Home The Constitution Part X Article 244A

Art. 244A Part X: Scheduled and Tribal Areas

Formation of an Autonomous State for Certain Tribal Areas in Assam

Exact text — Constitution of India

(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may, by law, form within the State of Assam an autonomous State comprising (whether wholly or in part) all or any of the tribal areas specified in Part I of the table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule and, if it deems necessary so to do, provide for a body, whether elected or partly nominated and partly elected, to function as a Legislature for the autonomous State, or a Council of Ministers, or both with such powers and functions... (2) Any such law as is referred to in clause (1) may, in particular—(a) specify the matters enumerated in the State List or the Concurrent List with respect to which the Legislature of the autonomous State shall have power to make laws for the whole or any part thereof... [and] (e) provide that the autonomous State shall not be administered by the Governor of Assam...

In Plain English

What this Article actually means

A special, largely dormant provision allowing Parliament to carve out an 'autonomous State' — with its own legislature and Council of Ministers, administered independently of the Assam Governor — from certain tribal areas within Assam, if it ever deems that necessary. It was written with the possibility of a Meghalaya-type arrangement in mind before Meghalaya itself became a full separate state in 1972.

Why This Matters To You

How it shows up in everyday life

In practice, most of the tribal-autonomy aspirations this Article anticipated have been resolved through other means — either full statehood (Meghalaya, Mizoram) or Sixth Schedule Autonomous District Councils — so this specific mechanism remains largely unused today, though it technically remains available to Parliament.

Read alongside this one

Art. 244 — Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas

Frequently Asked

Quick answers about Article 244A

Has Article 244A ever actually been used to create such an autonomous state?

No — it remains a dormant, available-but-unused constitutional tool; the specific tribal-autonomy demands it was designed around were largely resolved through separate statehood or Sixth Schedule arrangements instead.

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The text above reproduces Article 244A of the Constitution of India as amended to date, for general educational reference. It is public-domain legislative text, but we recommend cross-checking the authoritative version at legislative.gov.in or india.gov.in before relying on it for a legal matter. The explanation, examples and FAQs are general information, not legal advice — consult a qualified advocate for guidance on your specific situation.