November 19, 2019
Shanta Chhetri makes a Special Mention regarding inclusion of Hill tribes in ST list
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thank you Sir. It is observed that the majority of the Gorkha people living in the Darjeeling Hills were considered as Hill tribes in the British India. In the early independent India, Government of India had granted numbers of government facilities like Darjeeling Government College and other institutions on the above context.
Sir, while few Hill tribes like Limbu, Tamang, Sherpa, Yelmo etc have been given ST status, similar tribes like Raikirat, Gurung, Tangar, Kharse, Mewar, Akkhadeva, Devan, Mukhiya, Thapa, Yami, Jogi, Bhujel etc have been left out in spite of their similar social, economic and cultural types. The left out of tribal Gorkha communities could not claim their tribal status when committees were set up for rescheduling the tribes after independence due shyness, ignorance and isolation from the mainstream.
I humbly request the Hon’ble Minister for Tribal Affairs whether the ministry has any policy to include left out of Hill tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Sir, furthermore, on behalf of the Hill people I would request the Hon’ble minister to let us know the details of the following committees: Ashok Pai Committee, Vishu Miley Committee and more recently Tshering Ranjan Committee.
Further still, the people of Darjeeling would like to know the steps taken by the government to preserve the Himalayan cultural ethnic identity of the Darjeeling Hill tribes.
Thank you, Sir.
