Under Article 371A of the Constitution of India, with respect to which of the following item(s) the Acts of the Parliament of India shall not apply to the State of Nagaland, unless the Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland by a resolution so decides? 1. Religious or social practices of Nagas 2. Naga customary law and procedure 3. Ownership and transfer of land and its resources 4. Boundaries of Nagaland with other states Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1, 2 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct — C, statements 1, 2 and 3 only. Article 371A(1)(a) provides that no Act of Parliament shall apply to Nagaland in respect of (i) the religious or social practices of the Nagas, (ii) Naga customary law and procedure, and (iii) the ownership and transfer of land and its resources — unless the Nagaland Legislative Assembly by a resolution so decides. Items 1, 2 and 3 in the question match these three protected subjects exactly. Item 4, the boundaries of Nagaland with other states, is not among them — inter-state boundaries are altered by Parliament under Article 3, which needs no assent of the state assembly. So the correct combination is 1, 2 and 3.
- (a)1 only — Understates the protection — Naga customary law and procedure (item 2) and ownership and transfer of land and its resources (item 3) are equally shielded under Article 371A(1)(a), so they also qualify.
- (b)2 and 3 only — Drops item 1, but the religious or social practices of the Nagas are expressly the first protected subject under Article 371A(1)(a).
- (d)1, 2, 3 and 4 — Wrongly adds item 4 — the boundaries of Nagaland with other states are not covered by Article 371A's assembly-assent rule; boundary changes are made by Parliament under Article 3.
Article 371A is a special provision for Nagaland, inserted by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1962 to give effect to the 16-Point Agreement with the Naga People's Convention. It shields a defined set of core areas of Naga life from central legislation unless the state assembly chooses to let a Parliamentary law apply.
The trap is assuming that a 'special provision' for a state covers everything about it, including its territory. Article 371A protects cultural, legal and land matters — not boundaries, since any state's territory can be altered by Parliament under Article 3 without the state legislature's consent.
- Article 371A was added by the Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962, to give effect to the 16-Point Agreement with the Naga People's Convention.
- It requires a resolution of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly before a Parliamentary law applies to Naga religious or social practices, Naga customary law and procedure, justice decided by Naga customary law, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
- Alteration of a state's boundaries is done by Parliament under Article 3, which needs only the state legislature's views, not its consent.
- Comparable special provisions exist for other states, such as Article 371G for Mizoram and Article 371F for Sikkim.
- Assuming 'special provisions' extend to a state's boundaries — territory is dealt with by Article 3, not Article 371A.
- Confusing Article 371A (Nagaland) with the Sixth Schedule, which governs autonomous tribal district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Asked as a 'which items are covered' code question — pin the protected subjects of Article 371A(1)(a) and remember boundaries are not one of them.
Consider the following statements: 1. Articles 371A to 371I were inserted in the Constitution of India to meet regional demands of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa. 2. Constitution of India and the United States of America can envisage a dual policy (the Union and the States) but a single citizenship. 3. A naturalized citizen of India can never be deprived of his citizenship. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 1 and 3
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1 only
Answer(d) 1 only — Articles 371A to 371I were inserted to meet the regional demands of Nagaland and the other named states; the citizenship statements are wrong.
Places Article 371A within the family of Articles 371A–371I created for special regional and tribal demands — the same special-provisions concept this NDA question tests for Nagaland.
The provisions in Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule in the Constitution of India are made in order to
- (a) protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes
- (b) determine the boundaries between States
- (c) determine the powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats
- (d) protect the interests of all the border States
Answer(a) protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes — the Fifth and Sixth Schedules safeguard the land, culture and self-governance of Scheduled Tribes.
A parallel route to protecting tribal culture, land and autonomy — the Fifth/Sixth Schedules — alongside Article 371A's protection of Naga practices and land.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which Constitutional Amendment inserted Article 371A providing special provisions for the State of Nagaland?
- (a)Seventh Amendment
- (b)Thirteenth Amendment
- (c)Forty-second Amendment
- (d)Forty-fourth Amendment
Answer(b) Thirteenth Amendment — the Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 added Article 371A for Nagaland.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Special constitutional provisions for the State of Mizoram are contained in which Article of the Constitution?
- (a)Article 371A
- (b)Article 371F
- (c)Article 371G
- (d)Article 371H
Answer(c) Article 371G — it covers Mizoram, while Article 371F is for Sikkim and Article 371A for Nagaland.