Article 244 of the Indian Constitution: Scheduled Areas, Tribal Areas and 244A
Article 244 of the Indian Constitution decides how Scheduled Areas and tribal areas are administered. Clause (1) brings in the Fifth Schedule, clause (2) brings in the Sixth Schedule, and Article 244A allows Parliament to carve an autonomous state out of Assam's tribal areas. This piece covers the text, the ten Fifth Schedule states, the ten autonomous district councils, and the differences UPSC keeps testing.
Article 244 of the Indian Constitution decides how Scheduled Areas and tribal areas are administered. Clause (1) brings in the Fifth Schedule, clause (2) brings in the Sixth Schedule, and Article 244A allows Parliament to carve an autonomous state out of Assam's tribal areas. This piece covers the text, the ten Fifth Schedule states, the ten autonomous district councils, and the differences UPSC keeps testing.
What Article 244 says
Article 244 sits in Part X of the Constitution, titled Scheduled and Tribal Areas. It has two clauses and one companion article. Clause (1) says the Fifth Schedule applies to the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any state other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Clause (2) says the Sixth Schedule applies to the administration of tribal areas in those four states. That is the whole architecture: one article, two schedules, two different systems.
The original 1950 text named only Assam in clause (2). Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram were added later as those states came into being. Article 244A was inserted separately in 1969 and deals only with Assam. No state is under both schedules at once. The wording makes them mutually exclusive.
| Provision | What it does | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Article 244(1) | Brings the Fifth Schedule into force | Scheduled Areas in all states except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| Article 244(2) | Brings the Sixth Schedule into force | Tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| Article 244A | Lets Parliament create an autonomous state inside Assam | Certain tribal areas of Assam only |
The Fifth Schedule: ten states, one powerful Governor
Ten states currently have Scheduled Areas: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. The President declares an area as scheduled, and can alter or rescind that declaration. No fixed criteria are written into the Constitution. In practice four tests are used: a preponderance of tribal population, compactness and reasonable size, a viable administrative entity, and economic backwardness compared with neighbouring areas.
The Governor is the pivot here, and the power is real. A Governor may direct that a particular Act of Parliament or of the state legislature will not apply to a Scheduled Area, or will apply with exceptions and modifications. The Governor also makes regulations on land transfer between tribals and non-tribals, allotment of land, and moneylending, with the President's assent. And the Governor submits a report on the administration of these areas to the President every year, or whenever the President asks.
Every Fifth Schedule state must have a Tribes Advisory Council of up to twenty members, three-fourths of them drawn from the ST members of the state legislative assembly. Its job is advice, nothing more. Panchayats in these areas run under a separate law, the PESA Act of 1996, which gives the gram sabha say over minor minerals, minor forest produce and land acquisition.
- President declares, alters or rescinds Scheduled Area status
- Governor can bar or modify the application of central and state laws
- Governor's annual report goes to the President
- Tribes Advisory Council: 20 members, 15 of them ST MLAs
- Executive power of the Union extends to giving directions to states on these areas
The Sixth Schedule: ten autonomous district councils
The Sixth Schedule does something the Fifth does not. It creates elected law-making bodies. Tribal areas in the four northeastern states are constituted as autonomous districts and autonomous regions, each with a district or regional council. There are ten such councils at present, three each in Assam and Mizoram, three in Meghalaya, and one in Tripura.
A typical council has thirty members, twenty-six elected on adult franchise for five years and four nominated by the Governor. The Bodoland council is larger, with up to 46 seats after the 2020 accord. These councils can legislate on land other than reserved forests, forest management, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance, marriage, divorce and social customs. Laws need the Governor's assent. Councils also run village and district courts for disputes between tribal parties, and they levy land revenue, taxes and royalties from mineral licences.
One detail worth remembering. In Assam, the Governor decides whether an Act of the state legislature applies to an autonomous district. For Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, the President decides on Acts of Parliament. Ladakh's demand to be brought under the Sixth Schedule, backed by a 2019 recommendation of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, is the live political question attached to this provision.
| State | Autonomous councils |
|---|---|
| Assam | Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao |
| Meghalaya | Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills |
| Tripura | Tripura Tribal Areas District Council |
| Mizoram | Chakma, Lai, Mara |
Article 244A: the autonomous state on paper
Article 244A was inserted by the Constitution (Twenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969. It lets Parliament pass a law forming an autonomous state within Assam out of some or all of the tribal areas listed in the Sixth Schedule. That autonomous state could have its own legislature, or its own council of ministers, or both.
Parliament has never used it. Meghalaya was created as a full state in 1972 instead, which took the wind out of the original demand. But the article stayed in the Constitution, and groups in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao have used it as the legal peg for an autonomous state demand ever since. The Autonomous State Demand Committee built an electoral career on it in the 1980s and 1990s. A 2021 settlement with Karbi armed groups again referred to strengthening the existing council rather than invoking 244A.
One more line matters here: a law under 244A cannot be challenged as an amendment to the Constitution under Article 368, because the article itself permits it.
Fifth versus Sixth Schedule, side by side
Most questions on Article 244 come down to telling the two schedules apart. The short version: the Fifth Schedule gives tribal populations protection through the Governor and an advisory body, while the Sixth Schedule gives them self-government through elected councils with legislative, judicial and financial powers. If you remember only one thing, remember that a Tribes Advisory Council advises and an Autonomous District Council legislates.
| Feature | Fifth Schedule | Sixth Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Scheduled Areas in 10 states | Tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| Body created | Tribes Advisory Council (advisory) | District and Regional Councils (elected) |
| Law-making power | None for the tribal body | Councils make laws on land, forest, custom, inheritance |
| Judicial power | None | Village and district courts for tribal disputes |
| Taxation | No | Yes, including land revenue and mineral royalties |
| Key authority | Governor and President | Governor, plus President for the three smaller states |
| Panchayat law | PESA Act, 1996 applies | PESA does not apply |
FAQs
Which states have Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule?
Ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. The President notifies these areas and can alter the boundaries later.
Can a state be under both the Fifth and Sixth Schedule?
No. Article 244(1) explicitly excludes Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram from the Fifth Schedule, and Article 244(2) limits the Sixth Schedule to those four states.
Does PESA apply to Sixth Schedule areas?
No. The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 covers Fifth Schedule areas only. Sixth Schedule areas are governed through autonomous district and regional councils instead.
Has Article 244A ever been used to create an autonomous state?
No. It was inserted in 1969 for Assam's tribal areas, but Parliament has never passed a law under it. Meghalaya became a full state in 1972, and later demands from Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao have been settled through stronger councils, not a new autonomous state.
Why does Ladakh want to be included in the Sixth Schedule?
Sixth Schedule status would give Ladakh elected councils with power over land, employment-linked local rules and customary practice, which its residents see as protection after the Union Territory reorganisation in 2019. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended the inclusion in 2019, but the Centre has not notified it.
Who has the power to declare an area as a Scheduled Area?
The President, by order, under the Fifth Schedule. The Constitution lays down no criteria, so the administration relies on tribal preponderance, compactness of the area, administrative viability and relative economic backwardness.