Dibrugarh (Assam), Oct 28 (PTI) Thousands of people from Assam’s Tai-Ahom community on Tuesday staged a torchlight protest march in Charaideo district to demand their immediate inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category.
Protesters from the Upper Assam district came to Moran town in large numbers, marching from different locations to the main playground at Ushanagar in the evening.
The demonstration, organised by several influential Tai-Ahom organisations, including Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad, Assam (TAYPA) and the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (ATASU), saw agitators marching through the town with burning torches while chanting slogans of ‘No ST, No Rest’.
Addressing the gathering, TAYPA president Diganta Tamuly said the Tai-Ahom community would not hesitate to “boycott the BJP” if their demand was not met.
“For over a decade, since 2014, we have waited for the BJP to fulfill its promise of granting ST status to the Tai-Ahom community. We will not tolerate this betrayal any longer. If our demands are not met soon, the Tai-Ahoms will boycott the BJP in the 2026 assembly polls. They will face severe backlash,” he added.
The Tai-Ahom community wields considerable electoral influence in Upper Assam, particularly in the districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Golaghat, Tinsukia, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur.
Assam’s Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tai-Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea-Tribes communities have been demanding ST status for many years, while multiple assurances by many senior BJP leaders and ministers for granting the reservation are being offered regularly.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said that the report by the Group of Ministers (GoM) on granting ST status to six communities will be tabled in the assembly during the upcoming Winter Session, scheduled to start from November 25.
On October 8 and October 13, thousands of Tea Tribe workers participated in protest rallies in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh towns respectively, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and highlighting urgent socio-economic concerns.
Earlier, thousands of members of the indigenous Motok community held a massive torchlight rally on September 28 at Sadiya in Tinsukia district of Assam, demanding ST status promised to them a decade ago and the upgrade of their autonomous council. PTI TR COR TR ACD
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