Ahom Agency and the State in Contemporary Assam: Negotiation, Responses and Politics for Scheduled Tribe Status among Ahoms

Tulika Senapati, Chuchengfa Gogoi

North Lakhimpur University

The concept of ‘identity politics’ has become a widely used yet often ambiguously defined term within the social sciences. While numerous scholars have attempted to theorize it, its discursive nature is captured by Kwame Anthony Appiah, who observes that identity politics is frequently invoked not as a neutral analytical category. As Appiah notes, one’s own political commitments are understood as just politics, whereas the claims of others are dismissed as ‘identity politics’. This insight reveals how groups universalize their own interests while delegitimizing others. Within this purview, the paper examines the complex dynamics of identity politics among the Tai-Ahom community and the responses of existing Scheduled Tribe groups in Assam. Historically, the Tai-Ahom were a dominant ruling group with rich historical archive. But the identity of the Tai-Ahom was reconstructed by colonial governmentality. The paper examines the trajectory of Tai-Ahom identity and the contemporary revival movement led by various Tai-Ahom associations. It also focuses on the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status by the Ahom community and the response of other existing Scheduled Tribes. By analyzing the Ahom agency, this study demonstrates how affirmative action creates a contested political landscape for state patronage and resource allocation. The paper seeks to understand the interplay between the ethnic roles played by Tai-Ahom in their demand for Scheduled Tribe recognition and, similarly, the role of existing STs in responding to the development of that demand.

Article link: https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/JSParchives/ahom-agency-and-the-state-in-contemporary-assam%3A-negotiation%2C-responses-and-politics-for-scheduled-tribe-status-among-ahoms