Rabha organisations stage protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, submit memorandum to MHA seeking inclusion in sixth schedule

Members of the All Rabha Students’ Union (ARSU), All Rabha Women Council (ARWC) and the Sixth Schedule Demand Committee staged a two-hour protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday, December 12 renewing their long-pending demand for the inclusion of the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Demonstrators, wearing traditional Rabha attire, raised slogans calling for immediate constitutional safeguards for the indigenous communities of the RHAC region in Assam. The protest drew nearly 500 participants from Goalpara and Kamrup districts, marking one of the strongest collective mobilisations of Rabha organisations in recent years.

Following the demonstration, a delegation representing the groups met senior officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and submitted a comprehensive memorandum addressed to the Union Home Minister. The memorandum was formally acknowledged by the Ministry on December 12.

The memorandum outlines three decades of the Rabha community’s struggle, recalling that the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council—constituted in 1995 as a protective institution—continues to operate with limited administrative and financial authority. The organisations noted that the absence of constitutional backing under the Sixth Schedule has hindered both development initiatives and institutional empowerment.

Expressing strong concern over demographic shifts caused by illegal migration, the memorandum describes the RHAC region as a “vulnerable corridor” lacking constitutional and administrative protection. The signatories stated that successive Assam governments had recommended Sixth Schedule inclusion for RHAC, pointing to its core and contiguous geography and its 779 revenue villages.

The Rabha bodies reaffirmed that only a constitutionally empowered autonomous council can safeguard indigenous rights and ensure long-term socio-political stability in the region. They urged the Centre to initiate a tripartite dialogue involving the MHA, Government of Assam and Rabha organisations to resolve the longstanding issue.

The memorandum was signed by ARSU, ARWC, the Sixth Schedule Demand Committee, the Rabha Hasong Joint Movement Committee and allied indigenous groups.

Addressing the gathering, Tankeshwar Rabha, chief convenor of the Rabha Hasong Joint Movement Committee, criticised both the Centre and the Assam Government for showing what he termed a “consistent lack of goodwill” towards the demands of nearly seven lakh people living in the RHAC area.

He pointed out that even after 15 months since the Centre sought a report from the Assam Government on RHAC, no progress has been made. Comparing Parliament’s priorities, he remarked that while legislators spent 10 hours debating Vande Mataram, “not even a minute was devoted to discussing the constitutional rights of the Rabha people.”

Calling the situation “deeply unfortunate”, he noted that parliamentary proceedings cost the exchequer ₹2.5 lakh per minute, yet no meaningful discussion has been initiated on RHAC’s status. With Assembly elections approaching, Rabha warned that the people’s patience was running thin, saying future Assam leaders would have to face the consequences if their aspirations continue to be ignored.

The signatories expressed hope that the Centre would take urgent cognisance of the issue and initiate steps to secure the identity, rights and future of indigenous communities in the RHAC region. They affirmed that their movement would persist until the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council is accorded Sixth Schedule status.