On Friday, The 24-hour Assam bandh called by the All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) affected many districts. Bongaigaon, Gossaigaon, and Golakganj are such districts where normal life is disrupted by the bandh.
On the other hand, Protesters set fire to tires, raised slogans, and marched against the government for failing to respond to their demands. Normalcy was interrupted in many parts of lower and central Assam as the statewide protest over the demand for ST status continued.
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According to AKRSU, approximately 58,000 people from the Koch Rajbongshi community were left out of the final NRC published on August 31, which excluded approximately 19 lakh claimants from the citizenship register.
Meanwhile, Members of Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad Assam (TAYPA), Assam Tea Tribes Students’Association (ATTSA), All Assam Mottok Yuba Chatra Sanmilan (AAMYCS), All Assam Chutia Students’Union (AACSU), All Assam Moran Students’Union (AAMSU), and All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Yuba Chatra Sanmilani (AAKRYCS) participated in protests and raised slogan.
24-hour Assam bandh and protests erupted a day after the cabinet approved a proposal to grant ST status to several communities in five states.
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On the other hand, neglecting Assam, many communities from five states have been granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status by the Union Cabinet. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the inclusion of four tribes from Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh on the list of Scheduled Tribes. Demands for community inclusion have been pending for decades, said Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda at a Cabinet briefing on September 14.
They excluded Assam’s six communities that have been seeking status for a long time. These Six Assamese communities- Tai Ahom, Matak, Moran, Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, and Tea Tribe – were awaiting Union Government approval to join the ST group.
