Largest Union Territory

News

• Jammu and Kashmir will be the largest Union Territory (UT) in the country in terms of area once it is carved out, following the Centre’s move to bifurcate the State. Ladakh will be the second largest UT after it comes to force.

Union Territories

• With the addition of two new UTs, its total number will go up to nine; J&K, Ladakh, Delhi, Puducherry, Diu and Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Currently, only two UTs Delhi and Puducherry  have Legislative Assemblies. With the addition of Jammu and Kashmir, the number will go up to three. UTs with legislative assemblies have Lt. Governors.
• The number of MPs from UTs may vary but all have representation in Parliament. For instance, Delhi sends seven MPs, the largest among union territories.

Several J&K politicians arrested

• Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, who were under house arrest, have been arrested.
• Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference leaders Sajjad Lone and Imran Ansari have also been arrested.

Government changed special status of Kashmir

• President Ram Nath Kovind issued a presidential order under Article 370 (1) of the Constitution. This clause enables the President to specify the matters which are applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. As it can be issued only with the Jammu and Kashmir government’s concurrence, the notification uses the words “with the concurrence of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir”. This presumably means the Governor, who is now administering the State under President’s Rule, has given his concurrence on behalf of the State government.
• The Order supersedes the 1954 Order. This effectively means that all the provisions that formed the basis of a separate “Constitution” for Jammu and Kashmir stand abrogated. The Order declares that all the provisions of the Constitution of India, shall apply to Jammu and Kashmir too.
• However, some special measures were still needed for the scrapping of Article 370 altogether. Therefore, a few clauses were added to Article 367 of the Constitution.

Article 370 

• The government revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that the State be bifurcated into two separate Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
• Article 371, which has special provisions for other States, mostly from the Northeast, has invited some attention.
• Most of the States that have been accorded special provisions under Article 371 are in the northeast and the special status aims to preserve their tribal culture.
• Article 371(A) states that no act of Parliament shall apply to the State of Nagaland in respect of the religious or social practices of the Nagas, its customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law and ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
• Article 371-G that deals with special provisions with respect to Mizoram has similar nature.
• Article 371B deals with special provision with respect to the State of
• The main objective of inserting Article 371B was to facilitate the creation of the sub-State ‘Meghalaya’.
• Article 371C deals with special provisions with respect to Manipur which became a State in 1972.
• Articles 371F, 371H talk about special provisions with respect to States of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, respectively.
• Article 371 gives the power to the President of India to establish separate development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada regions of Maharashtra and the rest of the State and Saurashtra, Kutch and rest of Gujarat.
• Special provisions with respect to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa are dealt in Articles 371 D and 371E, 371J, 371I respectively.

Sources: The Hindu, PIB, Wikipedia