Why demand for Article 371 has become a talking point in Meghalaya district council elections

As Meghalaya heads for elections to autonomous district councils, a debate has erupted over whether the state should be included under Article 371 of the Constitution – a provision that gives special protections to several states in the North East.

The newly formed Voice of the People Party or VPP, which is a strident advocate of the interests of the Khasi-Jaintia tribes, has stirred up the campaign with its demand.

Nearly all of Meghalaya is included under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which gives autonomy to tribal communities in the northeastern states through the mechanism of autonomous district councils.

The VPP argues that it is not enough. “The Sixth Schedule grants a small degree of autonomy,” party spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh told Scroll. “It does not protect us from the laws passed by the central government.” He argued these laws often go against the state’s culture and traditional political institutions, or its system of land holdings.

In contrast, Article 371A and Article 371 G, as it is applicable in Nagaland and Mizoram respectively, “empowers the state Assembly to pass resolutions declaring that the central law will not be applicable”, Myrboh pointed out.

The three major players in the district council elections – the ruling National People’s Party, its ally the United…

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