Assam: Tirap district council demands satellite autonomous council for tribal belt

The Tirap Autonomous District Council Demand Committee (TADCDC) has reiterated its long-standing demand for the establishment of a Satellite Autonomous Council for the Tirap tribal belt under 83 No. Margherita Constituency in Tinsukia district.
 

Speaking to India Today NE, TADCDC General Secretary and Spokesperson Pallab Shyam Wailung criticized successive governments for failing to address this demand, which has been pending since 1995.

 

Wailung emphasized that indigenous communities, including the Tangsa, Sema, Singpho, Tai Khamti, Tai Khamyang, Tai Turung, Tai Aiton, Sonowal Kachari, Rabha, Mishing, Deori, Mech Kachari, and Bodo Kachari, have been residing in the Tirap tribal belt for centuries. Despite having a population exceeding 50,000 tribal people, the region has yet to receive an autonomous governing body, leading to widespread disappointment among the indigenous population.

 

Further raising concerns, Wailung alleged that nearly 60% of the Tirap tribal belt's land has been illegally occupied by outsiders and non-indigenous settlers under the pretext of expanding tea gardens, coke coal plants, and other industries.

 

He also highlighted a political conspiracy linked to the 2007 abduction of Prashanna Turung, the then TADCDC working president and a rising tribal leader, along with his wife Komai Turung. The couple, who actively advocated for the creation of the Satellite Autonomous Council, were kidnapped on April 8, 2007, and their whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

 

Recalling past political assurances, Wailung mentioned that during the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, prominent leaders such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, then-Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and current Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had pledged to establish the Satellite Autonomous Council for the Tirap tribal belt if the BJP came to power. However, despite four years passing since that promise, no concrete action has been taken, while land encroachments continue unabated.

 

The TADCDC has now issued an urgent appeal to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah, urging them to honor their commitment and establish the Satellite Autonomous Council to safeguard the rights and heritage of the indigenous tribal communities in the Tirap region.