Tribal ferment

The blast on the Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express that claimed five lives this week points to the disturbing currents that are roiling in Assam8217;s multi-ethnic cauldron. That terrible blast will be seen in the context of the continuing struggle spearheaded by the adivasis for Scheduled Tribe status under the banner of the All Adivasi Students Association of Assam. That agitation vaulted into the national headlines late last month with its ugly scenes of violence and vandalism on Guwahati8217;s streets, and in particular the shameful tableau of a mob stripping a young woman. The Gogoi government must heed the warning of the building unrest; on it rests the onus of insulating the turbulence from the predatory identity politics that has been the bane of Assam in recent history.

In a sense, the Gogoi government faces an uphill task not entirely of its own making. The demand of the adivasis for ST status harks back to a history of struggle against ad hoc state policy and perceived denial of identity. These adivasis are the descendants of various tribal communities of central India who, over a century and a half ago, went there or were indentured to work in the tea gardens of eastern India. They ceased to be recognised as tribals because the rules stipulate that a person8217;s tribal identity is irrevocably linked to his or her place of origin. Such rules govern even the movement of tribal communities within Assam 8212; the Hill Tribes and the Plains Tribes do not carry their tribal identity when they move out of their 8220;designated areas8221;. But the rules, peculiar as they are, form only one part of the story. The other part features political entrepreneurs in all parties who have exploited the fact that identities can be constructed and reinforced, and even invented, in politics.

The Congress is seen to have opportunistically stoked the adivasi demand, guided by compulsions of vote-bank politics. Today it is in a bind: on the one side is the demand of the adivasis and of five other communities at present listed as OBC for ST status; on the other, is the shrill resistance being put up by tribal groups like the All Assam Tribal Sangha against including more communities in the ST list. The Gurjjar agitation in Rajasthan framed the predicament that the Gogoi government now finds itself in. It must now find a wise and peaceful way out.