First, a clarification. When you talk of ‘adivasis’ in Assam, you are referring to those communities which have their roots in various tribal areas of present-day Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, MP and AP. They were either brought to Assam by the British to work on the tea plantations, or came after being dispersed during the Santhal uprising, and fall into two categories: the tea plantation labourers in Upper Assam, and those of the same origin who work as farm hands elsewhere in the state.

The adivasis and tea tribes (as tea plantation labourers have come to be known) of Assam have been agitating for Scheduled Tribe status for more than two decades now, with successive governments — whether headed by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the Congress or the BJP — extending support to the demand. But they are not the only community in the state clamouring for ST status. Five others — the Tai-Ahom, Moran, Matak, Chutiya and Koch-Rajbangshi — all of them currently in the list of OBCs, have launched similar agitations. Saturday’s demonstration, which turned violent and provoked extreme retaliation from a section of citizens in Guwahati, was one such example of such an agitation.

But what raises questions is the administration and police handling — or rather mishandling — of the agitation. About 5,000 agitators, some armed with bows and arrows, arrived by the busloads in the city. They then marched towards the state secretariat though they did not have permission from the authorities to do so. Meanwhile, the police remained mute spectators.

... contd.