Page 4 - Scheduled Tribes

Amit Shah, Kamal Nath to attend separate ST community events in Indore

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath will on Sunday attend separate gatherings of tribals in Indore as the BJP and the Congress intensify their efforts to win over the ST community whose vote is crucial in the assembly polls, due later this year. A BJP functionary said at least 50,000 saffron workers from the tribal-dominated Indore division are expected to attend the "Vijay Sankalp Sammelan" in Shah's presence. On the other hand, Kamal Nath will attend the "Adivasi Yuva Mahapanchayat" being organised by students and unemployed tribal youths to highlight their issues. BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday told reporters that some people were spreading misunderstanding among the tribal community in Madhya Pradesh. Some people involved in anti-social and anti-national activities are spreading a misconception among tribals that Lord Hanuman is not their deity. These people also tried to keep away tribal students staying in hostels

Govt to table bill in RS for inclusion of certain communities in ST list

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda will move the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Rajya Sabha in the second half of the session

Harsh Chouhan resigns as NCST chairman eight months before end of term

Harsh Chouhan's resignation comes after a run-in with the environment ministry over the Forest Conservation Rules 2022, which he said violated the Forest Rights Act, 2006

Andaman & Nicobar tribal body against Schedule Tribe hirings from outside

A tribal organisation of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has objected to the local administration's decision to allow Schedule Tribe (ST) people from other states to apply for government jobs in the archipelago, asserting that it goes against the norms. Chairman of the Tribal Council of Car Nicobar, Lionald Nicomed, claimed that as per the Scheduled Tribe Gazette notification of the Government of India, people belonging to only six local tribes are eligible for applying for recruitment under the ST category in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A senior Congress leader also said that allowing ST people from outside violates a Supreme Court order. Many candidates from outside have applied for government posts. This is highly objectionable, Chairman of the Tribal Council of Car Nicobar, Lionald Nicomed, told PTI. Car Nicobar is the northernmost part of the Nicobar group of islands. Nicomed also wrote a letter to Governor Devendra Kumar Joshi, requesting him to intervene in the matter. The Tr

Kurmis allege conspiracy in Bengal to instigate Santhals against them

The tension between the Kurmi and the state government had been rising for some time, over the continuous protest programmes in demand of the ST status

Need to preserve cultural identity of Scheduled Tribe: President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a three-day visit to Jharkhand, on Thursday said there is a need to preserve the cultural identity of the Scheduled Tribe community. The tribal society presents ideal examples in many fields, and "one of these is the non-prevalence of the dowry system", she said. Murmu urged tribal women to come forward and reap the benefits of government schemes. "Come forward and take the benefits of government schemes which are run for your welfare. Tribal women of Jharkhand are ahead of those in other states when it comes to women empowerment," Murmu said, while addressing self-help groups at an event in Khunti. The President stressed on the need for preserving the distinct cultural identity of tribals and said their society is "free of evil practices such as dowry". "There is a need to preserve the cultural identity of the Scheduled Tribe community," Murmu said. She pointed out that many people in society, even the well-educated ones, have not been able to

Delhi govt expresses concern over increasing atrocities on SC/ST community

The Delhi government on Tuesday expressed concern over "increasing" atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the national capital and a noticeable decrease in the conviction rate under the SC/ST Act. In a review meeting chaired by SC/ST Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand, officials discussed urgent measures to address these alarming trends and ensure justice for the victims. The review meeting, attended by district magistrates and key officials, highlighted the need for effective implementation of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Delhi. Anand stressed the government's responsibility to provide immediate legal aid to victims from the SC/ST communities and emphasised the importance of registering complaints promptly to expedite the legal process. He urged the authorities to apprehend and prosecute the culprits responsible for crimes against members of the SC/ST communities. By ensuring swift justice, the government

Manipur violence: SC to hear pleas on Monday over ST status to Meitei

The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a batch of pleas on the Manipur situation including one by a ruling BJP MLA challenging the high court order on the issue of Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community and a PIL by a tribal outfit for an SIT probe into the violence that rocked the northeastern state last week. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narashima and JB Pardiwala is scheduled to hear the matter. The clashes between Meiteis and tribals started in Churachandpur district last Wednesday. The tribals are opposing reservation to the Meiteis following the March 27 Manipur High Court order that asked the state government to send a recommendation to the Centre within four weeks on the demand for ST status by the Meitei community. Dinganglung Gangmei, BJP MLA and chairman of the Hills Area Committee (HAC) of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, in his appeal contended that the "proceedings before the High Court were vitiated on account of not making the HAC a

Manipur violence: Long-standing issue of ST status for Meitei torches state

The clashes in Manipur broke out between tribals and the majority Meitei community, following which 9,000 people have been displaced from their villages

Union govt ready to launch flagship scheme for Scheduled castes, tribes

The latest mission replaces two major programmes. As things stand, the two programmes are run by 41 central ministries and departments

85 trains cancelled, vehicles stranded amid protest for ST status in WB

Eighty-five trains were cancelled, and hundreds of vehicles remained stranded as different organisations of the Kudmi community continued their rail and road blockade in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district on Thursday, demanding ST status, officials said. The protest started at 6 am on Tuesday with the blockade of the old National Highway 6, which connects Kolkata to Mumbai, at Khemasuli in Kharagpur Local police station area by Kudmi Samaj West Bengal, they said. Another organisation of the community, Adivasi Kudmi Samaj, joined the protest on Wednesday, blocking the railway tracks at Khemasuli station in Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, and Kustaur station in Adra-Chandil section in Purulia district, they added. Among the trains cancelled on Thursday were Howrah-Pune Duranto Express, Howrah-Jagdalpur Express, Howrah-Pune Azad Hind Express, Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Ranchi Express, Shalimar-LTT Express, Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail and ...

