GUWAHATI, June 17 – The State Government, in its bid to calm frayed tempers, today said that no final decision has yet been taken regarding the granting of 6th Schedule status to the Misings in upper Assam. It has also assured that the interests of the non-Misings in the area would not be compromised in any way. State Welfare of Plains Tribes and Backward Classes (WPT & BC) Minister Bharat Narah said during a press conference at the Janata Bhawan here that fears, being fuelled by the opposition AGP, that the Misings are on the verge of being accorded 6th Schedule status, are totally off the mark. The Cabinet Sub-Committee that visited the area recently had only gone for “preliminary investigations,” he said.
“No concrete decision on granting 6th Schedule status has been taken so far,” Narah stated. He added that the final decision, in any case, rests with the Centre. The State Government’s role is confined to making the necessary recommendation, he said. The State Governent, meanwhile, has invited the All Assam Tai Ahom Students’ Union (AATASU) for discussions over the issue. A meeting has been fixed at the Janata Bhawan on June 21, said Narah. The AATASU has been very vocal in expressing concern over the move to grant Constitutional recognition to the Misings. It has even called an upper Assam bandh over the issue.
The issue of granting 6th Schedule status to the Mising community has led to ethnic tension in upper Assam, particularly in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts where the Misings have a significant presence. The AGP has accused the ruling Congress of playing a “dirty political game” on the pretext of granting recognition to the Mising community. The Cabinet Sub-Committee, headed by Health Minister Bhumidhar Barman, had visited the concerned area and taken note of the people’s opinion on the issue. “We only went for spot verification,” the Minister said.
Narah accused the AGP of spreading rumours to the effect that the fate of the non-Misings would be sealed if the 6th Schedule status were accorded to them. “The AGP is instigating the people,” he said, adding that till the time the AGP had an electoral alliance with the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK) and the Mising Memak Kebang (MMK), the two frontline Mising organisations, it had remained silent over the issue. “But the moment the alliance broke up it raked up the issue.”
Attacking the AGP for raising the issue, the WPT&BC Minister said that it was in fact the AGP that brought the 6th Schedule to the plain areas in the form of the first BTC accord. The 6th Schedule was initially meant exclusively for the hill tribes, he said. “In a way the AGP has compelled the Congress to accept this formula.” He further said that in March 2001, when the AGP was in power, the Mising Autonomous Council (MAC) Act was amended in the Assembly to bring the core and satellite concepts. According to that the core area included the tribal sub-plan area, the tribal belt, the tribal block and villages with a majority Mising population.
“We want to reduce the core area,” Narah stated, adding that it would be confined to the 100 percent Mising populated parts. Dhemaji town, for example, would be outside the purview of the 6th Schedule area, he said. Outlining the State Government’s concept of the 6th Schedule status for the Misings, Narah said that no general village would be included in the Schedule area. “It will be done only with 100 percent Mising population areas in the Mising Autonomous Council.” He said that some sub-divisions and districts might have to be “reorganised” for this. “It will not be like the BTAD (for the Bodos),” he explained.
“The 6th Schedule status will not be a detriment to the general people. Their interests will be protected by keeping them outside the 6th Schedule area,” Narah assured. He said that the ethnic tension that was fuelled by the AGP has been reduced considerably since the creation of a peace committee including the people and the civil and police administration. “The situation is much better now.”