Sixth Schedule

Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"; Class 12, Ch 7 "Regional Aspirations"

Meaning

The Sixth Schedule is the part of the Constitution that lets the tribal areas of four north-eastern states (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram) run their own affairs through elected autonomous district councils and regional councils. These councils can make laws, run courts, collect taxes and run local services. It works through Article 244(2) and Article 275(1).

It matters because it gives tribal people real self-rule inside a state, not a separate state. Their land, customs and identity are protected, and they still remain part of Indian federalism.

Explanation

Why it was created and where it applies

• The Bordoloi Sub-committee (1947) was a sub-committee of the Constituent Assembly's Advisory Committee. Gopinath Bordoloi led it, and it studied the tribal areas of Assam. It found three things:
• The hill tribes had their own customs, laws, village councils and chiefs, and these already worked.
• They feared land alienation, which means their land passing to outsiders from the plains.

• They feared a bigger, different population would swamp their culture.

• What it recommended: elected district councils that could make laws and run courts. This became the Sixth Schedule.

• Coverage (para 20): there are four states and ten councils [4]:
• Assam (3): Bodoland Territorial Council; Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council; Dima Hasao Autonomous Council (formerly North Cachar Hills)
• Meghalaya (3): Khasi Hills; Jaintia Hills; Garo Hills
• Tripura (1): Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council

• Mizoram (3): Chakma; Lai; Mara

• The Governor's power over areas (para 1). By public notification, the Governor can:

• create a new autonomous district;
• add areas to a district or remove them;
• change a district's boundaries or name;
• divide a district into autonomous regions when different Scheduled Tribes live in it. This power does not apply to Bodoland [4].

How a council is made

• Autonomous district: a tribal area listed in para 20. It is the basic unit of self-rule.
• Autonomous regional council: a separate council for one distinct tribe living inside a district. Such councils are rare.
• Normal district council (para 2(1)):
• It has up to 30 members, and the Governor nominates up to 4 of them.
• The rest are elected by adult suffrage, which means every adult can vote.

• The term is five years [4].

• The Bodoland exception. The Bodoland council has up to 46 members [4]:

• 40 are elected. Of these, 30 seats are reserved for STs, 5 for non-tribal people and 5 are open to all.

• 6 are nominated by the Governor from groups that are not otherwise represented. At least 2 of them must be women, and they can vote like elected members.

• Each council is a corporate body. It continues without a break, has a common seal, and can sue and be sued in its own name [4].

What councils can do

• Make laws (para 3). Councils can make laws on:
• land, other than reserved forests (forests the state protects and manages directly);
• forests that are not reserved;
• canals and water for farming;
• jhum, which is shifting cultivation: clearing a forest patch, farming it for a few years, then moving on;
• village and town committees, village police, public health and sanitation;
• chiefs and headmen, inheritance, marriage, divorce and social customs.

• A council law has no effect until the Governor gives assent (formally approves it).

• Extra subjects for some councils. Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills (Dima Hasao) get extra subjects under para 3A. If one of their laws is on a Concurrent List subject, it goes to the President. Para 3B gives Bodoland a longer list that starts with agriculture [4].

• How state and central laws apply (paras 12–12B):
• Assam: a state Act on a para 3 subject applies in a council area only if the council directs it.

• Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram: the Governor (for state Acts) or the President (for Acts of Parliament) can keep an Act out of the area or apply it with changes.

• Run courts (paras 4–5). Councils set up village councils and courts for cases where all parties are STs. The rules are:

• Serious crimes (punishable by death, transportation for life or at least 5 years in prison) are heard only if the Governor gives special powers under the CPC and CrPC.

• The High Court has as much power over these cases as the Governor decides.

• Run services (para 6): primary schools, dispensaries, markets, ferries, fisheries, roads and waterways.

• Money (paras 7–10):
• Each council has a District Fund, and each regional council has a Regional Fund (para 7).
• Councils collect land revenue. They can also tax lands, buildings, professions, trades, animals, vehicles, boats and goods entering markets (para 8).
• Mineral royalties (para 9): the state and the council agree on the council's share. If they disagree, the Governor decides in his discretion, and that decision is final [4].
• Para 10: councils can control money-lending and trading. This mainly targets non-tribal lenders. They can require licences and fix the highest interest rate, with the Governor's assent. Para 10 does not apply to Bodoland [4].

Limits and controls

• Para 14: the Governor can set up a commission to inquire into how the areas and council funds are run.
• Para 15: the Governor can annul or suspend a council act if it may endanger the safety of India or harm public order.

• Para 16 (dissolution). The steps are: 1. A commission recommends dissolution. 2. The Governor dissolves the council. The Governor then takes over its work or gives it to another body, usually for up to 12 months. 3. The order is laid before the state legislature.

• Para 21 (amendment): Parliament can change the Schedule by ordinary law, which needs a simple majority like any normal law. Para 21 says such a law is not a constitutional amendment under Article 368.

• Arts. 243M and 243ZC: Part IX (panchayats) and Part IXA (municipalities) do not apply here. The councils take their place.

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional base:
• Art. 244(2) says the tribal areas of the four states are run under the Sixth Schedule.

• Art. 275(1) provides Union grants-in-aid for tribal welfare. Under its second proviso, grants for running Assam's tribal areas are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, so Parliament does not vote on them.

