Recent directives from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas are perceived by the ‘Nagas’ as a threat to override the exceptional status enjoyed by the State. Discuss in light of Article 371A of the Indian Constitution.

Article 371A, inserted by the Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 pursuant to the 16-point agreement with the Naga People's Convention (1960), embodies the compact under which Nagaland became a state in 1963.

The Constitutional Guarantee

• No Act of Parliament applies to Nagaland in respect of (i) religious or social practices of the Nagas, (ii) Naga customary law and procedure, (iii) administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law, and (iv) ownership and transfer of land and its resources — unless the Nagaland Legislative Assembly by resolution so decides.

The Petroleum Dispute

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas sought to revive exploration — suspended since ONGC abandoned the Changpang fields in 1994 — treating petroleum as a Union subject under Entry 53 of the Union List and the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948.
• Naga civil society and the state government read 'land and its resources' in Article 371A as covering sub-soil minerals too; the state framed the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulations, 2012, asserting its own licensing and royalty regime.
• The ministry's directives were therefore perceived as overriding a solemn constitutional guarantee, deepening the trust deficit amid the ongoing Naga peace process.

Way Forward

• The ambiguity needs resolution through consultation — an Assembly-endorsed framework with generous revenue-sharing for landowners and tribal bodies, rather than unilateral directives.

Article 371A is not a routine special provision but a federal compact; honouring its spirit is the precondition both for unlocking Nagaland's resources and for peace.