ABSTRACT
The Scheduled Areas (SAs) areas were identified at the time that the Constitution was written. They were categorised as such based on concerns about their geographical isolation and primitive mode of production, to ensure the development of relatively egalitarian and closely knit Adivasi society. Special Constitutional provisions (Article 244) for governance are framed, keeping in view the under-developed nature of the areas, the backwardness, and marked disparity in economic standard of the people of these areas. This volume focuses on the grammar and politics of governance by examining various components of governance, such as Constitutional mandates and legal provisions; finance and fund allocation; functioning of democratic (autonomous) institutions administrative structures, procedures, and channels of implementations; and role of the judiciary, the elected representatives, and the citizens. The process and structure of governance are complex, as they are sometimes entangled yet not in coordination with each other, sometimes isolated and observed to be functioning independent of each other, while sometimes all structures have a role to play and come in conflict with each other. It also covers a range of issues - from the traditional mechanism of governance of Adivasis and the residents of the Scheduled Areas, to the evolution of governance processes and structures during British era, to the continuity and impact of colonial laws and administrative procedures in these areas and on the residents of the areas, and to the role of modern institutions.
