Theodore2940 at 11:52, 30 March 2026

2026-03-30T11:52:01Z

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{{Short description|Ethnic groups in Assam, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

The [[Constitution of India]] categorizes the tribes of [[Assam]] into two groups: Scheduled Tribes (Hills) and Scheduled Tribes (Plains).<ref name="st" /> Since hills tribes living in the plains and plains tribes living in the hills in large numbers are not recognised as scheduled tribes in the respective places, the census data may not reflect the correct figures.<ref name="st" /> Assamese language is used as the [[lingua franca]] by almost all the tribes.<ref name="st" /> According to the 2001 census, [[Scheduled Tribes]] made up 12.4 percent of Assam's population.<ref name="demographics">{{cite web |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_st_assam.pdf|title=Data highlights: The Scheduled Tribes|publisher=censusindia.gov.in|accessdate=4 September 2012}}</ref> The [[Assam Tribune]] reported in 2009 that the tribal communities of Assam were accounted for 15.64 percent of the total population.<ref name="st">{{cite web |url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jul1009/edit2|title=The Scheduled Tribes of Assam|publisher=Assam Tribune|date=10 July 2009|accessdate=4 September 2012}}</ref>

==Overview==
[[File:NE Autonomous divisions of India.svg|thumb|Autonomous division of North East India]]
[[File:Mising Autonomous Council.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Mising Autonomous Council]], with core areas in orange and satellite areas in green]]

According to the [[2011 census of India|2011 census]], Assam has a Scheduled Tribes (ST) population of 3,884,371 which makes up 12.44% of the state's total population. The major Scheduled Tribes in Assam are the [[Boro people|Boro]] (35.06%), [[Mising people|Miri]] (17.52%), [[Karbi people|Karbi]] (11.08%), [[Rabha people|Rabha]] (7.63%), and [[Bodo–Kachari people|Kachari]] (6.52%).<ref name=2011STpop/>

{{Pie chart
|caption=Language of Scheduled Tribes of Assam, 2011 census<ref name=language>{{cite web|title=ST-15: Scheduled tribe by mother tongue (for each tribe separately) (State/UT level), Assam - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|url=https://new.census.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/12550/download/15663/ST-18-00-15-DDW-2011.XLSX}}</ref>
|value1 = 33.39
|label1 = Boro
|value2 = 24.73
|label2 = Assamese
|value3 = 15.39
|label3 = Miri/Mishing
|value4 = 11.31
|label4 = [[Karbi language|Karbi]]/Mikir
|value5 = 4.09
|label5 = Garo
|value6 = 3.05
|label6 = Dimasa
|value7 = 2.55
|label7 = Rabha
|other = yes
|other-color = black
|footer=
}}

{{Pie chart
|caption=Distribution of Scheduled Tribes of Assam, 2011 census<ref name=2011STpop>{{cite web|title=A-11 Appendix: District wise scheduled tribe population (Appendix), Assam - 2011|publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/43017/download/46685/ST-18-PCA-A11-APPENDIX.xlsx}}</ref>
|value1 = 17.42
|label1 = Autonomous district
|value2 = 77.97
|label2 = Outside autonomous district
|other = yes
|other-label=Generic Tribes of both the region
|other-color = orange
|footer=According to 2011 census, only two district viz, [[Karbi Anglong]] and [[Dima Hasao]] are considered as autonomous district
}}

However, the Scheduled status of these tribes is subject to specific territories. In the autonomous districts of [[Karbi Anglong district|Karbi Anglong]] and [[Dima Hasao district|Dima Hasao]], the prominent tribal groups are the [[Karbi people|Karbi]] (63.63%), [[Dimasa people|Dimasa]] (including Kachari) (15.22%), any [[Kuki people|Kuki tribe]] (4.94%), and any [[Naga people|Naga tribe]] (4.4%). Outside these two autonomous districts, the main Scheduled Tribes are the Boro (44.96%), Miri (22.46%), Rabha (9.78%), Kachari (including Sonwal) (8.38%), [[Lalung people|Lalung]] (6.03%), and [[Garo people|Garo]] (4.49%).<ref name="2011STpop" />

