DIBRUGARH, July 21 � All Adivasi Students� Association of Assam (AASAA) has expressed doubt over State Government�s assurance to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Adivasi communities of the State.
�The Tarun Gogoi-led State Government is not keen in granting ST status to the Adivasis. From what we have gathered, the State Government is not sincere and totally lacks political will in this regard,� Raphael Kujur, president, AASAA said. A delegation of AASAA leadership met the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi recently but were unsatisfied with the CM�s response. AASAA president today said that they would proceed to Delhi to find out the reason as to why they were not declared scheduled tribe despite assurance from both the Centre and the State Government.
Both the State Government and the Union Home Ministry had stated recently that Adivasis would be granted ST status and as a follow-up, had sought ethnography report from few intellectuals of the community. The ethnography report of the communities was submitted several months back, but the government has not responded yet. It needs to be mentioned here that Adivasi communities � Mundas, Oraons, Santhals, Kharias and few others enjoy the ST status in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, etc. but are deprived here.
�We have made up our mind to meet the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Tribal Affairs Minister, Registrar General of India (RGI) and chairman of the ST Commission on July 27 in New Delhi,� Kujur said. This meeting will bring out the truth about the commitment and sincerity of the state government as well as the Centre, AASAA leader said. Kujur also said that they would take to streets and resort to all forms of democratic agitations across the state if the demand for ST status was turned down.
