RANCHI — Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote to his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, claiming that tea tribes were marginalised despite their significant contribution to the economy of the northeastern state. In his letter to Sarma, Soren on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the plight of 70 lakh tea tribe community members in Assam and sought ST status for them. Sarma, the BJP’s election co-in charge for Jharkhand, has attacked the JMM government for various reasons recently. “I am acutely aware of the significant challenges faced by the tea tribes in Assam, more so because a majority of them are the indigenous tribes of Jharkhand, including Santhali, Kuruk, Munda, Oraon and others, whose ancestors migrated during colonial rule to work in tea plantations. Also read: 2,000 evicted from forest land in Assam’s Goalpara “I very strongly feel that they meet the criteria for ST status, including their distinct cultural identity, traditional way of life, and vulnerability to exploitation,” Soren wrote to Sarma. He said that although most of the ethnic groups of the tea tribes are recognised as STs in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, Assam continued to classify them as OBCs. “Despite their vital contributions to Assam’s...