Article 244 of the Indian Constitution, Explained Simply
Article 244 sets up special administration for Scheduled Areas and tribal areas in India through the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. This piece explains both schedules, which states they cover, what the Governor and the Tribal Advisory Council can do, and what Article 244A allows Parliament to create in Assam.
Article 244 sets up special administration for Scheduled Areas and tribal areas in India through the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. This piece explains both schedules, which states they cover, what the Governor and the Tribal Advisory Council can do, and what Article 244A allows Parliament to create in Assam.
What Article 244 says
Article 244 is the constitutional hook for special administration of tribal regions. It has two clauses. 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 of it. The article itself is two sentences long. All the real machinery sits in the two schedules it points to, which is why exam questions and news reports about "Fifth Schedule areas" or "Sixth Schedule status" are always, underneath, about Article 244.
One thing to fix in your head early. Scheduled Areas and tribal areas are not the same legal category, even though both hold tribal populations. Scheduled Areas run under the Fifth Schedule with the Governor holding wide power. Tribal areas run under the Sixth Schedule with elected District and Regional Councils that make their own laws on land, forests and marriage.
The Fifth Schedule: Scheduled Areas
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 Scheduled. The President can also change the boundaries or cancel the declaration, on consultation with the state Governor. There is no fixed test in the Constitution for what qualifies, but the criteria used in practice come from the Dhebar Commission of 1961: a preponderance of tribal population, compactness and reasonable size, underdeveloped nature of the area, and a marked disparity in economic standard compared with neighbouring areas.
The Governor carries real weight here. Every year the Governor must report to the President on the administration of Scheduled Areas in that state. The Governor can direct that a law of Parliament or the state legislature will not apply to a Scheduled Area, or will apply with modifications. The Governor can also make regulations for peace and good government, including regulations to bar or restrict land transfer from tribals to non-tribals and to control moneylending. Those regulations need the President's assent.
Each of these states must have a Tribes Advisory Council of up to twenty members, three quarters of them drawn from the Scheduled Tribe MLAs of that state. It advises on tribal welfare when the Governor refers a matter to it. Advisory is the operative word. It cannot force the state government's hand.
The Sixth Schedule: tribal areas in four states
The Sixth Schedule covers tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Here the design is different. Instead of a Governor acting for the people, the people elect councils.
Autonomous District Councils normally have thirty members, twenty six elected on adult franchise for five years and four nominated by the Governor. A district with more than one tribe can be split into autonomous regions with their own Regional Councils. These councils can make laws on land other than reserved forest, forest management, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance, marriage, divorce and social custom. Laws need the Governor's assent. Councils also run village courts for disputes between tribals, and can collect land revenue and levy certain taxes.
There are ten such areas at present. Assam has three, including Bodoland Territorial Region, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. Meghalaya has three (Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills). Mizoram has three (Chakma, Mara, Lai). Tripura has one, the Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
This is why groups in Ladakh, Manipur and elsewhere periodically demand "Sixth Schedule status". They want the law-making council, not just advisory space.
| Point | Fifth Schedule | Sixth Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Scheduled Areas in 10 states | Tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| Who holds power | Governor, with President's oversight | Elected District and Regional Councils |
| Local body | Tribes Advisory Council (advisory only) | Autonomous District Council (law-making) |
| Law-making on land and custom | No | Yes, with Governor's assent |
| Judicial power | None | Village courts for tribal disputes |
| Declaration and change | By the President | By the Governor, with Parliament for some changes |
Article 244A and the promise of an autonomous state
Article 244A was added by the 22nd Constitutional Amendment in 1969. It lets Parliament create, by law, an autonomous state within Assam covering some or all of the tribal areas listed in the Sixth Schedule for that state. That autonomous state can be given its own legislature or council of ministers, or both, with powers Parliament decides.
It was a response to the demand for a separate hill state in Assam. Meghalaya was carved out as a full state in 1972, which took the steam out of it. The provision was never used to actually create an autonomous state.
It still matters politically. Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao groups have pressed for an autonomous state under 244A for decades, and the demand resurfaced in the 2021 Karbi peace accord talks. So when you see "244A" in a headline about Assam, it is this: a dormant constitutional option, not a defunct one.
How to remember it without mixing it up
Two numbers will carry you. Fifth Schedule, ten states, Governor in charge, advisory council. Sixth Schedule, four states, elected council, real law-making power.
The supporting articles are worth a glance too. Article 244 sits in Part X of the Constitution, which is titled Scheduled and Tribal Areas and contains only these two articles, 244 and 244A. Article 275 provides grants in aid to states for tribal welfare and for raising administration in Scheduled Areas to the level of the rest of the state. PESA, the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act of 1996, extends panchayat provisions to Fifth Schedule areas with gram sabha consent built in.
If you only take one thing away, take this: Article 244 is short because it delegates. Read the schedules, not the article.
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 declares which areas within them are Scheduled Areas, and can alter or cancel that declaration.
Can a Union Territory get Sixth Schedule status?
Not as the Sixth Schedule currently stands, because it names only Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Extending it to Ladakh, for example, would need a constitutional amendment to the schedule itself, which is why the demand has stayed unresolved.
Who declares an area a Scheduled Area?
The President, by order. The President may also increase or decrease the area, alter boundaries, or rescind the declaration, and does so in consultation with the Governor of the state concerned.
Does Article 244 apply to Jammu and Kashmir or Nagaland?
Neither has Scheduled Areas notified under the Fifth Schedule, and neither is covered by the Sixth Schedule. Nagaland has separate protection under Article 371A, which safeguards Naga customary law and land.
What is the difference between a Tribes Advisory Council and an Autonomous District Council?
A Tribes Advisory Council exists in Fifth Schedule states and only advises the Governor on tribal welfare matters referred to it. An Autonomous District Council in a Sixth Schedule area is elected and can make laws on land, forests, inheritance and social custom, subject to the Governor's assent.
Has Article 244A ever been used?
No. Parliament has never passed a law creating an autonomous state within Assam under Article 244A, though groups in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao continue to demand it.