The Tai Ahom National Council Memo Scheduling

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mining method. Although the number of persons engaged in this industry is not very large in comparison to tea and petroleum, yet most people are drawn from outside the State, and the benefit goes to them. The Ahom populations who live mainly in the agricultural zones and are engaged in agriculture derive little or less benefit from these industries. Whatever they get, it is only peripherally. Backward in the their education to grab the technical jobs, they turned into unemployed. The unemployment rate among the agricultural population is very high. The gravity of unemployment has become a high risk and it is easier to lure them to anti-social or antiestablishment activities. These industries are only geographically located in Upper Assam. The local people do not derive benefits from them in any reasonable measure. It may be recalled that the forefathers of the present day Ahom made great sacrifices for the protection and preservation of the integrity of Assam. They proudly remember the great deeds of their heroes in the battles of Bharali (1616 A.D.), the battle of Hajo (1617-18), the naval battle of Koliabar (1662 A.D.), the battle of Itakhuli (1667 A.D.), the Battle of Saraighat (1671 A.D.) and the second battle of Itakhuli (1682 A.D.) fought against the mighty Mughal army. They respectfully remember the heroic deeds of the great generals and statesmen like Phra-senmong, Lachit Barphukan, Atan Buragohain, Mula Gabharu and many others. It is historical fact that the Ahom kingdom stood as a rock against the concerted and determined expansion to Burma and South-East Asian countries, and even China. That ever since the British took over their kingdom in 1826 and then in 1838, the Ahom have been living in the interior and backward areas of Upper Assam by engaging themselves in subsistence agriculture. In these tracts their neighbours are the Sonowal-Kacharis, Deoris, Mishings, Chutiyas, Moran-Matak and Koch, and later on came the tea tribes when the tea gardens were opened. That an altogether new political and social imbalance was created when, after Independence, the Sonowal-Kacharis, Deoris, and Mishings were listed as Scheduled Tribes (Plains) with reserved seats in the State Assembly and provision for reservation of jobs and educational benefits. Afterwards, however, a balance was sought to be maintained by declaring the Ahom, Chutiya, Koch, Matak-Moran and Tea Tribes as OBC and MOBC. But the enlistment of the Ahom, Chutiya, Koch, Moran-Matak and Tea Tribes in OBC & MOBC did not much improve their lot, and their aspirations largely remained unfulfilled.
There is another anomalous situation faced by the Ahom today. “On the basis of the 1945 July resolution the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation 1886 was amended in 1947 (Vide Act XV of 1947) and a new chapter (Chapter X) under the caption “Protection of Backward Classes” was added to it. The new legislation firstly, authorized the State Government to specify the backward classes who need ed protection…” Under the authority given by this new law, the State government identified the following classes of persons as “Protected Classes” for the purpose of Chapter X namely, - plains tribals, hills tribals, tea garden triblas, Santhals, Scheduled Caste, and Nepali Grazers or Cultivators.” (Anthropological Survey of India, Assam, Vol. XV, Part One, 2003, p. 35). The Ahoms are not included in the list.. The ever-rising immigration of Bangladeshis has further worsened the condition of the Ahoms in the area. On the other hand local tea gardens have been following a closed economy paying attention only to its ever-increasing labour problem in a manner without considering the plight of the indigenous people of the area. This has added to the economic plight of the Ahoms being without a cash supply means to them. Another very recent development in the progress is that the Deori, Mishing, Sonowal- Kachari who are Scheduled Tribes (Plains) and whose population are mainly concentrated in the seven districts of Upper Assam will have Autonomous bodies in governance of local affairs. The Government of Assam has finalized this process. This is certainly a good beginning for selfgovernance. But what concerns the Ahom is that the population of these scheduled tribes are not concentrated in one area but are spread over many localities interspersed by other non-scheduled tribes such as the Ahom, Chutiya, Moran and others. This might create some problems of covering contiguous areas and ultimately leading to political uneasiness among the local population who have been living in amity and social harmony. The creation of the Bodo Territorial Council covering the Bodo-living villages is a pointer in this respect. This problem will not arise if the Ahom, Chutiya, Moran-Matak, Koch and Tea Tribes are declared as Scheduled Tribes (Plains) and Autonomous Territorial Council is granted to several Tribes jointly to share governance in proportion to population. Such territorial autonomous bodies in the forms of county, district, prefecture, region have been granted and are working in several regions in the Peoples’ Republic of China. The case of Ahom is also reasonable and justified in the context of present-day multinational economy and globalization of the world order where the existence of small
Page 1 and 2: Additional Information and Further
Page 3 and 4: The British followed a subtle polic
Page 5 and 6: abolition of the paik system, even
Page 7 and 8: In recognition to their claim, the
Page 9 and 10: Government of India and His Majesty
Page 11 and 12: Dalton, Ethnology of Bengal; Alexan
Page 13 and 14: further aggravated during the seven
Page 15 and 16: All these go to prove that the Ahom
Page 17 and 18: Hindu/Hinduized Castes or even Inte
Page 19 and 20: Professor Amalendu Guha thinks the
Page 21 and 22: “The venerable (Deodhais and Bail
Page 23 and 24: The burial mound is called moi-dam
Page 25 and 26: them for fishing as is found among
Page 27 and 28: R. Gurdon in Encyclopaedia of Relig
Page 29 and 30: writes P. R. Gurdon in Encyclopaedi
Page 31 and 32: There thus grew up Ahom ethnic sett
Page 33: The claim of the Ahom to be include
Page 37: Silchar University IIT (Guwahati) A

The Tai Ahom National Council Memo Scheduling

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