Sikkim's ST Inclusion Proposal Rejected, Minister Responds in Rajya Sabha

KalimNews, Kalimpong, 9 August 2024 : In a recent session of the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey addressed questions regarding the inclusion of 12 left-out communities from Sikkim in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list. Uikey confirmed that the Sikkim Government's proposal to include 11 of these communities was not approved by the Registrar General of India (RGI) and has been returned to the State Government for further action.

The queries were raised by Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, MP (Rajya Sabha) from Sikkim, on Wednesday who sought information on the inclusion process, steps to expedite the matter, expected timelines, and how the government plans to address the socio-economic challenges faced by these communities during the interim period. Uikey explained that the Government of India follows specific modalities for adding or modifying Scheduled Tribes lists, which were approved on 15 June 1999 and amended subsequently. Proposals must be accompanied by an ethnographic report from the State Government, reviewed by the RGI and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), before any legislative amendments can be considered.

The Gorkha Bharatiya 11 Janjati Mahasangh (GBJM) has been actively demonstrating at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to support their demand for the inclusion of these communities. Dr. Munish Tamang of the Darjeeling Hill Congress while participating in the demonstration on August 8, 2024 criticized the BJP for allegedly using the issue as a political stunt, emphasizing that the matter should not be used merely for electoral gain. 

Tamang also urged Darjeeling MP Raju Bista to clarify the remaining criteria that need to be fulfilled and to work collectively towards meeting those criteria. He highlighted that despite the ongoing inclusion of other communities in the ST list, the Gorkha community has been left out, questioning why this disparity exists.

He also noted that the Assam Government, led by the BJP, has not submitted any recommendations on this demand, despite the significant Gorkha population in Assam. He questioned why the government continues to include other communities in the ST list while the Gorkhas remain excluded.