Article 244 of the Indian Constitution: Fifth Schedule, Sixth Schedule, 244A

Article 244 of the Constitution has just two clauses. One sends you to the Fifth Schedule, the other to the Sixth. This piece gives you the exact text, the Fifth versus Sixth comparison, the ten states with Scheduled Areas, the ten Autonomous District Councils, and what Article 244A (the unused autonomous state clause for Assam) really does.

What Article 244 actually says

Article 244 sits in Part X of the Constitution and runs to exactly two clauses. Clause (1) says the provisions of the Fifth Schedule apply 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 provisions of the Sixth Schedule apply to the administration of the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

That is the whole article. Notice what it does not contain. No councils, no Governor's powers, no law-making machinery. Article 244 is a doorway. Everything substantive lives in the two schedules it points to.

So any real question about Article 244 is a question about the Fifth or Sixth Schedule. Learn the four exception states cold: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram. That one list quietly settles half the objective questions on this topic.

Fifth Schedule versus Sixth Schedule, side by side

The difference is not cosmetic. Under the Fifth Schedule, tribal representation is advisory and the Governor holds the real power. Under the Sixth Schedule, tribal bodies actually make law and run courts. One is protection from above. The other is self-government, at least on paper.

One more distinction that examiners like. The Fifth Schedule speaks of Scheduled Areas. The Sixth Schedule speaks of tribal areas. Those are technical terms, not synonyms, and swapping them is how a statement gets marked wrong.

Point	Fifth Schedule	Sixth Schedule
Applies to	Scheduled Areas in states other than the four named	Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram
Key body	Tribes Advisory Council (up to 20 members, three-fourths ST legislators)	Autonomous District Councils and Regional Councils
Nature of body	Purely advisory	Legislative, executive, financial and judicial powers
Law-making	Governor may direct that a central or state law shall not apply, or apply with modifications	Councils legislate on land, forest (other than reserved), jhum cultivation, inheritance, marriage, social customs
Courts	Ordinary courts	Village and district council courts for specified disputes
Declaring authority	President declares an area a Scheduled Area	Governor can create, alter, rename autonomous districts
Panchayat law	Part IX extended by PESA, 1996	PESA does not apply

Article 244A: the clause used once, then never again

Article 244A was inserted by the Constitution (Twenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969. It lets Parliament, by law, create an autonomous state within Assam from some or all of the tribal areas listed in the Sixth Schedule, and give that autonomous state its own legislature or council of ministers or both.

There is a detail here worth carrying into the exam hall. Such a law may contain provisions that amend the Constitution, and it is still not treated as an amendment under Article 368. That is a rare carve-out.

It has been used exactly once. Meghalaya became an autonomous state within Assam in April 1970 under this route, and then a full state on 21 January 1972 under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. Since then, nothing. Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao groups have demanded a 244A autonomous state for decades, and it keeps returning to tripartite talks in Assam. No autonomous state exists under Article 244A today.

Where Article 244 applies on the ground

Ten states currently have Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and Bihar have tribal populations but no notified Scheduled Areas. The President declares these areas, and can alter their boundaries, after consulting the Governor.

On the Sixth Schedule side there are ten autonomous councils across the four states. Under the Fifth Schedule, the Governor submits a report on the administration of Scheduled Areas to the President annually, and whenever the President requires it. Not to the Chief Minister. That is a favourite trap.

State	Autonomous councils
Assam	Bodoland Territorial Region, Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao
Meghalaya	Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills
Tripura	Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council
Mizoram	Chakma, Lai, Mara

The traps, and what to do with all this

Four errors show up again and again in answer sheets and in Prelims elimination.

First, treating the Tribes Advisory Council as a decision-making body. It advises. Nothing more.

Second, assuming PESA covers the North East. The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 extended Part IX to Fifth Schedule areas only. Sixth Schedule areas were left out because they already had councils.

Third, the Ladakh question. Ladakh's demand for inclusion in the Sixth Schedule cannot be met by a simple notification, because Article 244(2) and the Sixth Schedule are written around four named states. It needs a constitutional amendment. Say that plainly in a Mains answer and you have already outperformed most candidates.

Fourth, forgetting that 244A is Assam-specific. It is not a general power to carve out autonomous states anywhere.

Here is the honest test of whether you know this article. Cover this page, and write out clause (1) and clause (2) in your own words, then name the four exception states and the ten Fifth Schedule states. If you can do that in ninety seconds, Article 244 will never cost you a mark again.

FAQs

1. 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. Scheduled Areas are declared by the President, who may also alter their boundaries.

2. Can Ladakh be brought under the Sixth Schedule?

Not without a constitutional amendment, because Article 244(2) and the Sixth Schedule apply to tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram only. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh in 2019, and the demand remains under discussion.

3. Has any autonomous state ever been created under Article 244A?

Only Meghalaya, which became an autonomous state within Assam in 1970 and a full state in January 1972. No autonomous state exists under Article 244A today, though Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao continue to demand one.

4. What is the difference between a Scheduled Area and a tribal area?

Scheduled Area is the Fifth Schedule term, used for notified tribal-majority areas in ten states, administered with the Governor holding special powers. Tribal area is the Sixth Schedule term, used for the autonomous districts of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, which have their own councils with law-making powers.

5. Does PESA apply to Sixth Schedule areas?

No. PESA, 1996 extends the panchayat provisions of Part IX to Fifth Schedule areas, and Sixth Schedule areas were kept outside it because they already have Autonomous District Councils performing similar functions.

6. Who can dissolve or alter an Autonomous District Council?

The Governor of the state, who can create new autonomous districts, alter their areas, change their names and define their boundaries, and can also dissolve a council after a commission's inquiry.