Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) demands Bodoland state before ST status for 6 communities

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) on Thursday reiterated its strong demand to the Government of India to create a separate state of Bodoland before considering any move to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the six populous communities of Assam. If the government proceeds with ST status without safeguarding the constitutional, political, and land rights of the existing indigenous tribal people, there will be no option left except to re-start the suspended Bodoland Movement, BJSM warned.

Working President of the BJSM DD Narzary and Secretary Jayanta Boro in a statement reminded that the Bodoland Movement was suspended only after the signing of the 2003 BTC Accord, which provides constitutional protection under Sixth Schedule to fulfil economic, educational, and linguistic aspirations and the preservation of land-rights and socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the Bodos. They said that the Bodo people accepted this arrangement in good faith, believing that peace, harmony and progress would prevail. However, the present policy of the government to push forward ST status to the six communities has deeply alarmed the Bodo and other tribal communities and threatens to reopen long-settled issues, they added.

The BJSM even appealed to all Bodos to prepare for a democratic and peaceful movement for Bodoland State, which it said alone could protect the aboriginal tribal rights and restore long-term peace and stability in the region. The mancha strongly criticized the Assam Government for encouraging and instigating the six communities to demand ST status, instead of safeguarding the constitutionally protected rights of the existing STs. It said that despite knowing that the six communities did not fulfil the criteria for ST, the ruling dispensation had been offering political assurances for vote-bank interests.

Narzary and Boro said, "Among the six communities, Tai-Ahoms and Tea Tribes are historically outsiders. The Tai-Ahoms arrived in 1228 AD, while Tea Tribes were brought to Assam by the British in the 19th century. The Moran, Motok, and Chutia communities have largely assimilated into the Assamese mainstream while the Koch-Rajbongshi is not a single homogeneous group. The Koch people are STs in Meghalaya but Rajbongshis are SC in West Bengal and their languages, culture, and origins differ greatly. Moreover, their combined population far exceeds that of the existing STs. Granting them ST status would completely snatch away the constitutional rights and privileges of genuine tribals."

BJSM warned that such a move may also result in large-scale migration from West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, which will pose further threats to tribal land security. They said that the BTC region already faced heavy encroachments in protected tribal belts and blocks, government khas lands, grazing fields, and reserved forest areas and that ST status to communities like Koch-Rajbongshi and Adivasi groups will only worsen the situation.

 The mancha outrightly rejected the Group of Ministers (GoM) formula proposing categories like 'ST (Plains)' and 'ST (Valley)' to accommodate the six communities without affecting existing tribal rights. According to them, the tribal status was a constitutional identity, not an administrative adjustment and such an artificial distinction could not safeguard current ST rights. It also strongly criticized the formation of the GoM, terming it unconstitutional, illegal, and beyond the government's jurisdiction. Only Parliament has the power to grant or deny ST status and it must be based on mandatory reports from the Registrar General of India (RGI) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), they said, adding that the GoM had no legal authority or locus standi in the matter.

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