‘Dispur gherao’: Tai Ahoms renew ST status call with march to Secretariat
Community seeks Tai Ahom Autonomous Council, land rights for Assam’s indigenous people & eviction of all illegal settlers
Guwahati, July 30: After a six-week pause, the Tai Ahom community revived its demand for speedy grant of ST status, on Wednesday.
Led by the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (ATASU), a "Dispur Gherao" rally was organised with a significant turnout from across Assam marching through the streets of Guwahati.
Chanting slogans such as “No ST, no rest!”, and with some dressed in traditional attire, the protesters rallied towards the Secretariat to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“If the government is serious about securing the future of Assam’s indigenous communities, it must grant ST status to the Ahoms and other eligible groups. The Monsoon Session of Parliament is underway, and we demand that the Scheduled Tribes Amendment Bill be passed during this session,” said one of the protesters, post the submission.
The community’s charter of demands also includes the formation of a Tai Ahom Autonomous Council, land rights for indigenous communities in Assam, and eviction of illegal settlers from “every nook and cranny” of the state.
The demand for ST status for six communities in Assam — including the Tai Ahoms — dates back to 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shortly after assuming office, pledged to address their concerns in a public speech.
According to central government norms, all six communities reportedly meet the five criteria for ST classification: primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, reluctance to interact with the larger population, and economic and educational backwardness.
On January 8, 2019, the Scheduled Tribes Amendment Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The bill clearly stated that ST status had been approved for the six communities. However, it remains pending and has yet to be enacted.
In June this year, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram told The Assam Tribune that the Ministry is “seriously considering” the issue of granting ST status to the six communities in Assam.
Six communities in Assam – Tai-Ahom, Matak, Moran, Chutia, Koch-Rajbanshi and Adivasi-tea tribes – have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status for a long time.