ST status to six communities
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The All Tai Ahom Students' Union (ATASU) today stated that they don't want a commitment from the government but a positive result in granting ST status to the Tai Ahom community and five other indigenous communities. ATASU recently launched a fresh series of agitations demanding ST status for the Tai Ahom community. The students' body is now waiting for the tabling of the Group of Ministers (GoM) report in the Assam Assembly on the issue of granting ST status.
Talking to The Sentinel, ATASU president Basanta Gogoi said, "Before every election, political parties assure the Tai Ahom and the five other communities regarding the granting of ST status. This time too, the state is headed for the Assembly polls in 2026. Now, we do not want more commitments from the side of the government but a positive result on the long-pending issue. Recently, the CM has stated that the GoM report is scheduled to be tabled on the floor of the Assembly on November 25, 2025. We are waiting for the report to be tabled, with the hope that the outcome will be positive. We think that the state government will forward the report to the central government for the future course of action."
Gogoi further said, "Although the report is slated to be tabled, we will continue our agitation programme until ST status is granted to our community as well as the five others, which are eagerly waiting for a positive result. On November 3, our next agitation programme will be held at Golaghat, in Tinsukia on November 14, in Sivasagar on November 16, in Sonari on November 17, in Lakhimpur on November 22 and in Dhemaji on November 23."
The ATASU said that granting of ST status to six more communities, however, should not affect the rights of the existing tribal communities already on the ST list.
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