Confusion mars Goa's ST list
Sandesh Prabhudesai
10 July 2002
The centre is all set to introduce
new communities in the scheduled tribe list, in the
coming monsoon session. But Goa has a problem.
While accepting long-pending demand
of the tiny state, the central authorities have created
enough confusion over inclusion of the four communities
in the ST list.
The demand has been to include Gawda,
Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar communities in the ST list.
They are presently recognised as the OBC communities.
While the Dhangar community is still
being left out, the words used for the rest of the three
communities has created the confusion. It is being listed
as the Kunbi, Kunbi Gawda and Kunbi Velip.
Dr Kashinath Jalmi, former minister
and leader of the organisation pressing for these demands,
has pointed out these flaws after returning from his
recent Delhi visit. "Rather than solving it, this will
complicate the problem further", he observes.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has
however demanded to change the wordings to its original
before the bill is presented in the Parliament. He met
union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram last week in
this regard.
But Jalmi wonders whether alterations
could be made at the ministerial level while none of
the authorities know at what stage these changes were
made and what is the reason behind it.
Similarly, the BJP chief minister has
also pressed for the inclusion of the Dhangar community,
though it was deliberately kept out earlier. The central
authorities fear that one such inclusion would prompt
all other states to include their respective Dhangar
community in the ST list.
As the revision is taking place in
the country first time in the last 50 years, several
big states are desperately awaiting introduction of
the bill as fast as possible. On the other hand, to
meet Goa demand, the whole procedure may have to be
followed once again, delaying introduction of the bill.
At the same time, Goa is one of the
few states that is being ruled by the BJP and the first
one that has come to power after the Gujarat carnage.
Since the demand of including four communities was one
of the major election assurance of the BJP, the party
at the centre may however take it seriously, even at
the cost of postponement of the introduction of the
bill.
Besides around 1.10 lakh Gawda population
(both Hindu and Christian) in Goa, the Kunbi and Velip
comprise around 20,000 each while the Dhangar community
would comprise only around 5000. The new ST communities
thus comprise almost 12 per cent of Goa's total population.
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