OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOKRAJHAR: Coordination Committee of Tribal Organizations, Assam (CCTOA), has called for a grand tribal rally at Khanapara Veterinary field, Guwahati, on November 10 to register protest against the move to include six ‘advanced and heterogeneous’ communities in the ST list.
The CCTOA in a general appeal said that the government’s proposal to include six non-tribal communities into the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list posed a serious threat to the constitutional rights, identity, and future of the genuine tribal people. “Our unity and voice are needed now more than ever to protect our ancestral rights and ensure justice for the true indigenous tribes of Assam,” it stated.
Endorsing the call of the tribal people, retired IAS officer Kalendra Mashahary of Kolkata said that the genuine tribal communities should stand together as the issue had become serious. He said that both the BJP-led NDA governments at the State and the Centre were desperate to woo voters belonging to the six communities of Tai-Ahom, Moran, Matak, Koch-Rajbanshi, and Adivasi (Tea Tribes) which comprised 25.3% against the existing 14 Scheduled Tribes having 12.4% of the total state population of 3,12.05,578. He said that as of now the six communities which belonged to Other Backward Classes (OBC) got reservation of 27% and the existing ST (Plain) got reservation of only 10% and ST (Hill) of 5% only. “There is no other option but to unitedly embark on a vigorous and vociferous movement to thwart the calculated design of the ruling dispensation to woo the targeted voters during the forthcoming State Assembly election scheduled to be held in March-April, 2026,” he added.
Basumatary said that land rights were exclusive to ST communities as land was the sole means of livelihood and material advancement for them and that even the Scheduled Caste (SC) did not have that privilege.
Also Read: Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) opposes Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities