ST category set for debut in Haryana, 20 castes identified
Sunit Dhawan
Rohtak, July 6
The Haryana Government has initiated the process to bring around 20 castes under the Scheduled Tribes (STs) category. As of now, no caste or community is listed as a Scheduled Tribe in the state.
Disclosing this at a media interaction here today, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member from Haryana Ram Chander Jangra said certain castes and communities to be notified as Scheduled Tribes had been identified.
“Several castes in Haryana like Sapera, Sikligar, Singhikat, Gadia Lohar and Tapriwas etc. fulfil the criteria for being covered under the category of Scheduled Tribes. It was also their longstanding demand to be categorised as STs. Now, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has taken the initiative and a proposal is being prepared for forwarding it to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes,” Jangra said. However, while the BJP MP maintained that the move was aimed at uplifting the backward communities, sociologists and social rights activists have termed it as a political decision.
“Identifying STs in Haryana without conducting a macro-level survey or census seems more like a desperate bid to take political advantage. Eventually, it may turn out to be an exercise in futility,” observed Dr Jitendra Prasad, a former Professor of sociology at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak. Stating that even the nomadic groups having scattered settlements in some parts of the state might not qualify for being covered under the ST category, Professor Prasad said it would have been prudent to conduct a census survey to identify such groups and then designate those as STs. Dalit rights activist Dr Swadesh Kirar, who also heads the Scheduled Castes Block A Mahapanchayat, Haryana, said identifying STs in a progressive state like Haryana seemed absurd.
“Haryana is a leading state of the country and a large portion of it is urbanised. There are no vast forest areas in the state that can have STs. The move is aimed at furthering the political interests of the ruling party before Assembly poll,” he added.
