Protests by tribal students and organisations erupted in Kokrajhar on Thursday over the Assam cabinet’s approval of the Group of Ministers’ (GoM) report proposing ST status for six communities.
Students of Bodoland University belonging to tribal groups were the first to demonstrate, staging a sit-in outside the main gate from 8am to 12 noon and forcing the cancellation of all third-semester examinations for the day.
They denounced Thursday’s cabinet decision to grant ST status to the Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Mutack, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes-Adivasi communities, raising slogans against chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Their placards read “Anti-Tribal Hai Hai”, “We oppose ST status to six advanced and populous communities”, and “CCTOA Long Live”.
The Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA), an umbrella body of 26 tribal organisations formed in 1996, was the first to launch state-wide opposition and had staged a massive rally near Guwahati on November 10.
In the evening, tribal organisations representing the Bodo, Rabha, Garo and other communities held a torchlight rally in Kokrajhar, expressing their “unequivocal opposition” to what they termed a “detrimental political move” to include “advanced and populous” communities in the ST list.
The chief minister had said on Thursday that the GoM report will be tabled in the Assembly before being forwarded to the Union Home Ministry. The three-member GoM is headed by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, with Pijush Hazarika and Keshab Mahanta as members. Sarma also said the existing ST population would not be affected.
His assurance, however, failed to convince the protesting groups. Students argued the current ST population is around 45 lakh, while the six communities together number over one crore.
“We are STs by birth. We will be swamped by their numbers. Our future will be in jeopardy,” a student said.