New Delhi: Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded that instead of adopting a "piecemeal" approach, the government should make a comprehensive list of tribes and take "meaningful steps" towards their inclusion and recognition as Scheduled Tribes. While speaking in Lok Sabha on the The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022', members raised the issues faced by tribes in their respective states, highlighting how their inclusion in the central list will benefit them.
NCP leader Supriya Sule said that in Maharashtra, communities like Lingayats, Maratha Samaj, Dhangar Samaj and Muslims have all demanded inclusion in the list. "Instead of piecemeal inclusions, I request the government to include the demands made by all communities," she said. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 proposes to insert Narikoravan and Kurivikkara in Part XIV of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 in respect of the State of Tamil Nadu.
National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi was of the view that adding communities to the list will not make a difference to their lives if government services fail to reach them. He claimed that while communities are being added to the list, in reality, "practically" no steps are being taken to change their circumstances. Raising the issue of Gujjar and Bakarwal tribes in Jammu and Kashmir, the MP said that these nomadic and migratory tribes lack even basic amenities like healthcare and education. "The entire thing is for political reasons. What should have been done is something meaningful so that these communities get benefited.
"But this is not happening. By including a caste or a community in this list, no major change will happen. If your aim was to really help them, then you would not have cut down on the pre-matric scholarship or national scholarships which are for this community. In reality, no practical steps are being taken to help them," he alleged. Masoodi while supporting the move of the government said that issues of employment, education and child mortality should be addressed and meaningful steps need to be taken for all communities. Congress MP VK Sreekandan also highlighted how within his own constituency, tribes are living amid lack of transportation, healthcare and employment.
"There are no basic amenities and no vehicles can reach the hamlets where they stay in case of an emergency. There have been 120 infant deaths in eight years," he said. AIADMK MP P Ravindhranath said that the inclusion of tribes in the central list will go a long way in their socio-economic development. He sought clarification from the government on the status of the ethnography survey conducted on 267 nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes by the Anthropological Survey of India and the Tribal Research Institute. Highlighting the status of tribal communities in Assam, Independent MP Naba Kumar Sarania said that the demands of all such communities should be met comprehensively. "When I travelled across the tribal areas, I saw the conditions under which they live. The government has many schemes for the tribes, but they are not active on the ground. I urge the government to ensure that there is no corruption in the government schemes," he said. (PTI)
