Assam janjatis demand to delist converted people

janjati

Guwahati, Mar 27: Under the banner of “Janjati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Manch (JDSSM) over 60,000 people representing different janjatis took out a massive protest rally demanding to delist of those janjati people who got converted to religions such as Christianity or Islam and strip them of benefits like reservation, etc.

As a result of the massive awakening drive a new dawn is visible among the janjatis who are now concerned over their being deprived of statutory benefits as those converted to Christianity and Islam are eating into their share of such benefits. The JDSSM has taken it as an affront to the culture and Dharma of the Janjati people. Therefore, they have demanded to remove their names from the list of the scheduled tribe (ST) and strip them of all the reservation benefits.

According to a press release issued by Vinod Kunbang, Secretary of JDSSM, Assam those who participated in this massive rally performed their traditional puja to appropriate their Gods. JDSSM president Jaleshwar Brahma and Bogiram Bodo unfurled the flag. The rally was led by JDSSM secretary Balaram Fangcho, Babita Brahma of the Bodo Committee, Rabha Janjati representative Sumeshwar Patar, Pratap Terang from Karbi Community, M G Eklavya from the Mishing Community, and others.

Central Observer of JDSSM Satyendra Singh from Jashpur and Prakash Singh Uike and Ravindra Uike from Madhya Pradesh also addressed the rally. All India Organizing Secretary of JDSSM Surnarayan Suri was conspicuous by his presence and addressed the rally.

janjati

The rally attended by thousands of janjati people submitted a memorandum to the President of India. The memorandum demanded that those who were converted to other religions should be delisted from the ST list and stripped of all the constitutional benefits of reservation. It alleged that these converted people have been enjoying these benefits all these years and those who should have gotten them are kept miles away from them. Now we will not tolerate this injustice anymore, the JDSSM said.

In the past, the Memorandum recalled that the then MP Kartik Oraon had raised this demand in the Parliament and the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up on this issue had supported this demand. But all through these years, unfortunately, no one has paid any heed to this serious issue. We will not tolerate this injustice and we will not stop till we get all the names of those converted to Christianity and Islam removed from the ST list, the JDSSM memorandum said.

Vinod Kubang conducted the proceedings of the meeting while Nityaranjan Doley, Vinay Brahma, Babul Bodo, Jyotsna Pegu, and local JDSSM workers worked hard to make the rally a great success. Thousands of families of Guwahati made arrangements for lunch for those thousands of jajnati people who had come from various northeastern states to Guwahati to participate in the rally. JDSSM Northeast Convener Gichik Taja had come from Arunachal Pradesh. Folk dances were also staged at the rally.