Proposed Article 371K for Ladakh and Special Provisions from 371A to 371J

Gist The Union government has proposed inserting a new constitutional provision, Article 371K, to provide special safeguards for the Union Territory of Ladakh. Following an agreement with the Apex Body, Leh ABL and the Kargil Democratic Alliance KDA , the proposed framework envisions a directly elected UT-level body vested with broad legislative, executive, financial, and planning powers. For civil services aspirants, this development represents a unique evolution of India’s asymmetric federalism, as it seeks to grant state-like legislative autonomy and cultural protection to a territory that currently lacks its own legislature. Background Originally enacted in 1950, Article 371 was not designed to protect tribal or border regions. Instead, it was a transitional mechanism placing Part B States former princely states like Hyderabad and Mysore under the President's supervisory control for 10 years. Following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 , the Part A, B, and C classifications were abolished, and the original Article 371 was repurposed to mandate equitable regional development in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Over the decades, Parliament expanded this constitutional flexibility by…