The Arunachal State Assembly on August 27, 2020, unanimously passed a resolution to include the entire state in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
As per the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, the sixth schedule provides protection to tribal people’s rights in the Northeast. He added that Arunachal is the only state which was left without any protective provisions for its tribal communities under the Indian constitution.
Arunachal State cabinet was recently resolved to move the centre for bringing the frontier state under the purview of the sixth schedule. In the absence of such a protective mechanism, the tribals in Arunachal face the danger of being alienated from their land and culture.
What will change with the Sixth Schedule of Constitution?
The Sixth Schedule apart from giving considerable autonomy to the tribal community will also empower the council to enact laws for the protection of land protection.
Even the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) exempts the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and sixth schedule areas. Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Mizoram are under ILP besides there are ten sixth schedule areas in the Northeast region of India.
Why inclusion in the Sixth Schedule is relevant?
The Home Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Bamang Felix informs that the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act of 1873 prohibits all the Indian citizens from entering Arunachal without a valid ILP.
Arunachal Pradesh comes under 371 (H) of the constitution, which does not provide any form of protection to the state’s people for under the said article there is no special provision. He added that we may have our air, land, and water but we do not have its ownership.
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