As six Assam communities seek ST status, seven more eye OBC list

Less than 24 hours after the Assam Cabinet approved a report by a Group of Ministers on granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for six communities, a process was initiated for the inclusion of seven other communities in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC).

These seven communities are Bhar/Rajbhar, Bhujel, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Kiran Sheikh, Newar, Sabar, and Satnami.

Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), conducted a hearing with the representatives of the seven communities in Guwahati on Thursday (November 27, 2025).

“Some of these communities have been included in the State OBC list. We have begun the process of examining their inclusion in the Central list,” he said.

“The NCBC will follow the directives of the Supreme Court and established guidelines, while reviewing the documents and parameters before any final recommendation,” Mr Ahir said.

He said Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has thrown his weight behind the inclusion of the seven communities in the Central OBC list. “The Centre is committed to granting constitutional rights to the eligible communities, but all documents need to be verified properly,” he said.

The NCBC head said that the concerns of two other communities in the OBC list, Matak and Moran, would also be examined. During the hearing, the representatives of these two communities underscored their long-pending demand to be recognised as STs.

The other communities demanding ST status are Adivasis (“Tea Tribes”), Chutias, Koch-Rajbongshis, and Tai Ahoms. The Koch-Rajbongshis were temporarily granted ST status in January 1996.

The Assam government is set to table the report of the Group of Ministers on the ST status for the six communities in the ongoing winter session of the 126-member State Assembly. The State’s tribes, including the Bodos, Mishings, Karbis, and Dimasas, are opposed to the move to expand the ST list unless their rights and privileges are protected.