SIXTH SCHEDULE

Sixth Schedule

The Sixth Schedule provides for administration of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities. The administration of an autonomous district is to be vested in a District Council and of an autonomous region, in a Regional Council. These Councils are endowed with legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers. Most Council consists of up to 30 members including few nominated members. (The newest Bodoland Territorial Council is an exception; it can have up to 46 members). These constitutionally mandated Councils oversee the traditional bodies of the local tribes such as the Syiemships and Dorbars of the Khasi hills of Meghalaya.

There is a significant degree of variation in the functions devolved to various Autonomous Councils. For instance, the Bodoland Territorial Council has more power compared to the NC Hills Autonomous District Council though the latter has been in existence for decades before the former. This resulted in other areas also demanding further powers and greater autonomy.

Constitutional Safeguards for the Tribal Population

With the dawn of independence and adoption of the Constitution of free India, the British policy of isolation and non‐interference was replaced by the policies of integration and development. The Constitution of India provided several types of safeguards to the tribal communities. There are the Protective Provisions to protect them from all forms of social injustice and exploitation, the Developmental Provisions promote education and developmental activities, the Reservation Provisions ensure their representation in legislative bodies and government jobs, and the Administrative Provisions under the Fifthand Sixth Schedules provide for special administrative setup to provide autonomy of self governance according to their customary traditions.

The tribal people live in contiguous areas unlike other communities. So, an area approach was adopted for administrative and developmental purposes. Under the Constitution “Scheduled Areas” are declared by the President after consultation with the State Governors. These Areas have been designated to protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes regarding their land and other social issues and are governed through provisions of either Fifth or Sixth Schedule. The Scheduled Areas of the North East are covered under the Sixth Schedule provisions; all other Scheduled Areas are covered by the Fifth Schedule laws.

Sixth Schedule Areas

The Sixth Schedule areas are governed through autonomous District Councils which have wide ranging legislative and executive powers. As a result, they almost work like a “miniParliaments.” They have complete freedom to allow village level bodies to run according to customary laws. The verdicts of district and lower level courts can only be challenged in the high court. At present, 6th Schedule Areas exist only in four North‐Eastern States: 1) Assam, 2) Meghalaya, 3) Mizoram, and 4) Tripura. These Areas are administered through Autonomous Districts / Regional Councils. Except Meghalaya, other three states have only certain selected areas covered under the 6th Schedule.

Constitutional Protection

Tribal people are simple, honest and naïve by any yardstick of modern society. Besides, they have traditionally lived in close contact with nature, in the hills and forests. In this sense they are different from rest of the mainstream people; they have historically tried to avoid contact with “outsiders” to preserve their traditional community based living in which

they feel more secure. The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution offers them local autonomy through the system of autonomous district and regional councils which have extensive legislative as well as executive powers to protect land and tribal traditions. It was a path-breaking effort when launched in the 1950s and offers better protection than the Fifth Schedule provisions.

Customary Tribal Laws

While many tribes converted to major religions like Buddhism, Christianity, or Hinduism but still retained most of their traditional customs. Traditional customs and community provide identity to tribal people. Most tribal customary laws center on collectivity or “community” which not only has authority on land and other local resources essential for daily livelihood but also provides a sense of security and empowerment to its members. In this aspect, North East tribes are more fortunate compared with their middle India counterparts who have seen constantly erosion of their identity as well as community based economy. The concept of individualism that marks the modern society does not fit well with them; it simply is disruptive to any community based living. In most hill tribes the village chief regulates the use of land and water and has administrative and judicial power.

Over time, many values have changed but not the customary laws around resource sharing, maintenance of ethnic identity or regulation of marriage. However, new processes of land alienation are emerging in the form of developmental initiatives, such as recently planned series of hydropower dams, of the Indian government; these clearly threaten their livelihood security and social identities.