Train services disrupted in Bengal as Kurmis demanding ST status block rail

This is the second day of the agitation by the representatives of the Kurmi community in demand of their recognition as a Scheduled Tribe

Kolkata-Mumbai highway blocked in Khargpur by OBC body demanding ST status

Several vehicles were stuck on the old National Highway 6, which connects Kolkata to Mumbai, after an organisation of the Kudmi community started a blockade in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district on Tuesday, demanding that they be given ST status. West Bengal Kudmi Samaj started the blockade around 6 am at Khemashuli in the Kharagpur local police station area, officials said. "The blockade will continue until our demands are met," said Tapas Mahato, a leader of the organisation. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the road because of the blockade, triggering massive traffic snarls even on the other adjoining roads in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts. Till the last report was received around 11 pm, the blockade was continuing. Drivers of the stranded vehicles said they were facing scarcity of food and water. Some of the vehicles were being diverted through Balibhasha in Jhargram to bypass the blockade, officials said. Kudmis are at present classified as OBCs.

Over 19,000 SC, ST, OBC students dropped from higher education in 5 yrs

More than 19,000 students from OBC, SC and ST categories dropped out from central universities, IITs, and IIMs during 2018-2023, according to the Ministry of Education. The data was shared by Union Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, in response to a written question in Rajya Sabha. According to available records, the number of drop out students from 2018 to 2023 in Central Universities (CUs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in various courses is 19,256. While 14,446 students from the three categories dropped out from central universities during the period, 4,444 students dropped out from IITs, and 366 from IIMs, the minister said . "In the Higher Education sector students have multiple options and they choose to migrate across institutions and from one course or programme to another in the same institution. The migration or withdrawal, if any, is mainly on account of securing seats by the students in other departments o

Parl panel calls for national portal of all atrocity cases against SCs, STs

A parliamentary panel has asked the government for creation of a national portal for listing of all cases of atrocities against the people belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. The report of the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes examined the annual reports of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the measures that should be taken by the Union government to this end. The panel has asked the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry to make all out efforts for the financial independence of the NCSC in coordination with the Ministry of Finance so that it can be supplied with a separate 'Demands for Grants' for its working. The Committee said that it has so far held 26 meetings reviewing the implementation of the Acts as well as the schemes in this connection in the states and Union Territories. The Committee demanded the creation of a national Portal for listing of all cases of atrocities on SCs and STs and its ..

Rehabilitation of ST communities living on fringes of forests: Karnataka CM

Bommai informed that several schemes like Kisan Samman for farmers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Aatmanirbhar, and Ayushman Bharath have been implemented

Modi govt goes the extra mile to woo tribal population ahead of polls

The moves in the budget are just the latest in a string of efforts that have been employed by the BJP for quite a while

Enrolment of ST students in higher education up by 47% since 2014-15: AISHE

The enrolment of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students in higher education institutions has increased notably between 2014-15 and 2020-21, with ST students registering a nearly 47 per cent growth, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21. The report released by the Ministry of Education showed that of the 4.13 crore students enrolled in 2020-21, 14.2 per cent belonged to SC category, 5.8 per cent ST category and 35.8 per cent to OBC category. The remaining 44.2 per cent students were from other communities. "The growth in enrolment of Scheduled Caste students in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20 is 4.2 per cent, whereas the growth in 2019-20 over 2018-19 was 1.6 pc. Further, overall increase in SC student enrolment since 2014-15 is 27.96 pc. Enrolment of Scheduled Tribe students has increased to 24.1 lakh in 2020-21 from 21.6 lakh in 2019-20," the report said. "This increase (11.9 pc) is significantly higher th

Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay

While experts believe that provision for various social schemes may go up, the sector is unlikely to see any major announcements

Parliament passes Bill to give tribal status to Betta-Karuba community

Parliament passed a bill on Thursday to include "Betta-Kuruba" along with "Kadu Kuruba" in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka. The Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2022 through a voice vote on Thursday. The Lok Sabha had, on December 19, passed the bill that was piloted by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda in the Upper House. The minister said the bill seeks to provide justice to the Betta-Kuruba community of Karnataka, which has only about 5,000 members living in the southern state. "The state government of Karnataka has requested to include 'Betta-Kuruba' community as a synonym of 'Kadu Kuruba' in entry 16 in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Karnataka," said the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. Responding to the issues raised by Opposition members, Munda alleged that the Congress has not done anything for the welfare of the tribal community and is now shedding crocodile tears. Munda said the Narendra Modi