Skip to main content

Neglected? Arunachal's 26 major tribes, 100 minor tribes 'deprived of' sixth schedule status

By Avyaan Sharma 
The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution provides for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, allowing these regions to establish autonomous councils with legislative, judicial, executive, and financial powers. However, Arunachal Pradesh, despite having a significant tribal population, lacks similar constitutional protections. 
As of the 2011 Census, Ladakh has a population of approximately 2.74 lakh, while Arunachal Pradesh has around 13.8 lakh people. In Arunachal, there are 26 major tribes and over 100 minor tribes, with two-thirds of the population being tribal. 
Despite this, the state does not have provisions to protect indigenous rights, aside from regulations like the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, and the Chin Hill Regulation, 1896.
Without protective mechanisms under the Constitution, Arunachal Pradesh’s tribal communities are at risk of losing their languages, cultural customs, religious identity, and community rights. For instance, the Tangsa tribe, the largest in the Changlang district, has over 40 sub-tribes, each with its own dialect, but their language is still categorized as "endangered." 
Similarly, the Tangam language is critically endangered, with only around 200 speakers remaining.
Given that the Sixth Schedule aims to protect the rights of indigenous tribes in the northeastern region, it is crucial to extend these protections to the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The immediate priority is to conduct a thorough census to assess the population, distribution, language usage, and religious practices of all tribes in the state.
The government should convene discussions to explore the inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh under the Sixth Schedule, ensuring the protection of its indigenous communities.

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: Hateful, abusive comments won't be published. -- Editor

TRENDING

Arrival of USS Lincoln: A ‘leisure trip’ to Thailand or a neo-colonial move to commodify women?

By Benyasiri Eimviriyapong   The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for a ‘leisure trip’ in Thailand before returning to its campaign of destruction against the people of West Asia demands immediate interrogation and opposition. For us Thai people, and those in sites of American plunder across the globe, this a rattling of the US’ cold war colonial chains on its most loyal lap dog, while conducting a war of aggression in Iran and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. In allowing the USS Lincoln to dock, the Thai ruling elites are once again facilitating a system of imperial violence that extends far beyond Southeast Asian borders, a system which in our case, is predicated on sexual violence and femicide.
2 comments
»

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine. 
Post a Comment
»

The 'Dr' debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta*  India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.
3 comments
»