The six communities from Assam seeking Scheduled Tribes status on Thursday staged protests in several parts of the state in protest over the “delay” by the government in meeting their decades-old demand despite repeated assurances.
The protest comes a day after the Narendra Modi cabinet approved the inclusion of 12 communities on the ST list from five states — Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and poll-bound Himachal Pradesh.
Wednesday’s development has sparked a “feeling of betrayal, of being let down” among the six Assam communities seeking ST status in Assam. The six communities are Tai Ahoms, Mataks, Morans, Chutias, tea tribes/adivasis and Koch-Rajbongshis.
At the Chowkidingee Charali protest, effigies of Modi, tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“The protest lasting nearly two hours involved representatives of the six communities. We feel let down over Wednesday's development over this delay in granting ST status to us,” Lakhindra Kurmi, general secretary of the Assam Tea Tribes Students Association (ATTSA) told The Telegraph.
“Our demand is also quite old and Modi ji himself had committed ST status to us before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but we continue to wait for ST status, a genuine demand,” Kurmi said.
A meeting of the six communities has been convened on Friday at Moran, near Dibrugarh, to discuss Wednesday’s development and jointly chalk out their future course of action, Rideep Gogoi, general secretary of the Matak Yuba Chatra Sanmilan told this newspaper, adding peaceful protests were held across the state.
“We read the demand of the communities which received cabinet nod for inclusion in the ST status yesterday are old. We can safely say ours is older. Our Sanmilan completed 83 years this year. Our demand for ST is 83 years old and genuine,” he said.
“But we are still waiting for the ST status despite repeated assurances by the BJP-led government and the party before every elections. Why the delay? We are getting the feeling that we are being treated as vote bank,” Gogoi said.
Kurmi said the six communities, who make up for over 35 per cent of the state’s population, should be given ST status because they play an important role in protecting the state’s culture and language. “Friday’s meeting will discuss how to go move forward,” he said.
Lone Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi described Wednesday's development as a "betrayal" of the Assam tribes by the BJP-led Central government, which he said, could include the Assam groups if it wants to without delay. He urged everyone to support the demand.
Bir Singh Munda of the Birsa Commondo Force, one of the eight Adivasi militant groups which signed a tripartite peace accord involving the Centre, state government and the rebel groups in Delhi on Friday evening, said granting ST status is a key feature of the pact.
Inclusion in the ST list opens the doors to multiple government benefits, including scholarships, fellowships, reservation in jobs and educational institutes, hostel seats and concessional loans, which the groups feel would help expedite the overall development of the communities.
