Article 244 of the Constitution

The Constitution does not treat every area the same on paper. For tribal areas, it built a special machinery of protection. Article 244 is the doorway to that machinery. It splits tribal administration between the Fifth and the Sixth Schedules.

1Part 1: The Two Schedules

Must Know

What Article 244 says

• Article 244(1): the Fifth Schedule applies to Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any State other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Article 244(2): the Sixth Schedule applies to the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• The North-east’s tribal areas are home to distinct communities with autonomous traditions. They needed a stronger, council-based scheme.
• So what? Every question on tribal administration starts with deciding which Schedule governs the area.

Fifth versus Sixth Schedule

• Fifth: Scheduled Areas in mainland States. The Governor administers them, with a Tribes Advisory Council. See The Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• Sixth: tribal areas in the four North-east States. Autonomous District and Regional Councils run them. See The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• Sixth Schedule councils make laws on land, forests and local customs.
• The Fifth Schedule gives the Governor power to make regulations.
• The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends panchayat powers to Fifth Schedule areas.

2Part 2: Who Does What in the Fifth Schedule

Good to Know

Declaring Scheduled Areas

• The President declares an area a Scheduled Area, in consultation with the State’s Governor.
• The Governor must report every year to the President on the administration of Scheduled Areas.
• The Governor may make regulations on land transfer, money-lending and the allotment of land in Scheduled Areas.

The Tribes Advisory Council

• A Tribes Advisory Council is compulsory in every State with Scheduled Areas.
• It advises the Governor on tribal welfare.
• A State with Scheduled Tribes but no Scheduled Areas may also set one up. The President can direct this. It is not the Governor’s call.

So what

• Know who declares, who reports and who regulates. Those are the tested roles.

3Part 3: The Story of Tribal Self-Government

Great to Know

• British rule treated tribal areas specially, as “excluded” and “partially excluded” areas. The framers inherited this scheme and wrote it into the Constitution.
• In 1947, the Constituent Assembly split the Fifth and Sixth Schedules to protect communities in different ways.
• The Khasi, Garo, Mizo, Naga and other North-east communities had old traditions of self-rule. The Sixth Schedule built on them through Autonomous Councils.
• In 1996, PESA extended panchayati raj to Fifth Schedule areas, with special safeguards for tribal self-governance.
• So what? The story explains the design. One Schedule is for regulation (Fifth). One is for self-government (Sixth).

4Previous Year Questions

The same four ideas keep coming back.

5Part 4: Current Affairs

Great to Know

• Scheduled Tribe status claims and Fifth or Sixth Schedule area notifications keep appearing in the news.
• The Schedules decide who gets special protections, which land is protected, and how tribal areas self-govern.
• So what? Article 244 is the legal lens for almost every tribal-rights story you read.

Quick Q&A

• Which Schedule covers Scheduled Areas? The Fifth.
• Which States does the Sixth cover? Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.
• Who declares a Scheduled Area? The President.
• Which Schedule has ADCs? The Sixth.
• What did PESA 1996 do? Extended panchayat powers to Fifth Schedule areas.