Thousands of people from Assam's tea tribe and Adivasi communities staged a massive protest rally in Dibrugarh on Monday, demanding immediate inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, increase in daily wages, and legal land allotments.
Protesters from across Dibrugarh district marched from four key locations to the Chowkidinghee intersection, leading to major traffic congestion during peak hours.
Several schools in the town declared a holiday in anticipation of disruptions, officials said. Because of the rally, work at 218 tea estates, 24,000 small growers' plantations and 70 bought-leaf factories were affected as thousands of workers participated in the protest.
The rally was organised jointly by the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA), All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam (AASAA), 36 Janajati Parishad and Chah Jonogustiyo Jatiya Mahasabha. Addressing the gathering, ATTSA president Dhiraj Gowala said, “Despite being one of the largest communities in the state, we remain the most deprived. The BJP has used our support to win elections, yet it fails to deliver justice.”
If land can be allotted for BJP party offices and private projects inside tea garden estates, why cannot the landless tea workers be given legal land rights, he asked. ACMS Dibrugarh secretary Nabin Chandra Keot alleged that even after 78 years of Independence, tea tribes and Adivasi communities live in poverty, and have been denied access to basic rights.
