Autonomous District Councils and the Governor’s Role in the Northeast India

Abstract

The office of governor with respect to the Sixth Schedule states does have many important functions unlike the other states of the country, and for that matter even the Fifth Schedule area states. The governor has been endowed with some discretionary power to maintain balance between the Constitution and the autonomy and identity of the smaller minority hill tribes of the northeast region, especially in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. The object of the article is to examine the discretionary power of the governor in the context of the autonomous district councils (ADCs) under the Sixth Schedule areas of northeast India. Specifically, the discretionary powers that are bestowed with this office need serious look as to their operation as well as relevance. The second section of this article briefly describes the historical as well as constitutional origin of the ADCs. The third section deals with the relevant constitutional provisions per se vis-à-vis the discretionary powers of the governor under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution with some examples, especially relating to Mizoram. The concluding section provides some general remarks regarding the relevance of ADCs in ensuring real autonomy of the hill tribes in the context of the various structural and operational constraints.