The Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA), an umbrella body of 26 tribal organisations, on Friday rejected the recommendation of the Group of Ministers (GoM) for inclusion of six communities in the Scheduled Tribes list.
The decision was taken based on the recommendation of an eight-member consultative committee constituted by the CCTOA on December 4 to examine the state government-appointed GoM’s report, which proposed ST status for the Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Muttack, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes/Adivasis.
The GoM report was tabled in the state Assembly on November 29, triggering resentment and protests among existing tribal communities. This prompted the BJP-led state government to hold talks with the CCTOA on December 4.
“Yes, we have rejected the GoM recommendation after discussion with the consultative committee. We will submit our findings to cabinet minister Ranoj Pegu, who headed the GoM on December 6,” CCTOA chief coordinator Aditya Khaklari told The Telegraph.
A statement released by the CCTOA after a meeting with the Suhas Chakma-headed consultative committee, said granting ST status to the six communities under the OBC category “will destroy the political reservation of the existing Scheduled Tribes at the Panchayats, Autonomous Councils, Autonomous District Councils, State Legislative Assembly and the Parliament (Lok Sabha) level, in addition to affecting reservation from the Central government’s pool”.
Suhas Chakma is the founder of the Chakma Development Foundation of India.
Representatives of the All Assam Tribal Sangha and student unions of the Rabha, Bodo, Tiwa, Sarania-Kachari, Karbi, Hajong and Mising communities participated in Friday’s meeting.
The CCTOA statement added that even reserving parliamentary seats — Kokrajhar and Diphu Lok Sabha constituencies — “will not justify the destruction” of existing ST reservation at all levels.
According to the CCTOA, the demand of the six communities “is only to ensure” political reservation, particularly at the Panchayat, Autonomous Council, Autonomous District Council and Assembly levels, “as there are no seats reserved for OBCs in the state Assembly”. Otherwise, their rights relating to education and employment are already secured through 27 per cent reservation as OBCs at the state level, along with several autonomous and development councils.
There are 14 tribes with ST status in Assam.
The CCTOA said Assam’s scale of reservation is already unconstitutional under a 1992 Supreme Court judgment limiting total reservation to 50 per cent. The Assam government provides 59 per cent reservation. Including 35 other Tea and ex-tea garden communities could push it beyond 70 per cent, which is unconstitutional. Existing STs will suffer if these six communities are listed as STs, it contended.
The CCTOA said: “The current recommendations of the Assam government, apart from being illegal and unconstitutional, affect and indeed destroy the political rights of the existing communities at the Panchayat, Autonomous Council, Autonomous District Council, State Legislative Assembly and Parliament (Lok Sabha) levels. Therefore, the recommendations are being rejected.”