Assam to submit memorandum to Centre on tribal status for six communities: Ranoj Pegu

Guwahati, Jan 9: The Assam government will soon submit a memorandum to the Central government on the long-pending demand for tribal status for six communities, with a focus on ensuring that the process does not adversely affect any group, Assam Cabinet Minister Ranoj Pegu said on Friday.

Speaking on the issue, Pegu said the mandate given by the Centre was to examine how the six communities could be “tribalised” without causing harm to existing communities or disrupting the current reservation framework.

He said the state has already carried out a detailed assessment and is in the process of submitting the final memorandum to the Union Home Ministry in New Delhi.

“We will submit the memorandum soon to the Central government in Delhi. The mandate we received from Delhi was very specific and was on how to grant tribal status to these communities without harming them or others,” Pegu said.

He explained that the state government examined three critical aspects before finalising the report: the quantum of reservation to be provided, the implications of removing the six communities from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and the revised reservation percentage for the residual communities that would remain under the OBC category after such removal.

“These six communities are currently in the OBC category. Once they are taken out, we had to carefully examine what the reservation percentage would be for the remaining communities in that category. We studied all these aspects and prepared the memorandum accordingly,” he said.

Pegu emphasised that the issue is a “long-term legacy matter” and should not be politicised or turned into an election plank.

“This is not an issue that should be politicised or made into an election issue. There must be a proper and durable solution, and we are sincerely working towards that through a streamlined and institutional process,” he said.

Clarifying that there are no new recommendations or major amendments in the report, the minister said the government has only corrected factual or numerical inaccuracies where required.

“There are no new recommendations or amendments. However, wherever there were wrong facts or figures, we have corrected them,” he said.

Citing an example, Pegu said a minor error related to the Matak community was identified and has since been resolved.

“There was a slight error in the case of the Matak community, which we have now corrected. After this correction, the report will be submitted to the Home Ministry,” he added.

The minister further stated that the report on the tribal classification of the six communities is expected to be formally submitted just before the upcoming elections. According to him, the timing is procedural and should not be misconstrued as politically motivated.

Reiterating the government’s commitment, Pegu said the objective is to ensure social justice while maintaining balance within the reservation system. “This is about finding a solution that is fair, constitutional and sustainable. We are confident that the process we are following will lead to a meaningful outcome,” he said.

The demand for tribal status for the six communities has been a long-standing and sensitive issue in Assam, with wide social and political implications.