Won’t accept any Act affecting our interest, say tribal bodies

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: A joint meeting of representatives of the tribal autonomous councils and the ITSS (Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabha) has said that they are not going to accept any Act that may affect the tribal and indigenous people of the State – their language, tradition, literature, culture, and identity.

The meeting was convened by the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organizations of Assam (CCTOA). In a statement issued to the media on Saturday, CCTOA’s chief convener Aditya Khaklari said, “The wording of the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord needs to be changed by using of a phrase that can include all ethnic groups and indigenous tribal people of the State instead of the phrase ‘Assamese people’.”

The meeting took a decision opposing ST status to six ethnic groups – Moran, Mottok, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Tea Tribe and Koch-Rajbongshi.

The meeting also felt the need for amendment of a number of clauses of the new Land Policy of the State. The meeting demanded the government to hold talks with the indigenous tribal people, autonomous councils and the ITSS on the policy before placing it in the State Assembly.

The meeting also took a resolution to meet the President of India, the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister with a memorandum demanding constitutional safeguards to the indigenous tribal people of the State.

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