Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) opposes Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) has strongly opposed the recent move to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six advanced and non-tribal communities of Assam, initiated by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma. The organization views this step as an anti-tribal, unconstitutional, and politically motivated attempt to dilute and destroy the rights and identity of the aboriginal and indigenous tribal people of Assam.

In a statement, the Working President of the BJSM, DD Narzary, said that if this move got implemented, it would be a death blow to the genuine tribal communities, the real sons of the soil who have lived and preserved their distinct cultures and traditions since time immemorial. He asserted that the proposed six communities of Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Matak, and Adivasi Tea Tribes, do not qualify for inclusion in the ST list under the criteria laid down by the Lokur Committee (1965), which were later upheld by the Supreme Court of India. He said that the criteria was based on primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with other communities at large and backwardness and that none of the six proposed communities meet these criteria.

Narzary said that the Koch-Rajbongshi community itself had contradictions in its claim. “The Rajbongshis are recognized as Scheduled Castes (SC) in West Bengal and are now demanding to be recognized as Scheduled Tribes in Assam, an impossible contradiction under constitutional provisions. Moreover, the Koch and Rajbongshi are distinct groups, differing in language and origin, with the Koch belonging to the Tibeto-Burman linguistic group and the Rajbongshi to the Indo-Aryan, Bengali-speaking group,” he said, adding that the Adivasi Tea Tribes, numbering over 90 lakhs, were brought to Assam by the British in the 19th century as bonded labourers and were not aboriginal to this land and hence cannot claim tribal status.

He said that similarly, the Tai Ahoms, who migrated to Assam in the 13th century and later ruled vast parts of the state, were among the most advanced and politically empowered groups today. They have produced several Chief Ministers, Ministers, and bureaucrats and thus cannot be categorized as a backward or primitive tribe while the Moran, Matak, and Chutia communities have already assimilated into the Assamese mainstream society, and their demand for ST status is entirely unfounded, he stated.

Narzary said that the Registrar General of India (RGI) had already rejected the Assam Government’s proposal eight times due to the failure of these communities to meet the constitutional and legal requirements. Despite this, the present BJP-led Assam Government is forcefully pursuing this unconstitutional agenda, clearly revealing its ulterior political motive to weaken the existing tribal population and capture their constitutional safeguards, he said.

The Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch vehemently condemned the Government of Assam for what it said was betrayal of the tribal people and warned that such a divisive and unconstitutional decision would invite statewide democratic agitation. The BJSM also stated that it was determined to approach the Supreme Court of India to challenge this move and protect the rights of the genuine Scheduled Tribes of Assam. The BJSM also called upon all the tribal and indigenous organizations of Assam to unite under one platform and launch a united protest movement to defend the rights, identity, and existence of the aboriginal tribal communities of the state.

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