http://www.newkerala.com/oct.php?action=fullnews&id=24859
Assam tribals voice against ST status to more groups
By Syed Zarir Hussain, Guwahati, Dec 7 : Tribal groups in Assam have
warned the government against bringing in more communities in the state under
the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) saying there would be unrest if their warning
is ignored.
The toughening of stand by organisations like the All Assam Tribal Sangha
(AATS), the state's apex tribal body, has further cornered the Congress-led
government in Assam, which has promised to push for ST status to six more
communities in the state.
"Granting ST status to more groups in Assam will jeopardise the interests and
political rights of the existing tribal population in the state," AATS general
secretary Aditya Khaklari told journalists Thursday.
Leaders of seven influential tribal organisations who interacted with
journalists said the Assam government was "playing a political game" ahead of
the panchayat elections here by recommending to the Centre to grant ST status
to six other communities in the state.
The six communities seeking ST status are: Tai Ahom, Muttock, Moran, Chutia,
Koch Rajbongshi and Adivasis. The government is in favour of bringing in these
communities into the ST list.
The issue has come to the fore with the Adivasis under the banner of the All
Adivasi Students' Association of Assam (AASAA) intensifying their agitation in
recent weeks for ST status to the community.
An Adivasi rally in the state capital Guwahati Nov 24 turned violent after
protestors clashed with local residents leading to the death of an Adivasi and
injuries to more than 200 others.
The Congress-led coalition is in a spot because a section of leaders from the
Hagrama Mahilary faction of the Bodo People's Progressive Front (BPPF-H) too
have voiced their opposition to the granting of ST status to more communities
in Assam.
The BPPF-H is an ally of the Congress and its legislators are part of the Tarun
Gogoi-led government in the state.
The Congress, however, is unfazed and said the BPPF-H did not oppose the move
to grant ST status to the six communities when the state assembly had adopted a
resolution supporting the demand.
The issue has the potential to polarise the state on ethnic lines. The Tribal
Sangha has criticised influential groups like the All Assam Students' Union
(AASU) for backing the Adivasi demand for ST status to the community.
"The tea tribes (Adivasis included) are not aborigines of Assam. They have
migrated from areas like Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Therefore,
they cannot be considered as tribals in Assam," Khaklary said.
The tea tribes have been traditionally supporting the Congress and controls or
influence the electoral verdict in at least 20 of Assam's 126 assembly
constituencies. Their demand, therefore, cannot be ignored so easily by the
Congress, resulting in the party's discomfiture.
The Adivasis on their part argue that they are an integral part of the greater
Assamese society, having migrated and settled down in the state more than 150
years ago.
--Indo-Asian News Service --- IANS
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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