Actually, erosion of their customary traditions started eroding with the arrival of the British in the region and introduction of the formal law. In order to avoid resistance, they were forced to recognize the customary laws of the Assam tribes through the Scheduled District Act of 1874. Then the Assam General Clauses Act 1915 protected tribal customs and practices by restricting the application of the Provincial Laws in the Hill areas. The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms 1919 also made similar provisions. The 1930 Indian Statutory (Simon) Commission recommended the protection of tribal customary rights. The Government of India Act 1935 accepted it and divided the hill areas into Excluded and Partially Excluded and stipulated that no Act of the Central or Provincial Legislature apply to them unless the Governor in his discretion so decided in view of peace and good governance. These provisions later provided basis for the Sixth Schedule laws for the areas excluded by the British from their administration – the distinguishing mark of these areas is that they are run by the Autonomous Councils. Through amendments, the Constitution also recognizes the customary law of Nagaland (Article 371A) and Mizoram (Article 371G).

Recognition of Customary Laws

This has always been an important issue in the North East region. The demand for recognition of customary laws has led to conflicts such as the Naga and Mizo Nationalist Struggles and the State’s response of amending the Constitution to introduce Articles 371A and 371G. The Sixth Schedule was also a response to the demand for the recognition of tribal customary laws. Today many more tribes want their customary laws to be recognized because they run their civil affairs, including land ownership, according to them but are not recognized by the State, putting them in a disadvantageous position. For example, most Arunachal tribals who are threatened with displacement by the major dams may not be counted among the displaced because they live on the CPRs. In Tripura the Gumti dam displaced 40,000 tribals in the 1970s but counted only a third of them with individual pattas among the displaced. The Hmar and Paitei of Manipur who may be displaced by the Tipaimukh dam may document their laws but if the State does not recognize them, their fate will be that of the Rongmei and Tripura tribes. The formal land laws are individual based and do not recognize community ownership. So non-recognition of their law is destructive to their livelihood. Recognition is thus vital for the peace to prevail because it is a sign of acceptance of the customary identity. Many conflicts in the Northeast have originated from this confusion. For example, the Rongmei of Manipur who lost much of their land in a conflict or to the Loktak project could not reclaim it, nor could they be considered displaced and compensated because the law did not recognize their CPR based pattern.

Tribal Aspirations for Self Rule

Despite the British designation of “Excluded Areas” the colonial interventions did interfere with tribal lifestyle; therefore, most tribes resisted it. Although very few of their revolts have been recorded in the official history of the freedom movement but one hears of resistance from the Aka, Miri, Mishmi, Naga and others. Tribal agitations and movements of the North East have revolved around maintaining their functional independence without any daily role for the foreigners. They were often forced to take up arm against “outsiders” interference. In 1918, several tribal leaders and formed the Naga Club which soon assumed political dimensions and became the platform in their search for autonomy and independent identity. During the decisive moment of the Japaneseinvasion in the 1940s, A. Z. Phizo, a traditional Angami leader succeeded in bringing 27 tribes together under the Naga umbrella. Such efforts laid the foundation of later nationalist struggles of the Naga, Mizo and others. These struggles basically resulted from the fear of losing identity if assimilated into the mainstream which always appeared more powerful and exploitative. Thus, all struggles for autonomy in the North East have revolved around only one goal – preservation of tribal identity and traditional culture. After 1947 the Indian state replaced the British as the “potential” oppressive outsider. In 1946, the Naga leader Phizo is reported to have met Mahatma Gandhi who was sympathetic to the cause of autonomy. However, most national leaders failed to understand tribal aspirations of the Northeast. Their failure gave a fillip to the sovereignty movement.

The subsequent conflicts and negotiations resulted in the compromise of a Naga State which would be administered according to their customary law under Article 371A. In Mizoram a traditional chief Laldenga led the Mizo National Front (MNF) to fight for a sovereign Mizo state and the negotiations resulted in Article 371G. Under these Articles no Act of the Parliament has legal force unless approved by the State Assembly.

Indian Government’s reactions to tribal unrest in the North East have been predictable. It was always to initially treat these movements as a law and order issue and to suppress them. If the movements persisted it accommodated the aspirations of autonomy either by extending the Sixth Schedule to a few tribes or by creating new States. It went beyond these steps only when they did not work; for example, it granted extra autonomy to Nagaland and Mizoram than to other states. Under provisions of Articles 371A and 371G respectively, in these States no law of the Parliament applies unless it is approved by the State Assembly. It can be safely asserted that the protective laws such as the Sixth Schedule and greater autonomous status to some North East states are manifestations of their strong aspirations to be governed by their own traditional laws.