In terms of linguistic demographics, 33.39% of the total Scheduled Tribe population in Assam speak [[Boro language (India)|Boro]], 24.73% speak [[Assamese language|Assamese]], 15.39% speak Miri/[[Mising language|Mishing]], 11.31% speak [[Karbi language|Karbi/Mikir]], 4.09% speak [[Garo language|Garo]], 3.05% speak [[Dimasa language|Dimasa]], and 2.55% speak [[Rabha language|Rabha]].<ref name=language/> Other languages spoken among the Scheduled Tribes include [[Hajong language|Haijong]] (26,540 speakers), [[Lalung language|Lalung]] (25,373), [[Deori language|Deori]] (24,766), [[Zeme language|Zemi]] (19,561), [[Kuki languages|Kuki]] (18,652), [[Hmar language|Hmar]] (17,584), [[Khasi language|Khasi]] (11,520), and [[Bengali language|Bengali]] (11,163). Additionally, there are speakers of [[Rengma language|Rengma]], [[Rongmei language|Rongmei]], Hindi, [[Pnar language|Pnar/Synteng]], [[Chakma language|Chakma]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Ao language|Ao]], [[Thadou language|Thado]], [[Kachari language|Kachari]], and [[Mizo language|Luhasi/Mizo]] languages.<ref name=language/>

==List of tribes ==

=== In the autonomous districts of [[Karbi Anglong district|Karbi Anglong]] and [[Dima Hasao district|North Cachar Hills]] ===
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Chakma people|Chakma]]
* [[Dimasa people|Dimasa]], [[Kachari (tribe)|Kachari]]
* [[Garo people|Garo]]
* [[Hajong people|Hajong]]
* [[Hmar people|Hmar]]
* [[Khasi people|Khasi]], Jaintia, Synteng, Pnar, War, Bhoi, Lyngngam
* [[Lakher]]
* [[Man people|Man]] (Tai speaking)
* [[Karbi people|Karbi]]
* [[Pai People|Pawi]]
* [[Synteng|Syntheng]]
* [[Lalung people|Lalung]]
* Any [[Mizo people|Mizo]] (Lushai) tribes
* Any [[Naga tribes]]
* Any [[Kuki people|Kuki tribes]]
{{div col end}}

=== In the State of Assam excluding Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills ===
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Barmans in Cachar]]
* [[Boro Tribe|Boro]], Borokachari
* [[Deori (tribe)|Deori]]
* [[Hajong people|Hajong]]
* [[Kachari (tribe)|Kachari]], Sonowal
* [[Lalung people|Lalung]]
* [[Mech Tribe|Mech]]
* [[Jingpo people|Singhpo]]
* [[Mising People|Miri]]
* [[Rabha people|Rabha]]
* [[Dimasa people|Dimasa]]
* [[Hajong people|Hajong]]
* [[Garo people|Garo]]
* [[Mising people|Mising]]
{{div col end}}

== Demographics ==
{| class="wikitable"
!ST Code
!Scheduled Tribe
!Population<ref>https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/43017</ref>
(as of 2012)
|-
| colspan="3" |In the Autonomous districts
|-
|001
|[[Chakma people|Chakma]]
|2,032
|-
|002
|[[Dimasa people|Dimasa]], Kachari
|1,02,961
|-
|003
|[[Garo people|Garo]]
|25,315
|-
|004
|[[Hajong people|Hajong]]
|436
|-
|005
|[[Hmar people|Hmar]]
|15,735
|-
|006
|[[Khasi people|Khasi]], Jaintia, Synteng, Pnar, War, Bhoi, Lyngngam
|15,936
|-
|007
|Any [[Kuki people|Kuki tribes]]
|33,399
|-
|008
|[[Mara people|Lakher]]
|37
|-
|009
|[[Manchu people|Man (Tai speaking)]]
|1,269
|-
|010
|Any [[Mizo people|Mizo (Lushai) tribes]]
|880
|-
|011
|[[Karbi people|Karbi]]
|4,30,452
|-
|012
|Any [[Naga tribes]]
|29,767
|-
|013
|[[Pawi people|Pawi]]
|3
|-
|014
|[[Pnar people|Syntheng]]
|5
|-
|015
|[[Lalung people|Lalung]]
|18,525
|-
| colspan="3" |In state of Assam excluding Autonomous districts
|-
|016
|[[Barmans in Cachar]]
|6,716
|-
|017
|[[Boro people|Boro]], [[Bodo–Kachari people|Boro-Kacharis]]
|13,61,735
|-
|018
|[[Deori people|Deori]]
|52,185
|-
|019
|Hajong
|642
|-
|020
|[[Kachari (tribe)|Kachari, Sonowal]]
|2,53,344
|-
|021
|Lalung
|1,82,663
|-
|022
|[[Mech people|Mech]]
|9,883
|-
|023
|[[Hill Miri people|Miri]]
|6,80,424
|-
|024
|[[Rabha people|Rabha]]
|2,96,189
|-
|025
|Dimasa
|19,702
|-
|026
|Hajong
|34,253
|-
|027
|[[Jingpo people|Singhpo]]
|2,342
|-
|028
|[[Khamti people|Khampti]]
|1,106
|-
|029
|[[Garo people|Garo]]
|1,36,077
|-
! colspan="2" |Total population
!38,84,371
|}

