THE SARANIYA (SARANIA KACHARI): HISTORY, IDENTITY CRISIS, AND PATH AHEAD

This document examines the historical identity, contemporary exclusion, and future prospects of the Saraniya Kachari community of Assam. Drawing on colonial ethnographies (Endle 1911; Hunter 1879), it establishes the Saraniyas as a historically recognized branch of the Kachari tribal family, inhabiting riverine plains across districts like Kamrup, Nalbari, Baksa, and Sonitpur. Their distinct animistic cultural practices including unique life-cycle rituals and non-adoption of Bathouism are highlighted as markers of tribal identity. Despite this historical and ethnographic evidence, the community faces an identity crisis due to administrative erasure: they are excluded from Assams Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, unlike other Kachari subgroups (e.g., Boro, Boro-Kachari). This exclusion stems from colonial overgeneralization, post-independence bureaucratic simplification, and misclassification as OBCs. Legal battles (e.g., Gauhati HC rulings in WP(C) 2580/2014 and 2023) and high-profile cancellations of ST certificates (e.g., MP Naba Kumar Sarania) exemplify the resulting denial of constitutional rights, educational/job quotas, land entitlements, and cultural security. The document proposes remedies: leveraging colonial records as legal evidence, legislative amendment of the ST list, judicial advocacy, and grassroots cultural revival (e.g., Baah Goxain Utsav). It argues that recognition is essential to rectify historical invisibility and secure the Saraniyas place within Assams tribal mosaic.