Ahead of CM’s visit, Kalita community renews call for protected status in Sadiya

Sadiya, Oct 28: Ahead of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s scheduled visit to Sadiya, members of the Kalita community have intensified their campaign seeking protected community status within the region’s tribal belt and block areas.

Students under the banner of the Kalita Janagosthi Yuba-Chhatra Parishad are preparing to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister during his visit to Chapakhowa on October 30, where he is expected to address a public rally.

The Parishad said that inclusion of the Kalita people in the list of protected communities would allow them equal land ownership rights alongside other recognised groups such as the Tai Ahoms, Morans, Motoks, Chutias and Gorkhas, in the region.

The memorandum is expected to focus on amending the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2024, which currently restricts land purchase and transfer within the tribal belt to recognised protected groups.

“We have lived in the greater Sadiya region for generations, with most families holding permanent land pattas even before Independence. But since the new land laws came into effect, we can neither buy nor transfer land in Sadiya as we are not categorised as a protected class,” said Suraj Talukdar, secretary of the Parishad.

The organisation also claimed that women who are either permanent residents of Sadiya or belong to a recognised protected class face rejection of land patta applications if they marry into the Kalita community. “Authorities refuse to process such applications or name transfers,” Talukdar alleged.

“So, we request the government to grant us the same land rights as the Ahoms, Morans, Motoks, Chutias and Gorkhas,” he added.

The renewed push comes just a day after the community held a torch rally in Nalbari, reiterating its long-pending demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.