Failure of Tribal Self-Rule in Karbi Anglong (Assam):The Case of Karbi High School Students in Nagaon

Karbi lower primary and high school students are becoming a common phenomenon in Hindu Assamese inhabitant rural areas in Nagaon subdivision of Nagaon district, Assam. These Karbi students migrate from their native place to these areas for taking primary and secondary education. These young Karbi students become domestic servants at the houses of Hindu Assamese families only to pursue the primary education. This has posed a serious question on the success of tribal self-rule system as Karbi Anglong has been enjoying the provision of the Sixth Schedule autonomy under the Constitution since the provision of tribal autonomy was introduced in 1952. The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), presently comprising East and West Karbi Anglong districts, is considered as one of the strongest autonomous councils as it has jurisdiction over a lot of subjects in comparison to several other such councils in northeast India. Against this backdrop, this paper is an attempt to understand why the Karbi students have been migrating to Nagaon for starting their primary education by becoming domestic servants. The paper argues that the failure of the tribal self-rule in KAAC has led to this situation.