ARTICLE 371F - POLITY
News: Sikkimese
people feel betrayed as Article 371F ‘violation’, says former CM Chamling
What's in the news?
● SDF
supremo Pawan Kumar Chamling claimed that the Sikkimese people feel betrayed as
Article 371F, which guarantees special provisions for Sikkim, was “violated”.
Key takeaways:
Article 371F Provisions:
● According
to Article 371F, only the descendants of
Sikkim subjects (those who lived in the state before its merger with India)
whose names were mentioned in the 1961 register are Sikkimese with rights to own land, get State government
jobs.
● They
were also exempted from paying income
tax.
Recent Issue:
● The
Financial Bill, 2023 redefines Sikkimese as any Indian citizen domiciled in
Sikkim, extending to them the same benefits as that of the original inhabitants
whose forefather's names were in the 1961 register.
● This
violates Article 371F, which was the basis for the merger of Sikkim with India
in 1975. People of Sikkim feel betrayed as the special provisions extended to
them have been taken away.
● Sikkim
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, better known as P. S. Golay, however, said
that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during a recent meeting,
assured him that the amendment was only related to income tax exemption and the
original definition of Sikkimese will always be respected.