[Assam] Adivasi and ST status

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

 Adivasi and ST  statusThe  recent spate of violence has given a new dimension to the long-standing demand  for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status of the Adivasis of the State. Unnerved by the  deteriorating situation, the Centre made a hasty retreat from its earlier stand,  stating that the ST status for the Adivasis was under active consideration. It  was an act apparently aimed at smoothening ruffled feathers, as only a few days  back, Union Home Minister Patil had referred to the Registrar General of India’s  (RGI) recommendation against ST status for the Adivasis. It is precisely this  inept handling of a sensitive issue that is at the root of the growing unrest  among the Adivasis over the years. The dithering of the Centre only goes to show  that it had been far from sincere on the issue, making one wonder whether  political interests alone have guided its role on the issue. The State  Government’s position, however, has been consistent in recent times with the  Assam
 Assembly adopting a unanimous resolution in 2005 supporting the demand for  scheduling of six communities including the tea tribes (Adivasis). The granting  of ST status requires the consent of three bodies – the State Government  concerned, the RGI and the National Commission for SC and ST. And the absence of  any timeframe to grant ST status makes it possible to prolong the issues –  something that needs to be changed by placing a mechanism that resolves such  matters within a timeframe. The main contention of the RGI against granting of  ST status for Adivasis is that they had have lost their tribal characteristics  by assimilating with the local people and they are also not among the State’s  aboriginal people. That is why Adivasis are STs in their home States like  Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, etc., and not in Assam where they were brought by the  British some 200 years back to engage them as labourers in tea cultivation. On  the other hand, it is a fact that the
 Adivasis are socially and educationally  backward compared to many other tribes. Now the time has come for the Centre to  take a firm decision on the matter and settle it convincingly once and for all.  No one would object to the granting of ST status to Adivasis if they fulfil the  required criteria. However, acting in haste and conferring the ST status  immediately would set a bad precedent, as it would encourage other parties  raising similar demands to resort to violence to achieve their objectives. It  must be made clear to the Adivasis that they are under a constitutional  obligation to redress their grievances through peaceful means and not through  violent agitations. Assam Tribune Editorial 02.12.07

       
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