Ramdas Athawale bats for ST status to Meeteis
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 15 2024: Republican Party of India - Athawale (RPI-A) national president Ramdas Athawale has reportedly urged tribal affairs minister Jual Oram to take necessary steps for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.

In response, minister Jaul Oram confirmed that the proposal is under examination by the ministry of tribal affairs.

The process for inclusion of communities in the ST list is governed by a detailed procedure first outlined in 1999.As per the guidelines, the proposal for inclusion must originate from the state or UT government concerned.

Once received, it is forwarded to the tribal affairs ministry, which then sends it to the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) for examination.

If the ORGI approves, the proposal is passed on to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) for further evaluation.

Only after the approval of all these institutions can the proposal be presented to the cabinet for an amendment to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.Despite the calls for inclusion, the Manipur government is yet to send its recommendation for the Meetei/Meitei community to be added to the ST list.

Last year, the High Court of Manipur directed the state government to consider submitting the necessary recommendation.

However, the Supreme Court overturned this decision after violence broke out during a rally organised by the All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3, 2023, protesting the High Court's directive.

It may be noted that the inclusion procedure and criteria have faced criticism over the years.

In February 2014, an internal government task force, led by then tribal affairs secretary Hrusikesh Panda, criticised the process for being "obsolete", "condescending", and "rigid".

The task force concluded that these outdated procedures were causing delays or exclusions of nearly 40 communities across the country.

Based on the task force's recommendations, the first Narendra Modi-led cabinet had drafted a note in 2014 to revise the process, but the proposal was put on hold in 2022 .

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