ST status plan for hill Bodos

Sishit Dholabhai, New Delhi, July 24:As Assam approaches the 2016 Assembly elections, decks are being cleared to grant ST (hills) status to the Bodo Kacharis (Bodos living in the hills of Assam), thus empowering the community living outside the Bodoland Territorial Council areas.

Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha this week that the Registrar-General of India had agreed to Assam's proposal to include Bodo Kacharis in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the hills of Assam. The state has separate lists for ST (hills) and ST (plains).

Government sources today said along with the recognition of Bodos as ST in the hills of Assam, the Karbis could also be recognised as ST in the plains. There is an estimated population of over 50,000 Bodos in Assam's twin hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao (erstwhile North Cachar Hills).

As Assam goes to the polls next year, chief minister Tarun Gogoi and the Narendra Modi-led NDA government will both in all likelihood claim credit for the change.

Rijiju, in a written answer to a question from Bodoland People's Front MP Biswajit Daimary, stated: "The RGI has agreed to the proposal (pertaining to Bodo Kachari). The comments of the RGI have been sent to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes."

He added that the NCST's concurrence to the proposal was now awaited.

The minister also stated that the state government's proposal to include Bodo Kacharis in the list of ST (hills) of Assam had been processed according to modalities.

Daimary had questioned the government on why it had not implemented clause 8 of the Bodo Accord signed among the Centre, the government of Assam and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) in 2003.

The clause states: "The government of India agrees to consider sympathetically the inclusion of the Bodo Kacharis living in Karbi Anglong and NC Hills Autonomous Council area in the ST (hill) list of the state of Assam."

Many in Assam are also awaiting the recognition of six other ethnic groups - Ahom, Moran, Muttock, Koch Rajbongshi, Sootea and tea tribes - as Scheduled Tribes. The state government has made several representations to the Centre for granting ST status to these tribes.

The Centre is in agreement with the state but needs to change rules, besides brace for opposition from some quarters, before it goes ahead with the proposal. Sources said the matter is still stuck in case of these six groups since it is a "complex issue".

A source said changes relating to some other tribes in other states are also likely to be cleared by the NCST.

Reacting to the development, a Bodo leader from Assam said, "This would allow them (Bodos living in the hills) to take part in the electoral process fully."

Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao are autonomous district councils following a settlement of the government with the United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD).

In 1999, the Centre had laid down the modalities (amended in 2002) to determine claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modifications in the orders specifying lists of Scheduled Tribes.

According to these modalities, only those proposals are processed which have been recommended and justified by the state government concerned or Union Territory administration and concurred with by the RGI and the NSCT.