Tribal Identity and Governance in Northeast India: Tripura Tribal Areas

Abstract

The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) was established in 1982 and was further upgraded to the Sixth Schedule in 1984 as a constitutional response to historical experiences of tribes since the merger of the Princely state of Tripura with the Indian Union. The authors state that the opportunity offered for empowerment to Indigenous tribal people through the District Council cannot be materialised without addressing the ‘tribal question’. This paper foregrounds  context specific historical challenges confronting the District Council. It argues for strengthening the political agency of the TTAADC and enhancing its decision-making and administrative capabilities for tribal areas. The authors suggest a negotiated integrated framework for envisioning the TTAADC within an asymmetrical federal structure.

Keywords: tribal identity and governance, Sixth Schedule, local self-governance,
Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), governance perspective,
negotiated integration

DOI: 10.32444/IJSW.2022.83.3.383-408