A second shutdown has been called in Assam in less than two days.

A forum of tribal organisations has announced a 24-hour Assam bandh on Friday against the Centre’s move to grant Scheduled Tribe status to six “advanced” communities — Chutia, Motok, Moran, Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai-Ahom and Tea Tribes/Adivasis — which are currently categorised as Other Backward Classes.

This follows the 11-hour shutdown enforced by the All Assam Students’ Union and other organisation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

“We will not accept the draft Bill the Centre introduced in the Parliament on Wednesday for granting ST status to the six communities, some of whom were rulers of Assam for centuries. The move threatens to eat into the rights and privileges of the existing ST communities. Our protests will continue until the Bill is withdrawn,” a spokesperson of Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations said on Thursday.

Rally in Kokrajhar

The All Bodo Students’ Union, representing the largest of 14 recognised tribes in Assam, organised a rally against the move along with All Assam Tribal Sangha in western Assam’s Kokrajhar on Thursday.

“The six communities in question are more advanced than the existing tribes educationally, politically and economically. Assam has 38 lakh tribal people while these six groups account for more than 1.5 crore of Assam’s 3.12 crore people. We are doomed if they become ST,” Promode Boro, ABSU president and coordinator of the committee, said.

The committee criticised Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and 26 other tribal MLAs, including four Ministers, for failing to resist the introduction of the Bill.

Leaders of the six communities, too, were sceptical of the Bill since the Centre plans to make them ‘other ST’, a category not included in the Constitution. “It is an election gimmick. We will not accept it unless the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that threatens our existence is scrapped,” said Arunjyoti Moran, a leader of the Moran community.

Bodo tangle

Another decision by the Centre — to grant ST status to the Bodos living in the hill districts of Assam — has rubbed the hill tribes the wrong way. A 24-hour shutdown from 5 a.m. on Friday has been called in two hill districts to protest this move.

The tribes of Assam are divided into hill and plains dwellers. The Bodos are ST (Plains) and are not considered tribal in the hills while communities such as Karbi and Dimasa are ST (Hills) and do not enjoy tribal status in the plains.

“This is a dangerous move unless the Centre reciprocates with a similar move for the hill dwellers. Most Bodos are migrants in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts, and granting ST status to them will take away much of the 7.5% quota for the hill tribes,” said Holiram Terang, a former MLA and president of Autonomous State Demand Committee.