ST Status: Assam Ethnic Groups do not Meet Criteria Setting at rest all speculations over granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities of Assam, the Tribal Affairs Ministry has declared that the communities could not fulfill the five criteria for identification as scheduled tribes. In what could yet again spell trouble for the Tarun Gogoi Government, Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has sought to clarify once and for all, the Centre’s stand on the demand for grant of ST status to the six communities, in a reply to a Rajya Sabha question by Santiuse Kujur. The Government of Assam had recommended ST status for the Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Moran, Mattak and tea tribe communities on various occasions. “But these communities could not fulfill the criteria,” he declared. The proposal for identification of communities for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes should meet the five criteria. These include: indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large and backwardness.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 05:02:59 +0000
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