CHAPTER: 5
Review Of Constitutional Safeguards: Reservation To De-Notified And Nomadic Tribes:
Analysed By- Dr. Dinesh Sewa Rathod
Introduction:
The history of reservation policy reveals that there is not only a struggle for equality but also a struggle for power. Indian Hindu society appears to be part of a complex social system. And it is classified in the caste system. Due to caste-based social system, it is classified as upper or lower level. In principle, it has become impossible to change the state of social conditions. However, in the hierarchical system which is unique in character, the position of the top and the bottom is clear while at the middle level there is room for disputes about the relative status position. This has made possible for the mobility of groups at the middle level. It must be pointed out that the caste system is based on inequality and is philosophically justified by the concepts of dharma, varna and other worldliness.
Reservation policy remains an integral part of the public policy of both British Indian and Princely India. A policy that was formulated by the British to provides representation for Indians in the administrative set up was later extended to recruitments promotion and educational institutions. The successor democratic government continued to pursue this policy with the exception of effecting some cosmetic changes to it now and then.The states in India were given the liberty of implementing reservation policy on the basis of criterion evolved by them. This was to enable them to adopt policies which were considered hest and in consonance with circumstances prevailing therein.
In short, the unit of this lesson covers how the reservation policy applied in Maharashtra State by Vasantrao Naik and his effort to clarify the concept of reservation given to the De-notified and Nomadic tribes in Maharashtra and explained about to implement the recommendations of various commissions and committees set up by the Maharashtra Government and the Central Government Commissions. And what role did other Commissions play after independence ? An attempt has been made by me to write about above mentioned issues on the basis of the critically collected and explorative information.
The Provision Of Reservation In Constitution:
After Independence, the Indian constitution was drafted, but some provisions were made in relation to development for the Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and Other Backward classes. In the Constitution of India, there is the provision of special concessions for the backward classes is mentioned in section 16 (4). But, there is no definition of 'backward class' in the constitution. It consisted mainly the article -340 in relation to the development of other backward classes. Who is the other backward class under this section? The President was empowered to make recommendations and appoint commissions in the matter of deciding and developing them. There is the word 'class' but not 'caste' in the article of the constitution, what are "socially and educationally backward classes?" So what is class? And what is social and educational backwardness? Both these things have to be decided by the Commission. The Hon. Supreme Court has discussed and explained this. Backwardness has to be taken into account by the framework of the court's interpretation by Commission. Also, the criteria of backwardness have to be determined. In 1951, when first amended, it was suggested that the term 'economic' backwardness should be associated with social and educational backwardness. Therefore, the determination of backwardness and the percentage of reservation could not be determined properly and there were many obstacles in it.
After the independence of India, many reservation facilities were given to some backward communities which were backward in the respect of customs and traditions, have faith in superstitions and have limitations on the basis of their status. In our constitution, people who are sufferings from the caste discrimination and poverty have the reservation facilities in the schedule of scheduled caste. The tribal people and the people from forests (girijans) are included in the list of reservation. The people below poverty line and from the backward class are included in 'OBC' reservation category. In this way, according to the financial, social, political development of the communities, the classification of reservation in the Constitution is given.
The architect of Indian Constitution, Bhatratna Dr. B. R. Ambedkar made an article-340 in directive principles for the development of other backward classes . At first, De-notified and Nomadic tribes were included in OBC's. The government of India implemented only the article No. 15 (4) for the development of SC and ST after independence since 1951. But no step was taken for the development of OBCs up to 1979. Later on during the period of Jawaharlal Nehru a Commission under Kakasaheb Kalelkar was fixed on 29 January 1953 by central government to give facilities to other backward classes. The total 2399 castes were declared as backward but the recommendations of this commission were not properly implemented.
Concept of Reservation Policy:
The concept of reseration policy has as its avowed objective the amelioration of BCs who were victims of the prevalent caste system, a feature unique to the Indian social milieu. Hence scholars/ researchers have not been able to provide a composite definition of this policy. It is generally understood as involving three aspects-positive discrimination, reverse discrimination and compensatory discrimination. Positive discrimination involves providing special treatment to those who are susceptible to exploitation. Reverse discrimination is a sort of vindictive measure, which in other words means discrimination against those who had discriminated a particular class for decades. Compensatory discrimination involved adoption of measures to safeguard the interests of historically disadvantaged sections of people. However all these policies do require a certain amount of sacrifice by one section of the society. Certain castes are to be discriminated against to provide sustenance to certain other castes.
Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1953)
The first Backward class commission was appointed 29 January 1953 under the chairmanship of Mr.Kakasaheb Kalelkar. This commission in paragraph 48 of its report suggested that , 'Criminal Tribes' should not he called Tribes' nor should the names 'criminal' or 'ex-criminal be attached to them. They could be called 'De-notified communities. The Kalelkar commission further recommended that "these groups may be distributed in small groups in towns and villages where they would come in contact with other people and get an opportunity for turning a new life. This would help in their eventual assimilation in society."This first Backward class commission, in paragraph 41 it is mentioned that there were as many as 127 groups aggregating 22.68 lakhs in 1949 and 24.64 lakhs in 1951 described in official records as ex- criminal tribes sections, ie. (1) Nomadic; and (ii) Settled. The nomadic groups included the gypsy, wandered like tribes such as Sansis, Kanjars, ete, and, "had am-innate preference for a life of adventure". The settled and semi-settled groups were deemed to have descended from irregular fighting men or persons uprooted from their original homes due to invasions and political upheavals.
