Massive protests swept across Kokrajhar and other districts of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) on Thursday evening as the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and several tribal organisations rallied against the Assam Cabinet’s decision to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities.
Thousands of tribal residents—representing ABSU, CCTOA, BTC Tribal Coordination Committee, Tribal Sangha, Garo Students’ Union, All Rabha Students’ Union, Rabha Women Council, Bodo Samaj, Bodo Sahitya Sabha, and others—participated in a large march in Kokrajhar town, asserting that they would “never accept” the inclusion of these communities in the ST list.
The protest rally began at Bodofa Children’s Park along JD Road and moved towards the Kokrajhar Govt Higher Secondary & Multipurpose School playground. Demonstrators carried placards that read “We Reject ST Status for Six Communities” and “Withdraw Cabinet Decision,” while anti-government slogans echoed through the town.
Speaking to reporters, Khwrwmdao Wary, Vice President of ABSU, said the six communities proposed for ST status are already “socially, economically, politically, and educationally far more advanced” than the existing tribal groups of Assam. He warned that granting them tribal status would dilute the safeguards and rights of indigenous tribes.
Wary urged the state government to withdraw the decision immediately, failing which he warned of “stronger and more intensified” movements.
Similar demonstrations were reported in Udalguri, where the district committee of ABSU and other tribal organisations took out a protest march denouncing the Cabinet decision.
ABSU president Dipen Boro, who joined the rally, reiterated that tribal organisations across the state would not accept ST status for the six communities and demanded immediate withdrawal of the move.
At Bodoland University in Kokrajhar, tribal students intensified the agitation by boycotting their 3rd semester final examination scheduled for the day. Instead, students gathered at the university's main gate to protest the Cabinet decision, arguing that extending ST status further would dilute constitutional protections and reduce opportunities in education and employment for existing tribal groups.
The unrest forced the university authorities to postpone the examination, citing student agitation and campus tensions.
As protests continue to gain momentum across BTR, tribal organisations have indicated that the movement will intensify unless the government reverses its decision.
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