Guwahati: The Human Rights of Arunachal (HRA) has urged the Arunachal Pradesh government to drop its proposed July 13 consultation on extending Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Kachari community in Namsai and Changlang districts, aligning itself with the stand taken by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU).
Issuing a statement on July 10, HRA said any move involving the state’s Scheduled Tribe framework should be taken up only after holding wide-ranging consultations with indigenous tribal communities and securing their consensus.
HRA Chairman Kipa Kaha said Arunachal Pradesh’s constitutional and legal safeguards were designed to protect the land, identity, customs and traditional rights of its indigenous people.
He cautioned that any proposal capable of affecting the existing tribal structure must be examined with due care before any decision is taken.
The organisation maintained that questions relating to Scheduled Tribe recognition have far-reaching constitutional, political, social and cultural implications. It said such matters should not be considered unless indigenous communities are fully consulted and their views are taken into account.
HRA also pointed out that the Sonowal Kachari community is already recognised as a Scheduled Tribe in neighbouring Assam. It said any proposal to grant similar recognition in Arunachal Pradesh should be assessed through the constitutional process without compromising the protections guaranteed to the state’s indigenous tribes.
Referring to the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system and the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, Kaha said both mechanisms were introduced to preserve the identity, cultural heritage and customary rights of Arunachal Pradesh’s indigenous communities.
He added that these protections should not be weakened by decisions that could reshape the state’s existing tribal framework.
The organisation said the proposed July 13 exercise should be shelved in favour of a broader consultation process involving recognised indigenous stakeholders. It urged the state government, the Chief Secretary and the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Tribal Affairs (SJETA) to ensure that no decision affecting the state’s tribal protections is taken without their participation.