All Assam Tribal Sangha calls for boycott of BJP Assam chief over ‘anti-tribal’ remarks

sabrang — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 08:00:56 +0000

The All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS) has announced a boycott of Assam BJP president and MP Dilip Saikia, condemning his recent comments as “anti-tribal” and a direct threat to constitutional safeguards protecting the land and cultural rights of indigenous communities.

The organisation warned that Saikia’s remarks undermine the rights of tribal people in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, and other protected tribal belts and blocks. It said the comments had “deeply hurt” the sentiments of tribal communities and demanded that Saikia withdraw his statement and publicly assure that he would not interfere with the provisions of the Sixth Schedule or the protections under Chapter X of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation. Until such a clarification is made, the boycott will remain in force.

The controversial statement

On August 2, 2025, Saikia asserted that the Sixth Schedule autonomous council provisions and the Tribal Belt/Block land policies could not function simultaneously, declaring: “Sixth Schedule and the tribal belt and block—two land policies—will not operate together. Two laws will not operate in one region. One law must be applicable.”

He further suggested that amendments to the Sixth Schedule would allow people from cities such as Guwahati and Dibrugarh to buy land in protected tribal areas, and claimed that the Tribal Belt/Block safeguards under Chapter X would not apply within Sixth Schedule areas.

AATS response

Rejecting these assertions, AATS said such proposals threaten the constitutional safeguards that were specifically created to protect the territorial, cultural, and socio-economic rights of Assam’s indigenous tribes. The organisation has demanded an unconditional withdrawal of Saikia’s statement, failing which their boycott will continue.

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anti-tribal | SabrangIndia

All Assam Tribal Sangha calls for boycott of BJP Assam chief over ‘anti-tribal’ remarks