Sixth Schedule and Working of the District Councils in North-Eastern States R. N. Prasad Under the Govt. of India Act, 1935, the hill areas of Assam were divided into two categories- Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas. The Lushai Hills (now Mizoram) the Naga Hills and the North Cachar Hills were under the excluded areas, over which the provincial ministry had no jurisdiction. Expenditure incurred in these hill areas was also not voted by the provincial legislature because there were no representatives from these hill districts. Not only this, even no federal or provincial legislation extended to the districts automatically. The Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the Garo Hills, and the Mikir Hills were partially excluded areas. These districts had five representatives in the Assam Legislative Assembly but in the Garo Hills and the Mikir Hills, the franchise was limited to the traditional village headmen. Briefly, these areas were administered by the state government subject to the special powers of the Governor. This, in fact, did not change the administrative machinery of the districts. In effect the 1935 Constitution did not afford local self government or political autonomy to the hill tribes of the excluded and partially excluded areas to manage their local affairs according to their own genius and ability. No political activities of any kind in these districts were permitted. There was also no political entity, which could voice the people’s aspirations and grievances. The British Superintendent and the local chiefs in most of the districts of the excluded areas used to rule the people as virtual dictators
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 06:10:15 +0000
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