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Assam Group of Ministers to report on ST status in February
Why is it in news?
- The Group of Ministers (GoM) formed by government to study the issue of granting the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities in Assam will submit its report on February 15.
Union cabinet earlier decision
- The Union government introduced a Bill in Parliament to declare the six communities :
- Adivasi (Tea Tribes), Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, Matak, Moran and Ta-Ahom .
- The Scheduled Tribes after approval from the Registrar-General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
- Assam’s 14 recognised tribes, divided into the Scheduled Tribe (Hills) and the Scheduled Tribe (Plains), are opposed to the plan for granting the status to the six communities.
- They say most of these communities are educationally, politically and financially more advanced than them, besides outnumbering them.
- According to the coordination committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam, the State’s total tribal population is 3.8 million, while the six communities account for more than 15 million of the State’s 31.2 million people.
Source
The Hindu