Special Responsibilities of Governors under Article 371 Series

Governor special responsibility under the Article 371 series refers to a set of constitutional provisions that place select Governors under a distinct, named duty — separate from their routine functions — to safeguard the interests of specific backward or culturally distinct regions. Rather than leaving these regions to ordinary legislative and executive processes alone, the Constitution singles out Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and several north-eastern states for this extra layer of oversight, exercised through the Governor.

Origins in the Constituent Assembly

The number "371" attracted debate in the Constituent Assembly well before the provisions familiar today took their present shape. In the debates of November 1949, Article 371 (as it then stood) was understood to place certain State Unions — formed by merging smaller princely states — under the President's oversight for a period of ten years. Members disagreed sharply on this idea. Shri Ratan Lal Malviya argued that such central control might be necessary for backward regions but was risky for more advanced unions such as Mysore and Travancore, since prolonged central tutelage could retard their progress rather than advance it, which he considered contrary to democratic principles. On the other side, B. Das, speaking on 15 November 1949 against the separate emergency provision that became Article 365, argued that Article 371 alone already gave the President "ample" power to intervene if a state administration went astray, and that a further emergency article was unnecessary since the provinces were, in his words, already like "glorified municipalities" with limited autonomy. This early exchange shows that vesting extraordinary responsibility in the Centre — whether through the President or, later, through Governors — has divided opinion from the outset between those who see it as protective and those who see it as an erosion of provincial self-government.

Article 371: Maharashtra and Gujarat

In its present form, Article 371 empowers the President to direct, by order, that the Governor of Maharashtra or Gujarat carry a special responsibility connected with the establishment of separate development boards for specific sub-regions — Vidarbha and Marathwada in Maharashtra, and Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat. This special responsibility extends to placing a report on the functioning of these boards before the state legislature, and to ensuring that funds set aside for development are distributed equitably across the sub-regions, and that opportunities for education and employment are likewise shared fairly among their residents.

Article 371-J: Karnataka and the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region

A comparable mechanism applies to Karnataka. Under Article 371-J, the Governor of Karnataka carries a special responsibility concerning the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. The underlying logic mirrors that of Article 371: preventing one part of a state, shaped historically by a different administrative lineage, from being systematically disadvantaged relative to the rest of the state after reorganisation.

Special Provisions for the North-Eastern States

The Article 371 series also extends special constitutional attention to several north-eastern states, among them Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. These provisions exist because these states have a sizeable indigenous tribal population with a distinct history and culture that they wish to retain. Here the emphasis differs from the development-board model used for Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka; the north-eastern provisions are oriented instead toward preserving local identity as these states integrate with the rest of the Union.

At a Glance

Why "Special Responsibility" Is a Distinct Category

The phrase "special responsibility" matters because it marks these functions out from a Governor's ordinary constitutional role. Provisions such as Article 371 and Article 371-J place a defined, named duty directly on the Governor — overseeing development boards, ensuring equitable allocation of funds and opportunities, and reporting to the legislature — turning the office into a constitutional safeguard for regions that might otherwise be overlooked in the ordinary run of state politics.

The Governor's Office: A Broader Context

These special responsibilities sit within a larger, long-running debate about the Governor's office itself. The Governor is not an elected functionary; appointees have often been retired military officers, civil servants, or politicians, and the appointment is made by the Central Government. Because of this, a Governor's actions — including the exercise of special responsibilities under provisions like Article 371 — are sometimes viewed by state governments as an extension of central influence, particularly when different parties hold power at the Centre and in the state. The Sarkaria Commission, constituted in 1983 to examine Centre-State relations and which submitted its report in 1988, recommended that Governor appointments be made in a strictly non-partisan manner — a recommendation that bears directly on how evenly a Governor's special responsibility under the Article 371 series is likely to be exercised in practice.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 371 provides for the Governor's special responsibility in Maharashtra (Vidarbha, Marathwada) and Gujarat (Saurashtra, Kutch).
• Article 371-J covers the Hyderabad-Karnataka region under the Karnataka Governor's special responsibility.
• North-eastern states such as Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram carry special provisions rooted in protecting indigenous tribal identity.
• The Sarkaria Commission (1983-88) examined Centre-State relations, including the manner of Governor appointments.

Mains

• Discuss the constitutional rationale for vesting Governors with "special responsibility" under the Article 371 series, and evaluate whether such provisions strengthen or undermine cooperative federalism.
• The Constituent Assembly debates on Article 371 reveal a long-standing tension between central oversight and provincial autonomy. Examine this tension in the context of present-day Centre-State relations.

FAQ

Q1. What does a Governor's "special responsibility" under Article 371 mean? It is a constitutionally defined duty placed directly on the Governor of specific states — distinct from functions performed on ministerial advice — to oversee designated development boards or protective measures for particular regions or communities.

Q2. Which states carry a Governor's special responsibility under the Article 371 series? Maharashtra and Gujarat under Article 371, and Karnataka under Article 371-J. Several north-eastern states, including Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram, have related special provisions aimed at protecting their indigenous tribal population and culture.

Q3. What is the purpose of the development boards under Article 371? For Maharashtra, boards are envisaged for Vidarbha and Marathwada; for Gujarat, for Saurashtra and Kutch. The Governor's responsibility includes ensuring these boards report to the state legislature and that development funds and opportunities are allocated equitably across the sub-regions.

Q4. What does Article 371-J provide for? It vests the Governor of Karnataka with a special responsibility relating to the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, a cluster of districts with a distinct administrative history within the state.

Q5. Why were the north-eastern states given separate constitutional provisions? Because they have a sizeable indigenous tribal population with a distinct history and culture that they wish to retain, which called for safeguards distinct from the standard state administrative framework.

Quick Revision

• Article 371: Maharashtra and Gujarat — Governor's special responsibility for development boards (Vidarbha, Marathwada, Saurashtra, Kutch).
• Article 371-J: Karnataka — Governor's special responsibility for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
• North-eastern states (Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram): special provisions to protect indigenous tribal population and culture.
• Constituent Assembly, November 1949: early Article 371 debates concerned central oversight of State Unions for ten years; opinion split between protection and erosion of provincial autonomy.
• Sarkaria Commission (1983-88): recommended non-partisan Governor appointments.

Sources

• Constitution of India — Ministry of Law and Justice — official text of Article 371 and its state-specific extensions.
• Constituent Assembly Debates — official archive — debates on Article 371, November 1949.

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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