5 months ago
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GUWAHATI
The Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) has rejected the “illegal and unconstitutional” recommendations of the Group of Ministers to assistance Scheduled Tribe (ST) presumption to six communities.
The committee represents 14 tribes of Assam. The six communities for whom the three-member Group of Ministers recommended ST presumption are Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, Matak, Moran, Tai Ahom, and “Tea Tribes” (Adivasis).
Also read: Assam tribal assemblage petitions President against ST presumption for six communities
In its study submitted to the 126-member Assam Assembly successful November 2025, the Group of Ministers suggested dividing the six communities into 3 categories — ST (Plain), ST (Hill), and ST (Valley).
The Consultative Group of the CCTOA, chaired by New Delhi-based rights activistic Suhas Chakma, connected Friday said the recommendations, isolated from being amerciable and unconstitutional, would “affect and destruct the governmental rights” of the existing tribes astatine each levels from the panchayats to the Lok Sabha.
The CCTOA pointed retired that portion the Scheduled Castes are identified based connected their presumption successful the Hindu caste system, the STs are identified based connected tribal characteristics — indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of interaction with the assemblage astatine large, and backwardness for the assemblage arsenic laid down successful the Lokur Committee study of 1965.
The umbrella tribal assemblage said that successful 1993, the Assam Institute of Research for the Tribals and Scheduled Castes recommended the Other Backward Classes tag for the six communities, and the National Commission for Backward Classes notified them arsenic Other Backward Castes.
“Once identified arsenic SC, a assemblage cannot beryllium reclassified arsenic STs by the aforesaid authorities for governmental expediency,” CCTOA person Sukumar Basumatary said, citing the August 1947 Joint Report of the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other Than Assam) and the North-East Frontier (Assam) Tribal and Excluded Areas Sub-Committee arsenic good arsenic the Lokur sheet study that recommended against ST presumption for beverage plantation workers.
“The Koch-Rajbongshis are 2 antithetic and chiseled communities. In the erstwhile Goalpara district, Koch means those ‘Khotri’ Hindu Bengali migrated to Goalpara territory from Rongpur territory of East Pakistan, portion Rajbongshi means indigenous peoples of Assam who were subsumed into wider Koch identity,” the CCTOA said.
“This favoritism betwixt the 2 communities was not noted by the Group of Ministers. As per the 1950 Constitution Scheduled Caste order, the Koch were identified arsenic a Scheduled Caste successful West Bengal. Once the Koch had been identified arsenic Scheduled Castes successful West Bengal, they cannot beryllium classified arsenic the Scheduled Tribes successful Assam,” the organisation said.
It noted that 4 communities — Chutiyas, Mataks, Morans, and Tai Ahoms — are portion of the mainstream Assamese radical and that neither the 1947 study nor the Lokur Committee of 1965 included them arsenic STs, frankincense negating their assertion to beryllium classified arsenic tribes.
The CCTOA further said the Assam authorities recommended ST presumption for each 74 communities clubbed nether “tea tribes”, contempt the Ethnographic Expert Committee connected Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes recommending SC presumption for 38 of these communities. “The Assam government, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Registrar General of India, oregon the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes person nary jurisdiction to urge contrary to the findings of the adept committees,” it said.
“Eyeing governmental reservation”
“The request of these six communities to beryllium considered arsenic STs is lone to guarantee their governmental reservation, particularly astatine the level of the panchayat, autonomous council, autonomous territory council, and State Assembly, arsenic determination are nary seats reserved for the OBCs successful the State Assembly,” the CCTOA said.
“Otherwise, the rights and benefits of these six communities successful presumption of entree to acquisition and employment are already secured done 27% preservation arsenic the OBCs astatine the State level and constitution of respective autonomous and improvement councils for each of these communities,” it said.
“The granting of ST presumption volition destruct the governmental preservation of the existing STs successful summation to affecting the preservation from the Central government’s pool. The proposal of reserving parliamentary seats (Kokrajhar and Diphu) volition not warrant the demolition of the preservation for the existing STs from the panchayat to the Parliament levels,” CCTOA coordinator Tilak Doley said.
“The standard of preservation successful Assam is already unconstitutional according to a 1992 Supreme Court judgment, which stipulates that preservation indispensable not transcend 50%. The Assam authorities provides 59% preservation [SC 7%, ST(P) 10%, ST(H) 5%, OBC/MOBC (including ‘Tea Tribes’ 3%, Adivasis 27%, and EWS 10%]. If 35 different Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Communities, which are not included successful the ST database arsenic yet, the preservation tin spell beyond 70%, which is perfectly unconstitutional,” the CCTOA said.
“As the preservation is based connected proportionate populations, the existing STs shall endure erstwhile these six communities are listed arsenic STs. This goes against the proposal of an all-party delegation of the Assam Assembly that the granting of ST presumption to the six communities indispensable not impact the rights of the existing STs,” CCTOA person Motilal Rabha said.
