Guwahati, Aug 21: A coalition of tribal organisations has announced a 48-hour bandh from August 23 in protest against the Assam government’s decision to grant protected class status to several non-tribal groups within the historic Tirap tribal belt in Tinsukia.
“We will begin the blockade at 5 am on August 23 and continue it for 48 hours. We will lift it only if Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirms a meeting with us,” said a member of the7 Margherita District Tribal Association.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is scheduled to address a large public gathering in Margherita on August 24.
“We will intensify the agitation if the Assam government does not roll back its recent move. We believe this decision will open the Tirap Tribal Belt to non-tribal settlements,” said a member of the tribal association.
The groups have set a 5 pm deadline on August 23 for the government to publicly clarify its position and reaffirm existing safeguards.
The Assam cabinet recently approved the inclusion of seven communities as protected classes in the Tirap Tribal Belt, enabling land settlement for individuals residing there since before 2011.
The communities include Ahom, Matak, Moran, Chutia, Gorkha, Tea Garden and Adivasi groups. The inclusion was made under Section 160(2) of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886.
The Tirap Tribal Belt, created by government notification on March 13, 1951, has historically been home to communities such as the Singpho, Tangsa, Sema, Khamti, Khamyang, Tai Phake, Aiton, Turung, Mising, Sonowal, Deori, Bodo, Mech and Rabha, along with several other ethnic groups who have lived in harmony for generations.
