Dibrugarh: Following the Assam government’s decision to bring the Mising, Tiwa, and Rabha communities under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, demands have intensified from the Sonowal Kachari, Deori, and Thengal Kachari communities for similar constitutional protection and autonomous governance.
At a press conference held at Banikanta Pegu Bhawan in Dibrugarh on Friday, leaders of various organisations welcomed the inclusion of the Mising, Tiwa, and Rabha communities but strongly criticised the state government for excluding the Sonowal Kachari, Deori, and Thengal Kachari groups.
The organisations termed the exclusion “discriminatory and unjust,” asserting that their long-standing demands have once again been ignored.
Earlier in the day, Abdul Deori, president of the Deori Assong Sixth Schedule Demand Committee, convened a joint meeting.
Representatives of the All Assam Sonowal Kachari Students’ Union, Deori Assong Sixth Schedule Demand Committee, Sonowal Kachari Yuva Parishad, members of the Sonowal Kachari community, and the All Assam Deori Mahila Parishad attended the meeting.
The organisations unanimously resolved to launch a joint movement to press for Sixth Schedule status and constitutional safeguards for the three communities.
The meeting resolved to base their demand on the recommendations of the 1996 Bhuria Committee Report, submitted to Parliament by Dilip Singh Bhuria, and on the precedent of the formation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in 1983, which brought three districts under the Sixth Schedule.
The organisations decided to formally present these arguments to both the Assam government and the Centre.
As part of the agitation plan, the organisations announced a joint mass sit-in protest in Guwahati on January 19, demanding Sixth Schedule inclusion for the Sonowal Kachari, Deori, and Thengal Kachari communities.
They also resolved to organise a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on February 5, with the participation of national-level organisations of the three tribes.
The organisations have decided to submit a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his proposed visit to the Mising Festival at Kareng Chapori in Bogibeel later this month, urging the Centre to address their demands.
Representatives of all three communities formed a coordination committee to steer the joint movement.
The committee appointed Kiranban Deori, Milan Sonowal, and Prafulla Thengal (Saikia) as conveners.
Addressing the media, Milan Sonowal pointed out that communities with much smaller populations had received Sixth Schedule status in the past.
He cited examples from Mizoram, where the Lakher community, with a population of around 25,000, received autonomous status as early as 1952, as well as the Chakma and Mara areas.
He also referred to Tripura, where authorities formed an autonomous district council in 1982 despite a comparatively smaller population.
Questioning the rationale of the government, Sonowal said the Sonowal Kachari community, with a population of over four lakh, the Deori community, with nearly two lakh people, and the Thengal Kachari community, with over one lakh population, were being denied their rightful constitutional protection.
He also mentioned that authorities had brought areas like the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, and Garo Hills under the Sixth Schedule despite their smaller populations.
Leaders Kiranban Deori and Abdul Deori also criticised the government for prioritising only the Mising, Tiwa, and Rabha communities while ignoring the Sonowal Kachari, Deori, and Thengal Kachari groups, despite their geographical proximity and shared concerns.
They expressed deep concern over alleged encroachment by outsiders in Tribal Sub-Plan areas and warned that the three communities would jointly intensify their agitation in the coming days.
The leaders also cautioned that, particularly in Upper Assam, no community’s traditional areas should be wrongly included in the territorial maps of other Sixth Schedule regions, even inadvertently.