List of Scheduled Tribes in Assam

Last updated

The Constitution of India categorizes the tribes of Assam into two groups: Scheduled Tribes (Hills) and Scheduled Tribes (Plains). [1] Since hills tribes living in the plains and plains tribes living in the hills in large numbers are not recognised as scheduled tribes in the respective places, the census data may not reflect the correct figures. [1] Assamese language is used as the lingua franca by almost all the tribes. [1] According to the 2001 census, Scheduled Tribes made up 12.4 percent of Assam's population. [2] The Assam Tribune reported in 2009 that the tribal communities of Assam were accounted for 15.64 percent of the total population. [1]

Contents

Overview

Autonomous division of North East India NE Autonomous divisions of India.svg
Autonomous division of North East India
Map of Mising Autonomous Council, with core areas in orange and satellite areas in green Mising Autonomous Council.jpg
Map of Mising Autonomous Council, with core areas in orange and satellite areas in green

According to the 2011 census, Assam has a Scheduled Tribes (ST) population of 3,884,371 which makes up 12.44% of the state's total population. The major Scheduled Tribes in Assam are the Boro (35.06%), Miri (17.52%), Karbi (11.08%), Rabha (7.63%), and Kachari (6.52%). [3]

Language of Scheduled Tribes of Assam, 2011 census [4]
  1. Boro (33.4%)
  2. Assamese (24.7%)
  3. Miri/Mishing (15.4%)
  4. Karbi/Mikir (11.3%)
  5. Garo (4.09%)
  6. Dimasa (3.05%)
  7. Rabha (2.55%)
  8. Other (5.49%)

List of tribes

In the autonomous districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills

In the State of Assam excluding Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills

Demand for inclusion in Scheduled list

In Assam, STs are divided into two categories—ST (Plains), with ten percent reservation, and ST (Hills), with five percent reservation. Fourteen communities are listed under these categories, with a population of about 4 million, comprising 12.4 percent of the state’s population, as per the 2011 census of India. [5] A number of non-ST groups have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status, including the Tai Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi, Chutia, Moran, Matak and Tea Tribes, accounting for a little less than a third of the states’ population. [5] Their demands are opposed by the existing ST population of Assam. [6] [7] A contentious issue is that the Other Backward Class category was implemented based on the Mandal Commission in August 1990, but these groups want to avail affirmative action under the category of Schedule Tribe. An Assam government report from 29 November 2025 declared that “Presently, 27% reservation is available for OBCs…Once these six communities are declared as ST, a proportionate share can be deducted and made available to the new six communities with a separate nomenclature, such as ST (valley), to avoid any conflict with the existing tribal communities”. [6] However, Daniel Langthasa, an activist-turned-politician from Dima Hasao, a hilly region under the Sixth Schedule, declared that: “We have to compete for central government jobs with those who have been living in the plains, who have access to proper roads, schools and colleges, who have been assimilated into the mainstream and have a higher social status”. [6] [8]

According to Crémin, the identity criteria of modern ST communities in Assam rest more on the knowledge of ethnolinguistics, the founding myths and the religious practices specific to the group. According to this view, construction of identity around ST status is a process originating from an administrative definition, leading to a reification of the identities that determine belonging, as well as social, political and territorial claims. [9] The present challenge facing the Assam government is to broaden affirmative action to communities without tampering with the cultural rights and the constitutional protections of the existing ST groups. [5] This has led some writers such as Manoranjan Pegu to centre the debate on the question of “To be or not to be a Scheduled Tribe”? [5] For the pre-existing ST population, broadening of affirmation action under the category of ST is problematic because, in the words of Daniel Langthasa, the proposals are being made on behalf of those “...who have been assimilated into the mainstream and have a higher social status”. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Scheduled Tribes of Assam". Assam Tribune. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Data highlights: The Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "A-11 Appendix: District wise scheduled tribe population (Appendix), Assam - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
  4. 1 2 3 "ST-15: Scheduled tribe by mother tongue (for each tribe separately) (State/UT level), Assam - 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Pegu, Manoranjan (1 January 2026). "The new ST classification in Assam is political eyewash". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Zaman, Rokibuz (12 December 2025). "What Assam's new Scheduled Tribe reservation proposal could mean for its marginalised groups". scroll.in. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  7. ↑ Habib, Atiqul (2 February 2026). "Mood of Assam: Assam supports ST status for six communities, existing tribes push back". India Today NE. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Staff Reporter (16 September 2025). "Assam: Former Congress leader Daniel Langthasa announces new regional party, pledges 2026 poll battle". India Today NE. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Crémin, Emilie (2020). "Construction de l'identité tribale et revendications territoriales des Miri-Mising au Nord-est de l'Inde". Espace populations sociétés. Space populations societies. 2020/1-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.