Karbi Anglong district
Karbi Anglong district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of Assam. It is an autonomous district administered by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council according to the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the constitution of India. The district headquarters is in Diphu.
Etymology
"Karbi Anglong" is derived from the Karbi language. Karbi is the name of the indigenous tribe living in and around the region. The origin of the word Karbi is unknown. Anglong is a homonym in the Karbi language for hills and mountains. The term Karbi Anglong literally means "Karbi Hills".History
Pre independence
Prior to the British colonisation of Assam, the major hill tribes of Undivided Assam had their own separate "states" they lived in without much outside interference. They were not a part of any properly established external government or kingdom. Under the British rule with the Frontier Regulation Act of 1884, the Mikir Hills tract was made a part of the administrative district of Nowgong. Till then, there was no administrative boundary of the erstwhile Mikir Hills or present-day districts of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong. In 1893, a part of the tract was put under the Sivsagar district.In 1935, Mikir Hills was declared as one of the "backward tracts" under article 52A of the Government of India Act, 1919. These "backward tracts" were the tribal areas for whose administration the Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution was later enacted. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Mikir Hills tract was classified under "Partially Excluded Areas". These areas were not directly controlled by the laws made in the province or the federal government and while the power of administration was vested in the council of ministers. However, it was subject to the governor exercising his individual judgement.
Post independence
On 17 November 1951, the now defunct was created by combining some parts of the present day districts of Golaghat, Nagaon, Cachar, and United Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills district of present-day Meghalaya.This was followed by the bifurcation of the erstwhile district of United Mikir and North Cachar Hills into two separate districts - Mikir Hills and North Cachar Hills district on 2 February 1970. The Mikir Hills district was later officially renamed to Karbi Anglong district on 14 October 1976.
Karbi Anglong district in Assam has been plagued by several ethnic conflicts in recent years. The most notable one was the Karbi-Kuki conflict that erupted in 2003 and continued into 2004, resulting in the deaths of at least 85 people, mostly men, at the hands of militant groups like the Kuki Revolutionary Army and the anti-talks faction of the United Peoples' Democratic Solidarity. The conflict was marked by retaliatory attacks, with the KRA killing 39 Karbi tribals in March 2004 in the highest single-day civilian casualty in Assam. The underlying issues were the Kuki community's demand for recognition as indigenous and fear of ethnic cleansing, while the Karbi community wanted to control resources and stop Kuki migration.
In 2016, the district was further divided into two new districts. The entire area under the Hamren Civill sub-division of the Karbi Anglong district was carved out to form a new district, West Karbi Anglong with Hamren as its headquarter.
Politics
Aspiration for statehood
Following British colonisation, the Government of India Act, 1935, categorised the Mikir Hills as "Partially Excluded Areas". These areas were not directly controlled by the laws of the provincial and federal government and were administered by a council of ministers but was subject to the Governor exerting their individual judgement.In 1940, political leaders such as Semsonsing Ingti, Khorsing Terang and Seng Bey in a memorandum to the Assam Governor, Sir Robert Neil Reid, advocated for a separate hill district for Mikirs. To further advance their cause, a socio-political organisation called the Karbi-A-Dorbar was formed in 1946.In 1960, the government of Assam passed the Assam Official Language Act, 1960 declaring Assamese as the official language of the state. In 1972, the Gauhati University announced that the medium of instruction and examination under its colleges would be changed from English to Assamese. In response to this, a meeting was held on 31 May 1973, under the leadership of the Chief Executive Member at that time. During this meeting, they adopted the Roman Script for Karbi literary works and established the Script Implementation Committee. In a rally held by the committee on 19 December 1973, several students were injured and leaders were arrested in a retaliation by the state police force.
These developments contributed to calls for an Autonomous State within Assam. The then Chief Minister Prafulla Himanta and Home Minister Bhrigu Phukan opposed these demands stating concerns that it could fragment the state further.
Sixth Schedule
The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 and 275 contains provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. The provisions of the Sixth Schedule are regarded as a mini-constitution within the constitution. In autonomous regions, any act enacted by the State legislature or any act of the Parliament in respect of the subjects and powers vested with the district council shall not be applicable within the territorial jurisdiction of the district council unless the authority of such a council decides to accept them in its entirety or with exceptions and modifications. The Sixth schedule of the Indian constitution empowers the Governor to make rules for the first constitution of District Councils and Regional Councils in consultation with the existing tribal Councils or other representative tribal organisations within the autonomous districts or regions concerned.Local rules and membership eligibility
There are different internal rules for different Autonomous District Councils. Under the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, the right of access to traditional lands and length of stay in the region are regarded as "qualifying criteria" for being included in the voters' list for the ADCs. According to "The Assam Autonomous Districts Rules, 1951", to qualify for a membership in the council, the person must be a citizen of India, not younger than 25 years and be eligible to vote in the election of the members of the district council of that autonomous district.Legal challenges and controversies
In 2017, a Public Interest Litigation titled Ratan Terang and 17 Ors Vs.The State of Assam and 8 Ors., was filed in the Gauhati High Court where the petitioners brought to the attention of the court that the elections in the Election District Council are being conducted under the Rules of 1951 and under Rule 128 of the said rules, individuals who are not members of the Scheduled Tribes are included in the electoral rolls of the district council. They argued that the rules of 1951 had lapsed after the first constitution of the district council and that any further action taken pursuant to the said rules was invalid. The Gauhati High Court in its judgement directed the council to frame the rules for conducting the election in exercise of its power under paragraph 2 of the Sixth Schedule within a period of 6 months of the order.In 2018, a PIL was filed to the Gauhati High court and Diphu Judicial Court arguing that no non-Scheduled Tribe person could contest in the Sixth Schedule council election. Three non-tribal MACs of the Karbi Anglong Autonomos Council were summoned by the Diphu Judicial Court for a hearing.
On 12 May 2022, the KAAC announced that elections would be held on 8 June 2022, leading to protests against the decision as the rules for conducting the elections to the council was not framed yet. Despite this, the elections were held on 8 June leading to reports of violence on the day of the election.