• Mizoram (1972): the Chakma, Lai and Mara councils were set up when Mizoram became a Union Territory. They are the clearest example of small tribes getting councils inside a tribal-majority area.

• Tripura (1979 and 1984):
• The Tripura council was first created by a 1979 state Act [4].
• The 49th Amendment Act, 1984 brought it under the Sixth Schedule.
• It covers about two-thirds of Tripura's area.

• NCERT calls South Manubankul in this area a women-friendly "gram panchayat". But Part IX does not apply here, so its local units are really village committees under the council.

• Bodoland (2003 and 2020):

• The 2003 Memorandum of Settlement with Bodo groups came first. The Sixth Schedule (Amendment) Act, 2003, an ordinary Act of Parliament, then gave the council legal form. It also set up an Interim Executive Council to govern until elections were held [4].

• The Third Bodo Accord (27 January 2020) renamed the area the Bodoland Territorial Region and gave it more powers. Under the accord [5]:

  • 1,615 cadres surrendered with their arms.
  • A Bodo Kachari Welfare Council was set up for Bodos living outside the area.

• Karbi Anglong Agreement (4 September 2021) [6]:

• It gave more autonomy to the Karbi council without breaking Assam's territorial integrity.
• 1,926 cadres gave up violence.
• The Union and Assam governments gave a ₹1,000 crore package over five years.

• A Karbi Welfare Council is to be set up for Karbis living outside the council area.

• Problems in practice:

• Councils depend on state grants. The Finance Commission (Art. 280) has no duty to recommend funds for them [2].
• Council polls are often delayed, and administrators run the councils meanwhile.
• State departments work on the same subjects, so it is unclear who is responsible.
• Accounts are poorly audited.
• Few women sit on the councils, and non-tribal residents are poorly represented.

• Traditional bodies, such as Khasi dorbars (traditional village councils), clash with the elected councils.

• Reform: the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019. It was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6 February 2019, and a Standing Committee reported on 5 March 2020 [3]. Because it also amends Art. 280, it needs the Art. 368 procedure. It proposes [2][3]:

• Finance Commission funding for the councils;
• elected Village and Municipal Councils;
• council polls held by State Election Commissions;
• at least two seats for women in each District Council;
• State Finance Commissions;
• an anti-defection rule, so members who switch parties can be disqualified.

Don't confuse with

• Fifth Schedule (Art. 244(1)): covers Scheduled Areas in 10 states. It has only a Tribes Advisory Council, which gives advice. The Sixth Schedule has elected councils that make laws, run courts and collect taxes.
• PESA 1996 (Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act): extends Part IX panchayats to Fifth Schedule areas only, with extra powers for the gram sabha (the village assembly). It does not apply to Sixth Schedule areas.
• Article 371 series: special provisions for particular states, such as Art. 371A for Nagaland. It does not create district councils. Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are not under the Sixth Schedule.
• Amendment under Art. 368: a change to the Sixth Schedule alone is made by ordinary law under para 21. A bill like the 125th Amendment Bill also amends Art. 280, so it needs the Art. 368 procedure.

Prelims Hooks

• Sixth Schedule → Arts. 244(2) and 275(1); Fifth Schedule → Art. 244(1).
• Four states and ten councils: Assam 3, Meghalaya 3, Tripura 1, Mizoram 3. A common trap is including Nagaland, Manipur or Arunachal Pradesh. They are not covered.
• Council size: a normal council has up to 30 members, with up to 4 nominated. Bodoland has up to 46: 40 elected and 6 nominated, with at least 2 women among the nominated [4].
• 49th Amendment, 1984 brought the Tripura council under the Sixth Schedule. Bodo Accord: 27 January 2020. Karbi Anglong Agreement: 4 September 2021 [5][6].
• Para 9: the Governor settles mineral royalty disputes in his discretion, and the decision is final [4]. Para 21: the Schedule is amended by ordinary law, which is not an Art. 368 amendment.
• Arts. 243M and 243ZC: Parts IX and IXA do not apply to Sixth Schedule areas.

Mains Points

• Self-rule versus control. The Sixth Schedule gives real powers to make laws, run courts and collect taxes. This kept tribal identity safe inside Indian federalism, and the Karbi, Dimasa and Bodo settlements show how. But the Governor's controls and dependence on state money can make this self-rule hollow:
• The Governor can annul council acts (para 15), dissolve councils (para 16) and settle royalty disputes (para 9).

• Councils get no Finance Commission funds, so they rely on state politics for money. The 125th Amendment Bill would create a constitutional channel for funds and set up State Finance Commissions. It has been pending since 2019 [2][3].

• Deepening democracy while respecting custom. Village and Municipal Councils, polls by State Election Commissions, seats for women and an anti-defection rule would bring Part IX-style rules without applying Part IX itself [2][3]. These reforms must still respect traditional bodies such as Khasi dorbars and chiefs.

• Peace accords as a tool, but unequal results. Because para 21 allows amendment by ordinary law, the 2003 and 2020 Bodo settlements and the 2021 Karbi agreement could be put into effect quickly. But case-by-case expansion has a cost:
• It creates uneven powers among councils, such as the extra lists in paras 3A and 3B.
• It raises questions of fairness for non-tribal residents [4][5][6].

Related concepts

• Autonomous district council
• Autonomous regional council
• Bordoloi Sub-committee
• Bodoland Territorial Council
• Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council

Read more

• The Sixth Schedule: autonomous district and regional councils