Question 59

The Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India are special provisions designed to protect the interests and cultural autonomy of Scheduled Tribes and to ensure their effective administration.

• Fifth Schedule: This schedule deals with the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. It empowers the President to declare any area as a Scheduled Area and establishes Tribal Advisory Councils to advise on welfare and advancement of STs.
• Sixth Schedule: This schedule contains special provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. It provides for the creation of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) and Regional Councils, which have powers to legislate on various matters including land, forest, shifting cultivation, administration of villages, inheritance of property, marriage and divorce, social customs, etc., thereby granting a significant degree of autonomy to tribal communities.

Both schedules are fundamentally aimed at safeguarding the rights, culture, and interests of Scheduled Tribes and ensuring their development while preserving their distinct identity. They do not pertain to determining state boundaries, powers of Panchayats (which are addressed by the 73rd and 74th Amendments, not these schedules), or the interests of all border states broadly.