HT Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, Oct 13: In a massive show of unity and strength, nearly 50,000 members of Assam’s Adivasi and tea tribe communities took to the streets of Dibrugarh on Monday, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, a daily wage hike to Rs 551, and legal land rights for tea garden workers and their families.
The rally, jointly organised by major organisations including the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA), All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA), 36 Janajati Parishad, and the Chah Jonogustiyo Jatiya Mahasabha, witnessed participants marching from four major points across the district to converge at the Chowkidinghee intersection, leading to severe traffic congestion for over five hours.
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Men, women, and children from tea estates across Upper Assam carried placards and chanted slogans such as “No ST, No Rest” and “Adivasi Unity Zindabad.” Several schools in Dibrugarh remained closed in anticipation of disruptions, while production work at 218 tea estates, 24,000 small growers’ plantations, and 70 bought-leaf factories was affected as thousands of workers joined the protest.
Addressing the rally, ATTSA president Dhiraj Gowala said that the tea tribes and Adivasi communities, despite being one of Assam’s largest demographic groups, remain among the most deprived.
“Even after 78 years of independence, we are still struggling for fair wages, education, healthcare, and recognition. These should be our fundamental rights,” he said.
Gowala accused the ruling BJP of “betraying” the community by failing to fulfil its promise of granting ST status, first made in 2014.
“The BJP used our support to win elections but failed to deliver justice. If land can be allotted for party offices and private projects inside tea garden areas, why can’t landless tea workers be given legal rights to the land they have lived and worked on for generations?” he asked.
ACMS Dibrugarh secretary Nabin Chandra Keot described the community’s three key demands — ST status, wage hike to Rs 551, and land rights — as “non-negotiable.”
He warned that failure to meet these demands before the 2026 Assam Assembly elections would have serious political consequences for the government.
Former Union minister and five-time Congress MP from Dibrugarh, Paban Singh Ghatowar, who attended the protest, extended his support to the agitators and urged both the state and central governments to take prompt action to end the long-standing neglect of the tea tribes and Adivasi communities.
The organisers announced that similar rallies will soon be held across all districts of Assam to intensify pressure on the government.
They also pointed out that communities such as the Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tai-Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi, and Tea Tribes have been demanding ST status for years, with repeated assurances but no concrete results.
The Dibrugarh rally follows a series of recent demonstrations, including one held in Tinsukia on October 8, where thousands of tea tribe workers voiced similar demands, and another torchlight rally by the Motok community on September 28 in Sadiya, calling for ST status and the upgrade of their autonomous council.
Monday’s massive turnout in Dibrugarh underscored the growing frustration within Assam’s tea belt, as workers and community leaders vowed to continue their movement until their demands are met. (With inputs from PTI)
