The All Assam Chutia Students' Union (AACSU) president was however taken into custody by Assam police in the Golaghat district.
Digital Desk: Despite the administration's opposition, the 12-hour Assam Bandh called by six ethnic groups on Tuesday to demand Scheduled Tribe (ST) status had a mixed reaction.
The Soy Janagosthi Joutha Mancha has announced the strike (Joint Platform of Six Ethnic Tribes).
The All Assam Chutia Students' Union (AACSU) president was however taken into custody by Assam police in the Golaghat district.
Mahen Bora, the president, and five other persons were reportedly imprisoned for torching tyres during a bandh that six different ethnic groups in the state had called.
In the meantime, various businesses, as well as both government and private transport services, were shut down in Upper Assam as a result of the bandh.
To ensure that no one breaks the law and that there is still peace and order, the police have been on high alert since the morning.
Mahen and five other individuals were apprehended when they were seen burning tyres.
Assam police have been warned to break off the strike by Monday or face legal consequences.
"The court has ruled that a bandh or similar strike is illegal, and anyone found to have violated the law or the injunction will face harsh penalties. Any bandh supporters will be dealt with harshly, the official warned.
Police further stated that they had not permitted the bandh and that the union would be held liable should any public property be damaged by bandh supporters.
Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he will discuss with the group.
The inclusion of various communities in the ST lists of five states—Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh—was accepted by the Central Government in September.
The affected states enthusiastically embraced the decision, which was made at a meeting of the Union cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They did not, however, include six Assamese ethnic groups.
The list of Other Backward Classes for Assam now includes all six of these communities. They represent more than 30% of Assam's electorate collectively.
Since the 2016 Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party has pledged in its manifesto that, if won, it will work "closely with the central government toward awarding ST [Scheduled Tribe] status to the six communities of Assam in a tight time-restricted manner."
Later in 2019, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh made the Lok Sabha announcement that the Cabinet had approved the six communities' application for Scheduled Tribe designation. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 amendment bill was afterward introduced in the Parliament, however, it has been pending ever since.
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