==Demand for inclusion in Scheduled list==
In Assam, STs are divided into two categories—ST (Plains), with ten percent [[Reservation in India|reservation]], and ST (Hills), with five percent reservation. Fourteen communities are listed under these categories, with a population of about 4 million, comprising 12.4 percent of the state’s population, as per the [[2011 census of India]].<ref name="caravan-magazine">{{cite web|url=
https://caravanmagazine.in/communities/st-classification-assam-2025|title=The new ST classification in Assam is political eyewash|website=caravanmagazine.in|date=1 January 2026|access-date=4 February 2026|last=Pegu|first=Manoranjan}}</ref> A number of non-ST groups have been demanding Scheduled Tribe status, including the [[Tai Ahom]], [[Rajbanshi people|Koch-Rajbongshi]], [[Chutia people|Chutia]], [[Moran people|Moran]], [[Matak rajya|Matak]] and [[Tea-garden community|Tea Tribes]], accounting for a little less than a third of the states’ population.<ref name="caravan-magazine"/> Their demands are opposed by the existing ST population of Assam.<ref name="scroll">{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/1089213/what-assams-new-scheduled-tribe-reservation-proposal-could-mean-for-its-marginalised-groups|title=What Assam’s new Scheduled Tribe reservation proposal could mean for its marginalised groups|website=scroll.in|date=12 December 2025|access-date=4 February 2026|last=Zaman|first=Rokibuz}}</ref><ref name="India-Today-NE">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/story/mood-of-assam-assam-supports-st-status-for-six-communities-existing-tribes-push-back-1339157-2026-02-02|title=Mood of Assam: Assam supports ST status for six communities, existing tribes push back|publisher=India Today NE|date=2 February 2026|access-date=4 February 2026|last=Habib|first=Atiqul}}</ref> A contentious issue is that the [[Other Backward Class]] category was implemented based on the [[Mandal Commission]] in August 1990, but these groups want to avail [[affirmative action]] under the category of Schedule Tribe. An Assam government report from 29 November 2025 declared that “Presently, 27% reservation is available for OBCs…Once these six communities are declared as ST, a proportionate share can be deducted and made available to the new six communities with a separate nomenclature, such as ST (valley), to avoid any conflict with the existing tribal communities”.<ref name="scroll"/> However, Daniel Langthasa, an activist-turned-politician from [[Dima Hasao]], a hilly region under the [[Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India|Sixth Schedule]], declared that: “We have to compete for central government jobs with those who have been living in the plains, who have access to proper roads, schools and colleges, who have been [[Ahomisation|assimilated]] into the [[Assamese people|mainstream]] and have a [[Sanskritisation|higher social status]]”.<ref name="scroll"/><ref name="India-Today-NE-2">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/video/assam-former-congress-leader-daniel-langthasa-announces-new-regional-party-pledges-2026-poll-battle-1278239-2025-09-16|title=Assam: Former Congress leader Daniel Langthasa announces new regional party, pledges 2026 poll battle|publisher=India Today NE|date=16 September 2025|access-date=4 February 2026|author=Staff Reporter}}</ref>

According to Crémin, the identity criteria of modern ST communities in Assam rest more on the knowledge of ethnolinguistics, the founding myths and the religious practices specific to the group. According to this view, construction of identity around ST status is a process originating from an administrative definition, leading to a reification of the identities that determine belonging, as well as social, political and territorial claims.<ref name="Crémin">{{cite journal|last=Crémin|first=Emilie|title=Construction de l’identité tribale et revendications territoriales des Miri-Mising au Nord-est de l’Inde|date=2020|url=https://journals.openedition.org/eps/9781#quotation|journal=Espace populations sociétés. Space populations societies|volume=2020/1-2|issue=|pages=}}</ref> The present challenge facing the Assam government is to broaden affirmative action to communities without tampering with the cultural rights and the constitutional protections of the existing ST groups.<ref name="caravan-magazine"/> This has led some writers such as Manoranjan Pegu to centre the debate on the question of “''To be or not to be a Scheduled Tribe''”?<ref name="caravan-magazine"/> For the pre-existing ST population, broadening of affirmation action under the category of ST is problematic because, in the words of Daniel Langthasa, the proposals are being made on behalf of those “...who have been assimilated into the mainstream and have a higher social status”.<ref name="scroll"/>

==See also==
*[[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheduled Tribes in Assam}}
[[Category:Tribes of Assam| ]]
[[Category:People from Assam]]
[[Category:Social groups of Assam]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of India]]

List of Scheduled Tribes in Assam - Revision history

Theodore2940 at 11:52, 30 March 2026