Fury against the BJP-led Assam government continued to mount among tribal communities on Sunday, a day after the interim report of the government-constituted Group of Ministers (GoM) recommending inclusion of six communities in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list was tabled in the Assembly.
There are 14 ST communities in Assam. Tribal organisations argue that expanding the list will reduce reservation quotas and livelihood safeguards for existing STs.
The day began with the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) — an umbrella body of 26 tribal organisations — burning copies of the GoM report at the Tribal Rest House here, declaring the recommendations “unacceptable” and warning that existing tribes would “suffer in the long run” if the ST list is expanded. The CCTOA will repeat the protest at all district headquarters on Monday.
The organisation has also sought a high-level meeting with chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the three-member GoM over the proposal to grant ST status to the Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Muttack, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes-Adivasis communities. “If the discussion fails, the CCTOA will launch a mass movement,” chief coordinator Aditya Khakhlari warned.
By evening, protests had spread to Cotton University in Guwahati, where students and youths from tribal communities staged a demonstration, fearing dilution of constitutional protections if the “six populous and advanced communities” are added to the ST list. Representatives of student bodies from the Karbi, Rabha, Bodo, Mising, Dimasa and Tiwa groups submitted a memorandum demanding protection of existing tribal rights.
On Saturday afternoon in Kokrajhar, hundreds of tribal students stormed the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Assembly — the seat of power under the Sixth Schedule — moments before the GoM report was submitted. Videos showed students shouting slogans against the cabinet decision and vandalising property.