India, Oct. 19 -- Amid the protests rocking the state of Assam due to the death case of Zubeen Garg, the issue of the ongoing demand for the Scheduled Tribes status has taken centre stage. The six communities seeking ST status are Tai Ahom, tea tribes or Adivasis, Moran, Motok, Chutia, and Koch Rajbongshi. They are a part of the state's Other Backward Classes (OBC) list at present, comprising around 27% of its population. Their demand for ST status gathers steam ahead of every state and national election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself having raised it while campaigning in Assam before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Thousands of people from Assam's tea tribe and Adivasi communities staged a massive protest rally in Dibrugarh, d...