5 months ago
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Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi connected Sunday (November 30, 2025) accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of stoking struggle betwixt the six communities that request Scheduled Tribe presumption and the existing Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups of the State. He claimed that the report submitted by the government successful the State Assembly connected Saturday (November 29) connected the request for ST presumption was incapable to person that the rights of the existing ST communities would stay intact.
A Group of Ministers (GoM) submitted its study successful the Assembly connected Saturday (November 29)on the request for ST presumption by six communities—Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Matak, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes (adivasis). If these communities are granted ST status, they volition travel nether preservation successful acquisition and jobs.
Mr. Gogoi, the party’s lawman person successful the Lok Sabha, said successful a station connected X that the “Congress has supported the assertion that six indigenous communities of the State indispensable beryllium declared arsenic ST without affecting the rights and privileges of the existing ST groups”.
An Assembly solution to this extremity was passed during the past Congress government, helium said, referring to a question adopted nether his begetter and Assam’s three-time and longest serving Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s administration.
Students protest
On the GoM’s study tabled successful the Assembly, Mr. Gogoi said, “Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, portion bringing a study to assistance category-wise ST status, has been incapable to amusement that the rights of the existing ST communities stay intact.” Students from the Bodoland University successful Guwahati connected Saturday (November 29) stormed the assembly hallway of the BTC Secretariat and vandalised spot during their protestation against the Assam Cabinet’s support of the report. Bodos are 1 of the largest ST communities successful Assam.
“As an indigenous community, we privation the champion for our tribal brothers and sisters. But it seems that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is stoking different struggle betwixt 6 indigenous communities and the scheduled tribes of Assam,” the Congress person claimed.
He alleged that this was emblematic ‘divide and rule’ authorities arsenic practised by the British during the assemblage era.
“People of Assam are fed up with this authorities and volition not hold for excessively long. We privation to unrecorded successful harmony arsenic a beardown agreed Bor Axom (greater Assam),” Mr. Gogoi asserted.
ST categories
The GoM study has recommended a three-tier classification of STs successful the State truthful that the request for ST presumption of the above-mentioned six communities tin beryllium met without affecting the preservation for the existing tribal groups.
In summation to the existing ST (Plains) and ST (Hills) categories, it has projected the enactment of a caller class of ‘ST (Valley)’, and the inclusion of Ahom, Chutia, Tea Tribes, and Kock-Rajbongshi (excluding undivided Goalpara) communities successful it.
For Moran, Matak and Kock-Rajbongshi (Goalpara) communities, it said they tin beryllium included successful the ST (Plains) category, and the existing communities successful this class ‘do not person overmuch opposition’.
The study said that dialog indispensable proceed with each stakeholders for a ‘conclusive solution’, and the last motion has to beryllium fixed by Parliament done a Constitutional amendment.
