Schedule 6: Progress in Ladakh’s Journey to be Autonomous

The Cultural and land rights of the Scheduled Tribe community would be preserved and protected by including Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule.

Schedule 6 

The Schedule lists states that can declare any tribal area as autonomous districts or regions. Such declared areas, by a declaration of the state governor, are structured to be administered autonomously. 

Autonomous District Council

Originally, only the state of Assam was present in the schedule. The 49th amendment inserted other northeastern states such as Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram into the schedule as parts II, IIA and III. There are 10 Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the country. Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram each have 3 ADCs and 1 in Tripura. 

Power in the hands of the community 

The ADCs have legislative, executive, judicial and financial powers while still operating under the state. The intent of the Schedule and Articles 244 and 275(1) is to decentralise power back to the community primarily made of Schedule Tribes. Now, they would have the power to develop without compromising their culture and tradition. It essentially protects tribal beliefs and sentiments from outside greed. 

Impact of Schedule 6

The Schedule with Article 275(1) provides grants-in-aid to develop the tribal belt of India. It is a much-needed relief as the northeast is relatively underdeveloped compared to national development. It also affirms that socio-economic development does not come at the cost of cultural and traditional rights. Both should co-exist at the same time. It protects all tribal rights against corporate and industrial interests. Careful inclusion of other tribal regions all over India will benefit the people.

Why do only some tribal areas have this kind of protection?

This is largely because Scheduled Tribes in part of the country are too scattered. They are too small to have administrative powers. Moreover many have integrated with the rest of the populous. Despite these facts, excluded tribal regions like Ladakh and Manipur require Sixth Schedule protection. This is an area of concern for the country and needs to be analysed by the government. 

Ladakh needs Sixth Schedule protection now 

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in its 119th meeting in 2019 recognised that 97% of the total population in Ladakh is tribal. Several protests have taken place in the valley depicting the people’s needs. The intent of the schedule requires Ladakh to be included in the Sixth Schedule. The region has been facing an unemployment crisis for years. The introduction of non-traditional jobs in the valleys has the potential to create employment. One of the major issues created by industrial jobs is the undermining of the tribal tradition, culture and customs. At the core, several cultural and land rights of the Scheduled Tribe community would be preserved and protected. Ladakh is one of the vulnerable zones to climate change.

Grants provided under Articles 244 and 275(1) can be funnelled to develop climate-conscious infrastructure. It would promote democracy through transparent elections conducted to hold office in any ADC. It is one among the many promises made BJP that ensured its victory in the 2020 election. It is about time the government fulfils its promise made to Ladakh.