Evolution of the Sixth Schedule Laws

Excluded Areas

The administration of the hill Tribal Areas of the Northeastern region, which were earlier known as “Backward Tracts”, has a history. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the hill areas of Assam were divided into two categories – Excluded Areas and Partially Excluded Areas. The Lushai Hills (now Mizoram) the Naga Hills and the North Cachar Hills were under the “Excluded Areas”. No federal or provincial legislation extended to these districts automatically. The Khasi – Jaintia Hills, the Garo Hills, and the Mikir Hills were “Partially Excluded” areas. The British administered these areas through specially appointed officials. But the problem was that people had no platform to raise their issues and grievances. The colonial officers and the local chiefs in most of the districts of the “excluded areas” used to rule the people as virtual dictators. Thus, the 1935 Act in reality did not provide local selfgovernance or political autonomy to the hill tribes of the “Excluded” and “Partially Excluded” areas. Many people feel that these actions were basically for the convenience of colonial administrators who only wanted to buy peace to serve their larger commercial interests. But after independence the policy makers clearly sought to develop these areas along with rest of the country while simultaneously respecting the traditional tribal culture and identity. Thus, a mechanism was sought that would allow the autonomy to the tribal societies and yet continue to develop them like other areas and get assimilated into mainstream society at their own pace.

The Bordoloi Sub-Committee

An advisory committee on Fundamental Rights of Minorities in the Tribal Areas was constituted in May 1946 by the Constituent Assembly of India. One of the sub-committees constituted by the Advisory Committee was the Northeast Frontier (Assam) Tribal and Excluded Areas Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of Assam Premier, Gopinath Bordoloi. During its visits of various areas and interaction with representatives of the hill people, the Sub-Committee observed that

1. The people of the region were sensitive towards their land, forest, lifestyle and traditional systems of justice and, thus, needed safeguards and protections so as to preserve their way of life and

2. There were traditional self-governing institutions which functioned democratically and settled issues according to their traditional lifestyle.

The Bardoloi Committee also made provision for Regional Council for the tribes other than the main tribe. This scheme sought to build up autonomous administration (through the District and the Regional Councils) in the six hill areas of Assam (United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District, Garo Hills District, Lushai Hills District, Naga Hills District, North Cachar Hills District, and Mikir Hills District) so that the tribal people could manage their affairs in their own traditional ways.

Birth of the Sixth Schedule

Building on these observations the Sub- Committee recommended policies that ultimately formed the substance of the Sixth Schedule. It basically introduced the concept of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs). Under the Sixth Schedule, the Assam Autonomous District (Constitution of District Councils) Rules 1951 and the Pawi-Lakher (Constitution of Regional Councils) Rules 1952 for the autonomous region in the Lushai Hills District were framed. Thus, the ADCs were constituted in certain hill districts (except Naga hills) of the then composite State of Assam in 1952 and in the Lushai Hills District (now Mizoram) Regional Council (are now District Council) was introduced in 1953. Since then these Councils have been functioning and managing land, forest, market, primary schools, planning activities and so on and impacted traditional institutions like tribal chiefs, tribal councils, etc.

Presently the North-East India has, fifteen District Councils – two in Assam, three in Meghalaya, three in Mizoram, one in Tripura and six in Manipur. Note that the Nagas, for whom the Sixth Schedule was primarily created, have no autonomous District Council. The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly had passed a bill to create four Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule in the state in 2003 but the Parliament is yet to approve it.

The Mizo Hills was elevated to the status of the Union Territory of Mizoram in 1972 and three new autonomous councils came into existence. It was given statehood in 1986. The Government of Manipur also constituted six Autonomous District Councils for the tribal people for the hill areas of Manipur and wanted inclusion in the Sixth Schedule. But the demand is pending for a long time with the Central government. Nagaland and Hills of Manipur are not covered by provisions of the Sixth Schedule; autonomy of the local governance of these areas is administered by their State’s Laws. Mizoram is only partly covered by the Sixth Schedule; autonomy of rest of the areas is established by the State’s law.

