Delhi clears decks for ST status to 3 tribes

New Delhi, July 9: Decks are being cleared to declare at least three ethnic groups of Assam Moran, Muttock and Koch Rajbongshi as Scheduled Tribes (ST), in line with Ulfas demand.

The Ulfa had last month sought ST status for six ethnic groups, the other three being Tai Ahom, Tea Tribes and Chutiya. But these three groups might have to wait longer for the status.

The Assam government had late last week sent ethnographic reports on the Morans, the Muttocks and the Koch Rajbongshis to the ministry of home affairs, which sent it to the ministry of tribal affairs, which will forward its report along with the ethnographic reports to the Registrar General of India (RGI), which will take the final call.

Ulfa does not want sovereignty any more, but it has insisted that the indigenous people of Assam be protected constitutionally. At present, 12.4 per cent of the states 3.12 crore population (2011 census) are accounted for as ST. There are 15 major Scheduled Tribes, including sub-tribes, in the districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao alone and another 14 STs outside these two areas in Assam.

Ulfas former deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua said the state government was processing the matter of granting ST status.

It will be difficult to elaborate but we are talking on all basic issues, including ST status. Nothing has been finalised yet, he told The Telegraph over phone.

The RGI had earlier rejected the demands of some of these tribes for various reasons but the ethnographic reports reason that these ethnic groups are indeed tribes because of their distinctive characteristics and history.

Article 342 of the Constitution notifies Scheduled Tribes as having five major characteristics primitive traits, geographical isolation, distinct culture, shyness of contact with community at large and economic backwardness.

The Assam government has strongly used these arguments the groups extreme backwardness, distinct cultural traits, shyness of contact with community at large and differences with the Hindu fold of Vaishnavites in its reports to seek ST status for the ethnic communities.

For the Morans, who live in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh, the government has shown that the group, which is close to the Muttocks, has been socially despised through the ages.

See the rest here:
Delhi clears decks for ST status to 3 tribes