• Dr. Moatoshi Ao

The grant of Dewany of Bengal to the British by the Mughal Empire and the subsequent annexation of Assam compelled the Britishers to take over the administration of the hills tribes on the frontier tracts to protect their subjects in Assam from the head-hunting hill tribes. Consequently, to administer the NE region in accordance with the tribal ways of custom and usages various enactments were passed by the British parliament and reforms introduced. Post the Indian independence, the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India was adopted exclusively for the NE region to establish Autonomous District Councils in the tribal areas with a view to provide customary freedom in the governance of the region and in administration of civil and criminal justice without being interfered by the technical laws applied in other parts of the country. However, despite such arrangements at the commencement of the Constitution, the political developments in the region resulted in the bifurcation of Assam and insertion of various Articles in the Constitution providing special status to the new states. This paper thus investigates into the legal history of the NE region during the colonial period and post independence that led to the adoption of the Sixth Schedule and the amendments to the Constitution with regard to the North Eastern states. With the help of judicial pronouncements the paper further studies the legality of the Rules and Regulation passed in pursuance of the Sixth Schedule and other special Constitutional provisions. The paper concludes with the progress that has been achieved as envisaged by the framers of the Constitution despite political and legal challenges in the region.

Customary law, Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, civil and criminal justice

"Political and Constitutional Development of North East India: A Legal History and Judicial Investigation", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 2, page no.b12-b21, February-2022, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2202103.pdf

"Political and Constitutional Development of North East India: A Legal History and Judicial Investigation", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 2, page no. ppb12-b21, February-2022, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2202103.pdf