Assam Govt Reserves 3% Seats In Govt Jobs For Tea Tribes, Know Why This Is A Historic Decision

In a historic decision, the Assam government will now reserve three per cent of seats in state government jobs for people belonging to the tea tribe community, with immediate effect.

The reservation, which the Assam Chief Minister announced during a press meeting on October 2, will apply only to the non-creamy layer.

This is historic because the tea tribes in the state have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status for long and were categorically denied. However, it is important to note that while seats have been reserved for the tea tribes in Assam, they have not been provided with Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Reservation, wage hike and bonus for tea garden workers

The three per cent seat reservation will apply to government jobs for people belonging to the tea tribe communities.

Speaking on reservations, the Assam CM mentioned that a position for each deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and magistrate will be reserved for people belonging to Moran and Matak communities of Assam.

In another major decision for the tea garden community, the daily wages earned by tea garden workers across the state were increased by Rs 18.

Tea garden workers of Assam

While the wages of tea garden workers in the Brahmaputra Valley region were increased to Rs 250 from the earlier remuneration amount of Rs 232, wages of those in the Barak Valley were raised from the earlier daily wages of Rs 210 to the new remuneration of Rs 228.

Further, the government will also ensure a 20 per cent bonus for all tea garden workers employed under Assam Tea Company (ATC).

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned that this bonus was related to Durga Puja.

How did the tea tribes first come to Assam?

The tea tribe community comprises around 20 per cent of Assam's population and is spread over 800 tea gardens and several unorganised small gardens in Assam.

The tea tribes were first brought to Assam by the colonial government since plantation work needed a significant workforce.

Assam tea garden/ BCCL

Later, a continuous flow of migrants to the plantations was sustained due to continuing economic opportunities in the tea gardens.

Identity crisis of tea tribes of Assam

The tea tribes of Assam have been traced to be the descendants of Adivasi communities such as Munda, Oraon, Santhal and other tribals of mainland India (found in present-day Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal).

The term Adivasisis refers to the aboriginal or indigenous people of India. In administrative terms, they are referred to as Scheduled Tribes since these communities are mentioned in the scheduled lists of the states they originate from and reside in.

But, the tea tribes of Assam have always suffered an identity crisis.

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That is because even though they have settled in Assam for decades, having been brought here as plantation workers by the British, they are not indigenous to the state and, therefore, had been denied the ST status. They were instead classified as OBCs in the central list.

Now, with the reservation announced by the Assam CM, it is hoped that there would be an improvement in their overall development.

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