Assam communities demanding ST tag want to put on united front

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Leaders of six communities in Assam, which are agitating for Scheduled Tribe status in their State, have stressed the need to stay united in their fight.

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The leaders of Tai-Ahom, Matak, Moran, Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, and Adivasi communities have cautioned that they are being pitted against each other, even as they are headed for a fresh round of meetings with the All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS), an umbrella body of existing STs, over their demands.

Efforts to keep representatives of all six agitating communities together has been renewed, especially since one faction of the Chutia community – the Chutia Yuva Sanmilan – announced recently that they would be breaking away from the group that has so far been meeting with the AATS and the government over demands to be classified as STs.

Put together, the six communities agitating for ST status in Assam comprise at least 30% of the States electorate. Adding them to the ST list would significantly increase the ST Population in the State and reduce the share of entitlements available to the existing ST communities unless the quota is increased from the present 10% for tribes in plains and 5% for tribes in the hills.