Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Coordinating Committee of Tribal Organizations of Assam (CCTOA) and the All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS) are going to convene a tribal conference in Guwahati on August 18 to publicly denounce, as they say, the ‘strategic conspiracy’ by the Assam Government to dismantle tribal belts and blocks.
Speaking to the media here today, AATS secretary general Aditya Khakhlari said, “The state government has violated the land rights of tribal and backward protected communities by including more advanced and populous communities into protected belts and blocks such as Murkanchelek, Sadia, Chichitangani, Balipara, and areas within the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). These Cabinet decisions were taken unilaterally and without consultation.”
Khakhlari said, “The tribal bodies fear that the inclusion of non-protected, populous communities will defeat the very purpose of tribal belts/blocks and gradually render indigenous tribal communities landless. The protests will continue until the government revokes its decision.”
Khakhlari highlighted the need to bring tribal belts and blocks under the protection of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for autonomy and self-governance in tribal regions across Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. The AATS leader also reminded that the genesis of these belts/blocks lies in protecting tribal lands from historic encroachments, particularly during British colonial rule, which facilitated large-scale migration of people, especially Muslims from East Bengal into Assam. Khakhlari also criticized the government for not acting on its promise to form new belts/blocks. Over 2,500 tribal villages were identified and submitted to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, but to no avail.
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