Guwahati, December 1, 2025 – Simmering discontent among Assam's indigenous Scheduled Tribes (STs) boiled over into widespread protests on Sunday, as tribal organizations vowed a "total blockade" across the state if the government pushes ahead with a controversial report recommending ST status for six additional communities. The move, aimed at addressing long-standing demands from these groups, has ignited fears of diluted quotas, eroded land rights, and diminished constitutional protections for the existing 14 ST communities, setting the stage for a potential escalation ahead of key elections.
The flashpoint is an interim report by a three-member Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Tribal Affairs (Plains) Minister Ranoj Pegu and including ministers Pijush Hazarika and Keshab Mahanta, tabled in the Assam Assembly on November 29 during the winter session's closing day. The document endorses the inclusion of Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Matak, Koch-Rajbongshi, and Tea Tribes (Adivasis) in the ST list, citing their socio-economic backwardness as validated by the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Backed by Union Cabinet approval, the proposal awaits parliamentary nod for statutory implementation.
To mitigate backlash, the GoM proposes a tripartite ST classification: ST (Plains), ST (Hills), and a new ST (Valley) category exclusively for the six communities. This would entail separate reservation rosters, vacancy registers, and quotas to prevent overlap with existing benefits, alongside interim safeguards like equivalent land settlement privileges, OBC quota sub-categorization into seven tiers (prioritizing tea garden workers), and integration under the Department of Indigenous and Tribal Faith and Culture for heritage preservation.
Opposition has been swift and fierce. The Coordination Committee of Tribal Organizations of Assam (CCTOA), an umbrella body of 26 groups representing Bodo, Mising, Dimasa, Karbi, Rabha, Tiwa, and others, led the charge by publicly burning copies of the report at the Tribal Rest House in Guwahati on Sunday. CCTOA chief coordinator Aditya Khakhlari decried the recommendations as "unacceptable," warning that adding these "populous and advanced communities" would slash educational and employment opportunities for current STs, already grappling with limited 5% reservation in the state. "This is not inclusion; it's dilution of our hard-fought rights," Khakhlari told reporters, demanding a high-level meeting with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma or the launch of a "mass democratic movement" starting Monday at all district headquarters.
Protests erupted across the state. In Kokrajhar, hundreds of students from Bodoland University stormed the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Secretariat on Saturday, breaching barricades, vandalizing furniture, and targeting effigies of Sarma and BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary in a bid to "expose anti-tribal betrayal." BTC Assembly Speaker Tridip Daimary condemned the violence as a "premeditated assault," calling for arrests and revealing intelligence of assassination plots against Bodo leaders. The agitation spilled into Boko, where demonstrators blocked the national highway and torched the report, while at Cotton University in Guwahati, over 200 students from eight tribal groups rallied, submitting a memorandum insisting that Chapter X of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 – granting land protections – remain exclusive to existing STs.
Social media amplified the unrest, with videos of the BTC breach and highway blockades going viral, drawing accusations of "electoral maneuvering" from opposition voices. Activist Akhil Gogoi, meanwhile, staged a counter-protest outside the Assembly in support of the six communities, slamming the government for stalling a 2019 Rajya Sabha bill and framing the demand as "justice, not privilege."
Chief Minister Sarma, addressing the uproar on Sunday, dismissed fears as "misconceptions from improper reading" of the report, reiterating that "not a single right or privilege of existing ST (Plains) or ST (Hills) communities will be touched." He announced a three-member cabinet committee – mirroring the GoM – to brief CCTOA and other stakeholders in detail, expressing openness to further dialogues. "We formed this GoM after careful consultation; the ST (Valley) ring-fencing ensures equity for all," Sarma said, urging calm to avoid "unnecessary division."
The row traces back to decade-old agitations by the six communities, a BJP poll promise since 2016 that has intertwined with broader identity politics in Assam's multi-ethnic mosaic. With seven more groups eyeing OBC upgrades and elections looming, critics like the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) warn of a "reservation free-for-all" that could fracture alliances. Disability rights advocates and economists, however, praise the GoM's sub-categorization as a "pragmatic step" toward targeted welfare.
As security ramps up in tribal hotspots and CCTOA mulls its next move, Assam braces for what could be its most divisive quota battle yet. The coming days will test whether dialogue douses the flames or fuels a full-scale uprising.
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