cautionary example \u2014 hill tribes argue Article 371C has failed to deliver meaningful autonomy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it <\/span><b>constitutionally protects<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the elected body&#8217;s control over land, natural resources, recruitment and administration, it would be <\/span><b>considerably stronger<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it specifies that certain <\/span><b>Central laws won&#8217;t apply<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Ladakh without the elected body&#8217;s approval, it would resemble the stronger protections under 371A and 371G.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If law and order and the bureaucracy come under the elected executive, <\/span><b>Ladakh&#8217;s head of government would be more powerful than the J&amp;K Chief Minister.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is precisely why the promised draft matters, and why Ladakh&#8217;s leaders have been pressing for it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Article 371 was never one idea \u2014 it is a constitutional habit of bespoke bargains. Each version answered a specific political demand of its time.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ladakh&#8217;s 371K would be the first attempt to give a Union Territory without legislature real legislative teeth. Its ultimate strength lies not in the number 371K, but in the words finally written into it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/article-371-article-371k-ladakh-special-constitutional-safeguards-explained-10880260\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article 371K could give Ladakh an elected body with legislative, financial and planning powers, creating special constitutional safeguards for land, resources and governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":125637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[10410,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-125587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-article-371k","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125587"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125635,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125587\/revisions\/125635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}