Dhubri, Dec. 17: The Centre has included the Koch Rajbongshi community of Assam in its other backward communities (OBC) list, ensuring certain benefits for it.

Announcing this here today, Biswajit Roy, chief convenor of Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilita Mancha and president of All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union, said, “The woes of Koch Rajbongshi candidates from Assam appearing in central government examinations and seeking jobs in central government departments will now end.”

Roy said the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment had passed a resolution to this effect and the cabinet had approving it during the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

“Before enlisting the community, officials of the ministry of social justice and empowerment discussed the pros and cons with me last week,” he said.

However, Roy added, the community’s movement for Scheduled Tribe status would continue as before. “We welcome the move, but will continue to fight for ST status,” he said.

A source in Akrsu said the Koch Rajbongshis have always been on the state OBC list.

They had been enlisted as Scheduled Tribe (Plain) in the central list by an ordinance on January 27, 1996, in keeping with the community’s demand since 1967.

The ordinance was re-promulgated four times till 1997 but was not made into an act and ultimately it lapsed, he added.

Till 1997, candidates from the community who aspired to sit for central government examinations and apply for central government jobs enjoyed OBC benefits but after the ordinance that listed them as Scheduled Tribe (Plain) lapsed, they were deprived of the OBC benefits, too.

Citing a case of the “injustice”, the source said Hem Chandra Bora, a Koch Rajbongshi candidate from Nagaon, could not appear in the engineering service examination in 2009 as he was denied OBC status. This, he added, created a furore in Assam.

“Later, Bora filed a case in Gauhati High Court on grounds of discrimination against him by the UPSC,” the source said.

The high court, after hearing the petition, passed a judgement on March 23, 2011, directing the government to take immediate steps to include the community as OBC, he said.

“The National Commission for Backward Classes, on receiving the notice from Gauhati High Court, recommended to the ministry of social justice and empowerment to restore the OBC status of the Koch Rajbongshi community,” he said.

Barring Assam, the Centre had modified the OBC list in 19 states.

However, now as the community has been included in the central OBC list, students and job aspirants will get the benefits again, the source said.