Adivasi council warns of statewide unrest if 42 communities are excluded from SC list

Sonitpur, Oct 31: The Adivasi Tea Tribe Scheduled Caste Demand Council has issued a warning to the state government, cautioning that excluding 42 Adivasi communities from the Scheduled Caste (SC) list could lead to large-scale unrest across Assam.

Addressing a press conference at the Dhekiajuli Press Club on Thursday, Council President Dipen Nayak, Chief Advisor and noted writer Sanjay Kumar Tanti, and General Secretary Daulat Rajowar urged the government to ensure that all 42 Adivasi communities listed in the second report of the three-member expert committee are included alongside the 36 communities recommended in the first report.

Nayak, who also serves as an Executive Member of the Adivasi Welfare and Development Council, said the exclusion of the 42 communities would amount to betrayal of the 2022 Adivasi Peace Accord, which clearly mandates their recognition under the Scheduled Caste category.

“If the Assam government forwards only the proposal for 36 communities to the Registrar General of India, leaving out the 42 others mentioned in the second report, the situation will turn unrestful. Assam will witness a state-wide movement. This large section of the Adivasi population will rise against the government to demand their constitutional rights,” Nayak warned.

He emphasized that both the 36 and 42 Adivasi communities share ethnological and cultural identities with groups already recognized as Scheduled Tribes (ST) or Scheduled Castes (SC) in other states.

“Just as these communities enjoy Scheduled status in other states, the same must apply in Assam. Our demand is for simultaneous inclusion—without bias or discrimination,” he said.

Citing historical context, Chief Advisor Sanjay Kumar Tanti recalled that Adivasi communities in Assam were recognized as Other Backward Classes (OBC) in 1977.

“Despite decades of struggle, the demand for Scheduled recognition remains unfulfilled. The second expert committee report, which identifies 42 additional Adivasi groups for SC inclusion, has been left pending without any visible government action,” he said.

The Council leaders accused certain organisations of attempting to divide the Adivasi movement. Reacting to a social media statement by David Tirkia, vice president of the All Assam Adivasi Students’ Association (AAASA) led by Rejan Horo—who claimed that only 36 groups are true Adivasis of Assam—Nayak said such remarks were divisive and baseless.

“Who is he to decide who is a true Adivasi? This is not the time to divide our movement but to unite for our rights. It is deeply tragic that groups once formed to protect Adivasi interests are now alienating their own people,” Nayak said.

He further appealed to the people of the 42 excluded communities to boycott rallies and protest programmes organized by groups that ignore their cause.

“Our youth must understand that silence on this issue is complicity. Those affiliated with such organisations should step down if their leadership refuses to stand with all 42 communities,” he added.

General Secretary Daulat Rajowar reiterated the Council’s commitment to continue their democratic and constitutional struggle until all 42 Adivasi communities are granted rightful recognition.

The press meeting witnessed participation from prominent leaders representing diverse Adivasi tea tribe groups.

The meeting concluded with a unanimous resolution demanding that the Assam government immediately forward the proposal for inclusion of all 42 Adivasi communities in the Scheduled Caste list, ensuring equal recognition, justice, and long-overdue fulfilment of the commitments made under the 2022 Peace Accord.