Rafael Nadal may be retired, but his injury updates clearly aren't. The 22-time Grand Slam champion revealed on Friday that he has undergone right-hand surgery, jokingly announcing his “withdrawal" from the 2026 Australian Open — a tournament he was never going to play anyway
Assam Cabinet clears report proposing Scheduled Tribe status for six communities
The Assam Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the Group of Ministers report that recommends granting Scheduled Tribe status to six communities in the state.
The report recommends including the six communities – Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Motok, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes (Adivasis) – in the Scheduled Tribes list.
It will be tabled in the Assembly during the ongoing Winter Session before being sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for consideration.
The communities are currently part of Assam's Other Backward Classes list and comprise about 27% of the state's population, according to The Indian Express.
The demand to be included in the Scheduled Tribes list increased in recent weeks ahead of the Assembly elections. The polls are expected to take place in the state in the first half of 2026.
There have also been counter-protests by communities that are already part of the Scheduled Tribes list.
The protesters have alleged that the decision to expand the Scheduled Tribes list is “politically motivated” in view of the state polls. They have also argued that adding more communities to the Scheduled Tribes list would hurt the rights of the tribes already on the list.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a bill proposing to include the six groups in Assam's Scheduled Tribes list was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. However, it was not taken up for discussion or passed. The Group of Ministers was constituted based on the directions by the Union home ministry that year.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the six communities that they would be granted the Scheduled Tribes status.
Following the delimitation exercise of 2023-'24, the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes in the 126-member Assam Assembly increased from 16 to 19. Delimitation is the process of fixing boundaries of territorial constituencies.
Also read: BJP claims to protect ‘indigenous' groups in Assam. But they are protesting against its government
Source: Scroll
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Rafael Nadal may be retired, but his injury updates clearly aren't. The 22-time Grand Slam champion revealed on Friday that he has undergone right-hand surgery, jokingly announcing his “withdrawal" from the 2026 Australian Open — a tournament he was never going to play anyway
3 months ago
