The office of the Registrar General of India has rejected the
recommendations of an expert committee to include 11 Gorkha communities
living mostly in Bengal and Sikkim in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
The
Union ministry of tribal affairs had set up the expert committee just
before Assembly elections in Bengal in 2016. The committee was asked to
examine and recommend granting ST status to communities like Bhujel,
Gurang, Mangar, Newar, Jogi, Khas, Rai, Sunwar, Thami, Yakhha and
Dhimal.
At present, nearly 700 communities have been included in
the schedule. They are entitled to reservation in government jobs and
admission in academic institutions. The government also runs affirmative
schemes like residential schools and scholarships for tribal children.
Before
the announcement of the schedule for general election earlier this
year, the committee submitted its report, endorsing the inclusion of all
these communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
For inclusion of any community in the list, the ministry needs to
bring a Constitution amendment bill in Parliament. However, any such
bill has to be finalised in concurrence with the registrar general and
the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes.
Accordingly, the ministry had sent the expert committee’s report to the registrar general and the national commission.
The Registar General of India has not agreed to the inclusion of these
communities, minister of state for tribal affairs Renuka Singh Saruta
said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha recently.
“The committee
submitted its report which was referred to ORGI (the officer of the
registrar general) for comments. ORGI have commented that the report of
the said Committee is beyond the scope of the Modalities approved by the
Government of India with regard to inclusion of any community in STs
list of a State,” Saruta said.
A community can be considered for
inclusion if it fulfils five criteria. They are indication of primitive
traits, distinctive culture, shyness of contact with community at large,
geographical isolation and backwardness.
Jeta Sankritayana, a
researcher of socio-economic condition of hill tribes of Bengal and a
faculty of economics at Sikkim University, said the registrar general’s
rejection was legitimate to a great extent.
“Some of the
communities are socially forward. Some are educationally and
economically forward too. The ORGI’s decision is legitimate to a great
extent. But certain communities like Dhimal of Bengal and one or two
more deserve the status of ST,” Sankritayana said.
He said the Dhimals fulfil all the criteria for ST status.
In
February 2014, the Bengal government had submitted a proposal to the
Centre for ST status to these Gorkha communities in Bengal.
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