Read Why does the 6th Schedule of constitution of India does not include the state if Nagaland and Manipur

The Sixth Schedule Areas

The areas specified in Parts I, II, IIA and III of the table below shall, respectively, be the tribal areas within the State of Assam, the State of Meghalaya, the State of Tripura and the State of Mizoram.

PART I (Assam) 1. The North Cachar Hills District 2. The Karbi Anglong District 3. The Bodoland Territorial Area (or The Bodoland Territorial Council)	PART II (Meghalaya) 1. Khasi Hills District 2. Jaintia Hills District 3. The Garo Hills District
PART IIA (Tripura) Tripura Tribal Areas District	Part III (Mizoram) 1. The Chakma District 2. The Mara District 3. The Lai District

The Autonomous District Councils (ADCs)

The Sixth Schedule is regarded as a mini-Constitution within the main Constitution. It envisages establishment of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) and gives them elaborate Legislative, Administrative and Judicial powers. No law of the Centre or the State applies in any autonomous region without District Council’s approval. The district councils are also empowered to constitute Village councils and Village courts.

The Sixth Schedule empowers the Governor to determine the administrative areas of the councils. He is authorized to create new autonomous districts, change the area of existing districts, redefine the boundaries and alter the names of autonomous districts. The nature of the District Councils, however, differs from place to place. For instance, the District Councils in Assam and Meghalaya have been constituted at the district level whereas in Mizoram, the District Councils have been created at both the district and sub-divisional levels.

Sixth Schedule Status of Manipur

Centre ready to implement Status for hill areas of Manipur

The Union government has notified Manipur state government to furnish details of specific areas to be included under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

The much debated demand for extension of 6th schedule provision of the Indian constitution to the hill areas of Manipur is in focus at the Centre. According to a letter sent from the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs (North East Division) dated May 7, 2015 under the subject “Extension of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution in the Hill Areas of Manipur,” addressed to the chief secretary of Manipur, P C Lawmkunga. The official notification by under secretary to the government of India, Manohar N Sukole mentions that, “I am directed to state that the State Government of Manipur, vide letter dated 07.04.2001,had conveyed decision of State Cabinet that it had no objections to the extension of Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India in the tribal areas in the Hill district of Manipur with certain local adjustment and amendments. In response, this Ministry vide letters dated 21.09.2001 and 17.10,2001, requested the State Government of Manipur to furnish details of specific areas to be included in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution and proposed local adjustments and amendments.” It may be mentioned here that the cabinet decisions were taken during the tenure of W Nipamacha Singh led MSCP government and later the Samata Party government led by Koijam Radhabinod in 2001.

The letter further reads, “It is stated that that all the six ADCs have been requesting to the Government of India for inclusion of these ADCs under the 6th Schedule. In view of these facts, in reply to an unstarred question, it has been stated that the Government of Manipur has not sent details of local adjustments/ revised proposal in this regard so far. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has conveyed that the reply has been treated as an assurance. To fulfil the assurance, reply of the Government of Manipur to this Ministry’s letter dated 21.09.2001 and 17.10.2001 is required. In view of the above, the State Government of Manipur is again requested to furnish details of specific areas to be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and propose local adjustments and amendments.” This letter designated as ‘Most Immediate Parliament Matter’ bearing number 1303/11/2015-NE.IV states that the Union government has a clear objective to include the hill districts of the State under the 6thschedule provision.

On 5 September, 2014, some members of the Autonomous District Councils of Manipur had staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, demanding that the present ADCs be upgraded to the 6th schedule of the constitution (The 6th schedule of the Constitution provides for local self governance for the tribal people in the northeast.) In their memorandum submitted to prime minister Narendra Modi on 30 August last, the then chairmen of the six Autonomous District Councils in Manipur had stated that while the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (3rd Amendment) Act, 2008 – on the basis of which the present ADCs were formed – provided for devolution of power to the ADCs by the state government in 26 subjects, devolution has not happened in more than half of the subjects. The Churachandpur ADC had passed a resolution earlier on 26 June, 2013 demanding extension of the 6th schedule provisions to the ADC areas of Manipur. The said memorandum is an endorsement of the Churachandpur ADC resolution by all the six ADCs in Manipur hill districts. ( Read more at http://bit.ly/20ebFbP )