Article 370 Abrogation vs. Article 371: Why the RSS views constitutional provisions for special status differently

The RSS supports the abrogation of Article 370.

(RSSFACTS is a column that demystifies the functioning, organisational structure and ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.)

The assembly polls are underway in Jammu and Kashmir. The issue of abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government in 2019 has also taken a centerstage.

Article 370 had provided a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and it was abrogated by the Modi government on August 5, 2019. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP had always been in favour of this abrogation. Interestingly there is another provision in the Constitution under Article 371 that provides special status to several regions especially in the north-eastern region.

However, the RSS has not opposed Article 371. There are several reasons for this.

First, Article 370 was a temporary provision through a Presidential order in 1954 unlike the Article 371 which is integrally a permanent part of the Indian Constitution. Despite being ‘temporary’ it continued to exist till 2019 when it was abrogated.

Second, Article 370 provided a separate flag and even constitution for Jammu and Kashmir. Article 371 doesn’t have any such provisions. Article 371 provides some special provisions to preserve the cultural and ethnic identity of tribals in the north-eastern region as well as to promote development at the local level in around a dozen Indian states.

Article 370 became a tool in the hand of separatist elements in Jammu and Kashmir to promote terrorism. Along with section 35-A, which was an outcome of the Article 370, it trampled upon the rights of women and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the region.

On the other hand, Article 371 has helped to integrate the scheduled tribes of the north eastern region in the national mainstream. The north eastern region has faced an onslaught of Christian missionaries which resulted in widespread conversion of tribals to Christianity, compromising their identity and culture. The RSS recognised this quite early and has repeatedly expressed concern about it also.

Way back in 1994, the RSS had passed a resolution where it viewed, “with grave concern the fast-deteriorating situation in the North-Eastern part of our country.”

In all the seven north-eastern states secessionist elements are actively engaged in terrorist activities, said this resolution.

It further elaborated, “The Meghalaya student organizations are agitating for the expulsion of people from other parts of the country settled there, branding them as foreigners. In Tripura, terrorist murders have become the order of the day. Discontent among the Meiteis of Manipur regarding the absence of job-reservations for them is being given an anti-Hindu turn. In the peace-loving Arunachal Pradesh, demands are being raised for the expulsion of Chakma refugees settled there since long. On the other hand, Christian missionaries are being recklessly encouraged throwing the anti-conversion Act to the winds. In Mizoram, discontent is being fomented against the security forces and the police by making a research paper written by a police officer as a pretext. In Assam, instead of calling a halt to the even-increasing Muslim infiltration, conflict between tribals and the residents of hills and the plains are being engineered. The Nagaland Students Federation has threatened the Oil and Natural Gas Commission to stop flow of petrol out of the State.

Succumbing to their threat, the State Government has constituted a ministerial sub-committee to go into the matter. But strangely enough the Baptist church has also been invited to join it, apart from other tribal and political leaders. A campaign of Christianization of Arunachal Pradesh, with education and medical services as tools, is being vigorously pursued by encircling it with such institutions. Recently, lakhs of Muslims of the North Eastern region congregated in Assam for a world Islamic Conference. All these incidents have rendered the entire North-Eastern region highly explosive and the whole area has become a hotbed of anti-national and secessionist forces.”

It was clear that the conversion of tribals into the Christianity and illegal immigration from across the border altering the demographic profile of the north-eastern states were key challenges. Article 371 helps in dealing with these factors through its provisions of maintaining the ethnic and cultural identity of the local tribal community in the north-eastern region.

As far as Article 370 is concerned, the RSS’ stand was reflected in its 2020 resolution which welcomed the abrogation of this article. The resolution said, “Though all the provisions of the Constitution of Bharat were expected to be equally applicable to all the regions of the nation, due to the immediate and exceptional circumstances of aggression from the Pakistan side soon after partition, the temporary provision of Article 370 was added to the Constitution.

Later on under the garb of Article 370, a large number of articles of the Constitution of Bharat were either excluded or extended in amended form for the state of J&K. The provisions like Article 35A were inserted arbitrarily through Presidential Orders sowing the seeds of separatism. Due to these constitutional anomalies, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBC’s, Gorkhas, Women, sanitation workers, refugees from West-Pakistan etc. faced blatant discrimination in the state. Jammu and Ladakh regions were deprived of proportional representation in the state assembly, allocation of resources and a say in the decision-making process. Due to all such wrong policies, what we had seen in the state was growing ‘radicalisation and terrorism’ and complete neglect of the national forces.”

Earlier RSSFACTS columns can be read here.