Assam Cabinet okays report on ST status for 6 communities Assam Govt acts, Manipur Govt sleeps

IMP/GHY, Nov 27
In a significant move ahead of next year's Assembly elections, the Assam Government has approved the Group of Ministers (GoM) report recommending that the Centre grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities of the State.
The decision comes amid sustained protests by these communities over their long-pending demand. If the Centre grants approval, Assam will be categorised as a tribal State.
GoM Report On Scheduled Tribe Status Cleared
The Assam Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, met last evening at Lok Sewa Bhawan and approved several key decisions.
One of the major decisions was clearing the GoM report on granting ST status to six major communities - Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Motok, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes (Adivasis). The GoM was headed by Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu, with Ministers Pijush Hazarika and Keshab Mahanta as members.
The report will now be placed before the Assam Legislative Assembly and subsequently forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
"The report will be placed in the Assam Legislative Assembly and thereafter sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs," the Chief Minister said. "I hope that this report will represent the aspirations of all of us."
He added that the Tribal Affairs Department would send the report to the Assembly today.
"Tomorrow (November 27), the Tribal Affairs Department will send this report to the Assam Assembly, and the Speaker of the State Assembly will allow the report to be tabled in the ongoing session of the State Assembly. The Speaker will decide when the report will be tabled," the Chief Minister had said on Wednesday, ANI reported.
The decision of the Assam Cabinet is bound to kick up a lot of interest in neighbouring Manipur.
In 2013, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs had written to the State Government to send the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis to study whether the said community fits the bill to be tagged a Scheduled Tribe or not.
The intimation from the Centre came following the growing demand that the Meiteis be included in the ST list of the Constitution.
Though not included in the ST list, the Meiteis were referred to as a tribal group of people by the British.
The State Government however slept over the message from the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry, compelling the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur (STDCM) to take to the streets to demand the same.
The STDCM had gone on a house to house campaigning of all the 40 Meitei MLAs to elicit support to the demand.
Other bodies, including the Meetei/Meitei Tribe Union (MMTU), World Meetei Council, Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL) and others too jumped in backed the ST for Meiteis demand.  
Later a missed call campaign soliciting support to the demand was launched with more than 10 lakh missed calls logged during the campaign.
The missed call campaign was launched by the MMTU in the latter part of 2023.
The Cabinet also approved the modification and transfer of three bighas of land from the Government Muga Farm at Reshom Nagar, Khanapara, under the Handloom, Textiles & Sericulture Department, to the Cultural Affairs Department.
The land will be used to set up a modern museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing Assam's rich textile heritage. To be developed with support from JSW I&P Holdings Pvt. Ltd., the museum will feature the historic Vrindavani Vastra, which is being brought on loan from the British Museum, London.

Staff Reporter/NDTV