Assam communities demanding ST tag

Assam communities demanding ST tag

Subject : Geography

Context: Leaders of six communities in Assam, which are agitating for Scheduled Tribe status in their State, have stressed the need to stay united in their fight.

Six communities in Assam

• The leaders of Tai-Ahom, Matak, Moran, Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, and Adivasi communities have cautioned that they are being pitted against each other, even as they are headed for a fresh round of meetings with the All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS), an umbrella body of existing STs, over their demands.
• Efforts to keep representatives of all six agitating communities together has been renewed, especially since one faction of the Chutia community — the ChutiaYuvaSanmilan — announced recently that they would be breaking away from the group that has so far been meeting with the AATS and the government over demands to be classified as STs.
• While the All Assam Chutia Students’ Union continues to be part of the group leading  negotiations, the exit of the Chutia YS came within days of a meeting between Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma, the six agitating communities, and the AATS.
• At the meeting, a consensus was arrived at regarding the inclusion of just two of the six agitating communities — Matak and Moran — with more meetings promised to discuss the possibility of including the others.
• They were not originally indigenous.