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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1803
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RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 0775
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 0780
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RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0122
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2205

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000383 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ASEC PREF IN
SUBJECT: ADIVASI TRIBALS IN ASSAM AGITATE; STATE CONGRESS GOVERNMENT 
IN A BIND 
 
REF: KOLKATA 0361 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Assam's "tea tribes" or Adivasis have 
increased their protests and agitations to pressure the state 
and national governments for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status under 
the Indian Constitution.  In recent weeks, members of the 
Adivasi community have organized a violent rally in Guwahati, 
Assam and claimed responsibility for a train blast on December 
¶13.  Native Assamese tribal groups, such as the Bodos, have 
warned the Congress-led state government against including more 
communities in the ST list and the tea tribes continue to face 
ethnic discrimination in Assam.  The Congress party counts on 
the tea tribes as a stable vote bank but the Bodo party is also 
a part of the Congress-led coalition government.  The Congress 
is struggling to accommodate both groups in anticipation of the 
December Panchayat (village council) elections.  The Congress' 
predicament may create window for the newly-formed Muslim party, 
the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), to step into the 
political limelight.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------ 
Tribals, But Not Natives 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) The tea tribes or Adivasis continue to face ethnic 
discrimination in Assam.  In the 19th century, British tea 
planters brought the Adivasis to Assam from the Jharkhand region 
as indentured servants to work in the tea fields.  Over the 
course of two centuries, they settled in and around the tea 
gardens, as cultivators and as household help in Assamese homes. 
 The 3.5 million Adivasis continue to be socially segregated 
from the mainstream Assamese society.  During the 1990s, the 
Adivasis in the Bodoland Territorial Council area suffered the 
brunt of "ethnic cleansing" violence when the Bodoland tribal 
movement was at its peak.  Many Adivasis, who were displaced by 
Bodo violence, continue to live in relief camps in Kokrajhar. 
In response to continued discrimination and violence, the 
Adivasis formed the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) in 
late 2006.  The group is believed to have a strength of 70-80 
active militants. 
 
----------------------------- 
The Politics of Tribal Status 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Apart from the specific legal criteria, the problem of 
determining which groups are tribal is both subtle and complex. 
The President of India and state governors have the authority to 
compile a list of castes and tribes under the Indian 
Constitution and may edit the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe 
(SC/ST) list as necessary.  However, economic interests and 
voting blocs make the SC/ST issue controversial.  The SC/ST 
benefits awarded to Scheduled Tribes, such as reservations in 
schools and government jobs, have convinced many groups that 
they will enjoy greater advantages if so designated.  Critics 
state that groups who have lost their "tribal" characteristics 
and have entered into mainstream society should not retain their 
scheduled tribe status.  The SC/ST list is also state specific, 
meaning that a member of Scheduled Tribe is eligible for 
benefits in his state of origin only.  While a scheduled tribe 
in Jharkhand, the tea tribes or Adivasis are non-native to Assam 
and so are not listed on the Assam ST list.  The Adivasis in 
Assam maintain that they remain cut off from mainstream Assamese 
society, still retain their tribal characteristics and so should 
be included on the Assam ST list. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
A Shift to Violence and Protest in Assam 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) In November, the All Assam Adivasi Students Union (AAASU) 
organized a violent rally in Guwahati, Assam, to demand 
Scheduled Tribe (ST) status (reftel).  Local residents 
retaliated and the situation spiraled out of control before the 
police arrived.  One person died, scores of people were injured 
and one Adivasi woman was stripped naked by a local.  On 
December 10, Assam police arrested six Adivasi militants 
following reports that the Adivasi National Liberation Army 
(ANLA) was planning a reprisal for the stripping of the Adivasi 
girl on November 24.  On December 13, the ANLA claimed 
responsibility for a bomb blast on the Delhi-bound Rajdhani 
 
KOLKATA 00000383  002 OF 002 
 
 
Express train, passing through Assam's Golaghat district.  The 
blast killed five and injured four others. 
 
---------------------- 
A Pan-Tribal Identity 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Prominent Jharkhand leaders Arjun Munda, Babulal Marandi 
and Shibu Soren visited Assam to show solidarity with the tea 
tribe Adivasis, who are ethnically and culturally similar to the 
Jharkhand tribals.  Bandhs (general strikes) by Adivasis in 
Assam and Jharkhand helped to highlight the issue in both states 
as well as reinforced the goal of national tribal unity.  Former 
Chief Ministers Munda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 
Marandi of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) criticized Assam's 
Congress government for the present situation.  Tribal 
organizations in Jharkhand have threatened to launch an economic 
blockade if the GOI refuses to grant ST status to Assam's 
Adivasis. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Tribal Politics affect Local Elections 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Assam Panchayat elections are scheduled for the beginning 
of the new year (December 31 to January 9).  The state's ruling 
Congress party has traditionally counted on the tea tribes as a 
stable vote bank but has done little to improve their lot.  As 
the Adivasis now demand ST status, ST groups in Assam, such as 
the Bodos, have warned the government against including more 
communities in the ST list.  The All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS), 
the state's main native tribal body, is worried that including 
more groups on the ST list will reduce the native tribals' piece 
of the reservation pie.  The AATS has spoken out against 
expanding the ST list and declared that granting ST status to 
more groups will threaten the interests and political rights of 
the existing tribal population in Assam.  The six communities in 
Assam seeking ST status include the Tai Ahom, the Muttock, the 
Moran, the Chutia, the Koch Rajbongshi and the Adivasis.  The 
state government is in favor of bringing in these communities 
into the ST list, but remains fearful of a strong reaction -- 
political and violent -- from native tribal groups. 
 
--------------- 
Muslim Politics 
--------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The Congress-led coalition government in Assam depends 
upon the Hagrama Mahilary faction of the Bodo People's 
Progressive Front (BPPF-H).  The BPPF-H has voiced its 
opposition to increasing the number of ST tribes in Assam.  In 
order to stay in power, the Congress cannot afford to lose their 
support, a likely event if the Adivasis are granted ST status. 
On the other hand, the tea tribes control or influence the poll 
verdict in at least 20 of Assam's 126 Assembly constituencies 
and traditionally vote Congress. 
 
¶8. (SBU) A political analyst suggested that Muslim leader 
Badruddin Ajmal could use the Adivasi issue to his advantage to 
increase his party's influence in the state.  Under continued 
pressure, Congress may be forced to grant special status to 
Adivasis.  This move would upset the BPPF-H, which would 
withdraw its support from the government.  In order to stay in 
power, the Congress will need to turn to other political allies 
such as Ajmal's Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF).  The AUDF 
would thus become a critical coalition partner and could use 
that political leverage to promote its own pro-Muslim agenda 
within the state. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  Folding to political pressure, the 
Congress-led Assam government will probably grant the Adivasis 
ST status, even if the community may not be traditionally 
defined as such.  In case an annoyed BPPF-H decides to withdraw 
its support, Congress Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi may be 
compelled to depend on the AUDF for his political survival. 
This native/non-native tribe showdown might increase the Muslim 
AUDF's influence on Assam's state politics as the Congress 
struggles to maintain control of the coalition government. 
JARDINE