Special Provisions

One of the most unusual features of India's federal arrangement is that not every state is treated identically by the Constitution -- several states receive differential treatment. This is not entirely new: even in the way seats are allotted in the Rajya Sabha, representation is asymmetrical, guaranteeing a minimum number of seats to smaller states while still giving larger states a proportionately bigger say, precisely to balance the very different sizes and populations of India's states.

A similar logic of differential treatment appears again in the division of powers. While the Constitution lays down a common framework of powers that applies to all states, it also makes special provisions for a number of states in recognition of their particular social and historical circumstances. Most of these special provisions apply to the north-eastern states -- among them Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram -- largely because of their substantial indigenous tribal populations with distinct histories and cultures; even so, these provisions have not fully succeeded in easing feelings of alienation or containing insurgency in parts of the region. Sp …