Non-�khilonjia� classification of TE communities evokes massive protest

DIBRUGARH, March 23 - In a rare show of strength and unity, some 18 separate organisations of the tea and ex-tea garden working communities, cutting across their differences, organised a massive gathering of the tea and ex- tea garden working communities at Chowkidinghee ground here to assert that no force can classify them as second class citizens in the State and the country.

The �Vishal Gana Samabesh� (mass gathering) where approximately 50,000 people were in attendance, was in response to pro-talk ULFA leader Anup Chetia-led Khilonjiya Mancha, Asom (Indigenous Forum, Assam) recent statement, wherein the Mancha had said that only those who resided before the Yandaboo Treaty of February 24, 1826, when Assam was attached to the British empire, were indigenous and that tea garden communities and a few others who settled later were not indigenous, but were part of the greater Assamese community. The Khilonjiya Mancha, Asom had brought out the definition of �khilonjiya� during its two-day convention on February 12 and 13, 2018 in Guwahati.

The statement by the Khilonjiya Mancha, Asom had hurt the sentiments of the people in the tea gardens and had invited severe protest from members of the community. Leaders of various organisations of the tea garden communities felt that a concerted effort was being made to classify the tea garden working community as second class citizens. They had therefore decided for this mass gathering under the banner of Chah Jonogusti Adivasi Joutha Mancha, a union of some 18 organisations from the tea and ex-tea garden communities to protest and assert their rights.

The Mancha included members of Assam Tea Tribes Students� Association, All Adivasi Students� Association of Assam, Asom Chah Jonogusti Jatiya Mahasabha, Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, Asom Chah Jonogusti Sahitya Sabha, Adivasi Jatiya Mahasabha, Assam Tea Labour Union, Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangha, Chah Jonogusti Adivasi Boudhik Mancha, Adivasi Chah Jonogusti Surakhya Samiti, Sadou Adivasi Chah Jonojati Jagaran Sanstha, Asom Chah Jonojati Mahila Samiti, Chah U Praktan Chah Jonojati Yuva Sanstha, Sadou Santal Chatra Sanstha, Adivasi Mukti Sangram Samiti, Gono Adhikar Sangram Samiti and International Santhal Parishad. The meeting was presided over by Rajen Kumar, president of ATTSA.

Dr Devabrata Sharma, noted researcher and Principal of Jorhat College was the key speaker on the occasion. Dr Sharma came up with a stack of books to prove his claim that the tea garden communities lived in the State much before 1826. He said that there were archaeological records about the existence of Austric Mundas (one of the major communities from the tea gardens) some 5,000 years ago.

�Why talk about 1826? Lets go beyond,� he said and showed an archaeological book (50 years after Daojali Hading) where it is clearly mentioned that Austric Mundas had lived in Assam 5,000 years ago. He also referred to Dr Banikanta Kakati�s Ph D thesis titled, �Assamese, its Formation and Development� where he said, Kakati had shown numerous Assamese words taken from Mundari and Santali.

Dr Sharma further referred to Munda Dhunkonari, a Mundari dictionary published from Ranchi, where he said, hundreds of Munda words are similar to Assamese. �There is also no mention of the word �khilonjia� in the Assamese dictionaries of 1795, 1810, 1814, 1839, 1841, 1864 and 1867,� he said.

Rejecting the �khilonjiya� definition of the Khilonjiya Mancha, Asom, Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya, chief adviser of All Assam Students� Union (AASU) said that the people of the tea gardens of Assam are �khilonjiya� (indigenous) and an indispensable part of the �Asomiya Jatiya Jibon�.

�Today, Asomiya Jati is formed comprising various tribes, castes, linguistic groups and faiths. Therefore, Asomiya Jati is not complete without the communities from the tea gardens. There should not be any doubt or apprehension about it. AASU has been reiterating in different parts of the State that formation of Asomiya Jati is not possible without the tea garden communities. Who says people of the tea gardens are not �khilonjiya�? We do not endorse any divisive statements. Tea garden working communities of Assam are a crucial part of Asomiya Jati and are indigenous people of Assam,� said Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya.

Former president of Asam Sahitya Sabha Dr Nagen Saikia in his speech said that in the quest for development and progress, a community or society has always faced hindrances from outside forces. �Some vested interest groups will create disturbances by seeking to apply the �Divide and Rule� policy. But an impressive gathering like this can always thwart such efforts. I think no one can disintegrate you,� opined Dr Saikia.

Other speakers included Assam Chah Mazddoor Sangha president Paban Singh Ghatowar, International Santhal Parishad president Prithibi Majhi, Supreme Court lawyer Upamanyu Hazarika, ATTSA general secretary Pawan Bedia, AASAA leader Godwin Hembrom and several others.

The entire tea industry in Upper Assam was affected due to the mass gathering. Traffic movement was disrupted for the major part of the day due to the swarming crowd from all roads in the city.