GUWAHATI: The Minister of Tribal Affairs in Assam, Ranoj Pegu, announced on September 14 that the process of granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six ethnic groups in the state is currently under consideration by the Union Government.
The Assam Government earlier in June started discussing the contentious issue of granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six ethnic groups of the state.
The first round of talks with the representatives of various ethnic organisations over the issue of granting tribal status was held on Tuesday at the Administrative Staff College in Guwahati.
Several tribal organisations of Assam were opposed to the demand of granting Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to six ethnic groups of Assam - Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Tea Tribes, and Koch Rajbongshi.
To iron out the differences, Assam’s Tribal Affairs Minister Ranoj Pegu and Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pijush Hazarika had the first round of meetings with the representatives of tribal organisations and explore the possibilities to find out ways to resolve the long-standing matter.