Tribe awaits ST status

Sankha Ghosh, SNS, Ketugabur ( Naxalbari), 4 April 2014: The fast vanishing tribe, Dhimals, now have a reason to smile, and vote too. For the community that is on the verge of extinction, the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are far different from the previous years.

Riding high on chief minister’s recommendation to the Centre for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, the community members are all excited about the polls, this, despite that fact that they have little knowledge about politics and the entire voting process.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has recommended to the Prime Minister and the Union tribal affairs ministry that the community could be given the ST status they have been waiting for years.
With the total population of around 1001, the Dhimals in India live in the Naxalbari block in Darjeeling district. Some Dhimal people also live in neighbouring Nepal.
"No government had ever taken steps to address our demand on the ST status. We met former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhtattacharjee and wrote several letters to him, but all fell on deaf ears. The Cultural Research Institute (CRI) had conducted an extensive survey in 2008 on the community and recommended the tribal status, but the state government hardly took initiatives,” the secretary of the Dhimal Community Existence Preservation and Welfare Society, Garjan Mallik, said.
“In the past, elections meant nothing for us. Many elections came and went by, but our plight remained. It was as if we had almost lost faith in the democratic system,” he added. According to him, they conducted a survey two years ago found out that they number 1001 in total.
"The new government led by Mamata Banerjee has taken some positive steps for us. She told us in Kolkata on 1 March that she had already sent the recommendation to the Centre," he said.
Mr Mallik said the community is now upbeat about the polls and that they would soon hold a meeting with their womenfolk and teach them how to cast their vote. "After many years, villagers here are excited about exercising their franchise, though hardly any political party campaigned here this year," he said. According to Mr Mallik, more than 550 Dhimal people live in Ketugabur village, 30 km away from Siliguri, under the Maniram Gram Panchayat. The others live in places like Suratgar, Shiuwar and Killaram, under the same panchayat.
According to 59-year-old Bishnu Mallik, the ST status is the only election issue for them.
"It is of paramount importance to us. We cannot think of any other local issue that is more important, because our language and culture are on the verge of extinction. Children do not get enough scope for studies, and even if they are able to complete higher education, they hardly land jobs,” he said.
According to him, only the ST status can save their tribe from going extinct.
“The Trinamul Congress government is seriously looking into our issue, and as such, we will cast out vote to that party, " he said.
Mr Mallik said most of the Dhimals earn their livelihood by farming and working as labourers.
The Ketugabur sansad member under the Maniram gram panchayat, Kharga Narayan Roy, said there are more than 550 voters in the Dhimal community.
Bharati Mallik, who just enrolled her name in the voter’s list, said she was excited about the vote this time around.
"I have heard that the state government is taking positive steps for us. I had to leave my studies midway because of poverty," she said.
According to a Dhimal housewife, Alaka Mallik, members of their community were hardly excited about elections earlier.
"This year is totally different for us and we see a ray of hope," she said.