This commissions submitted its report on 30 March 1955. It had prepared a list of 2399 backward castes or communities for the entire country and of which 837 had been classified as the "most backward." Some of the most noteworthy recommendations of the commissions were as
Undertaking cast-wise enumeration of population in the census of 1961.
Relating social backwardness of a class to its low position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society.
Treating all women as a class as backward.
Reservation of 70% seats in a technical and professional institutions for qualified students of backward classes.
The special economic measures be taken to uplift the OBCs economically through such programmes as extensive land reforms, reorganization of village economy, Bhoodan movement, development of livestock, dairy farming, cattle insurance, bee-keeping, piggery, fisheries, development of rural housing, public health and rural water supply, adult literacy programmed etc. and
Minimum reservation of vacancies in all government service and local bodies for other backward classes on the following scale: class first- 25 percent; class second- 33- 1/2 percent; class third and fourth- 40 percent. Kaka Kalelkar, the chairman, took a rather equivocal stand on the issue, though he did not record a formal minutes of dissent, in his forwarding letter to the president he opposed some recommendations made by the commission.
This first backward class commission took special note of the "wandering communities" separately in the later part of its report in paragraph no.135. The relevant portion is quoted below: "There are a large number of small communities who take out a precarious existence in the countryside. They have no fixed place of residence and they move from place to place in search of food or employment. They often rear pigs and poultry, hunt wild animals to satisfy their hunger and collect forest produce to make a living. They live in thatched sheds or gunny tents, and move in groups. They believe in witchcraft. Because of the insecurity of their life, some of these communities are given to crime. It should be the special responsibility of Government to give them a settled life. Vasantrao Naik was constantly observing for the recommendations of the Kaka Kalelkar Commission to be implemented in Maharashtra.
The Provision Of Reservation In Maharashtra State:
Regarding the provision of reservation in Maharashtra State in the tenure of Vasantrao Naik, the Government of Maharashtra has established commissions and committees to give reservation to De-notified and Nomadic tribes. Later on, in Maharashtra, a committee under B. D. Deshmukh was fixed in 1961 by the efforts of Vasantrao Naik. This committee made the provision of reservation for the De-notified and Nomadic tribes with the support of population. The government published the list of De-notified and Nomadic tribes in November 1961after studying the report of special executive officer which was appointed in 1960. According to Criminal Tribe Acts those tribes which were declared criminal tribes, were included in De-notified and Nomadic tribes for facilities. They are given reservation in proportion to their population. The report of this committee was declared in 1964. According to recommendation of this committee, SC was given 13% reservation, ST- 15%, OBC- 10%, and De-notified and Nomadic tribes were given 4% reservation in the State.
In the political developments of Maharashtra State, Vasantrao Naik has played an important role in giving reservation to the De-notified and Nomadic tribes. The political rise of Vasantrao Naik as a learned leader in Maharashtra State in 1961 paved the way for the De-notified and Nomadic tribes to implement the reservation policy in 1964. For this, he made significant efforts. Therefore, he played an important role in appointing the committee under the chairmanship of B.D. Deshmukh. Vasantrao Naik's decision brought justice to the De-notified and Nomadic tribes as he motivated to apply the reservation policy and existing quota in Maharashtra to meet the demand for De-notified and Nomadic tribes' reservation.
B. P. Mandal Commission (1979)
In 1979, the central government appointed the Second Commission chaired by B.P. Mandal under the article 340 of the Constitution to study the ways in which socially and educationally backward classes of the country did not get proper representation in government jobs and what measures can be taken to solve it. Earlier, the first commission was led by Kakasaheb Kalelkar. An attempt was made to remove the flaws in the previous Commission and to work out and regulate the Mandal Commission. In this way, certain criteria were set to decide about who are the backward classes. In addition, some responsibilities were entrusted to the Mandal Commission. Among them, mainly, identify the backward classes, what are the educational and social backward classes? The government has tried to take steps in this regard by setting its criteria, suggesting measures for their development, taking into account their representation in central and state government, their social status and what is their social condition ? Finding such classes in Indian society is such a difficult task. But the Mandal Commission worked hard to find these classes. And obtained the information of such classes and presented the report.
This commission gave 27% reservation to OBC's. Mandal Commission was implemented on 31 August 1990 by the then Prime Minister V. P. Singh. De-notified and Nomadic tribes were declared reservation on 23 March 1994 as per the recommendation of Mandal Commission for various categories. And Saste-Wise Reservation According to Mandal Commission was as (VJ-A) 3% (14 tribes and minor tribes), Nomadic Tribes- B 2.5% (28 Nomadic tribes before January 1990 and other minor tribes) Nomadic Tribes- C (Dhangar and Minor) 3.5%, Nomadic Tribes- D (Vanjari and Minor) 2% etc. Total 11%. But during the same period the act of privatization was made and since then the reservation of all De-notified and Nomadic tribes and backward categories is in danger.
L.R.Naik’s The Decent Note:
While submitting the Mandal Commission report in 1980, B.P. Mandal expressed regret in a covering letter that the recommendations weren’t consensus based. The only Dalit member of the commission, former member of Parliament L.R. Naik, had submitted a note of dissent. The appendix contained Naik’s note. L. R. Naik referred to two broad social categories within the Other Backward Classes – intermediate backward classes and depressed backward classes. His categorizations were occupation-based farmers OBCs and artisan OBCs. Naik said the latter were weak and could not compete with the former. He had recommended splitting the OBC quota into two, just to protect interests of the weaker section within the OBCs. In 1990, when Prime Minister V.P. Singh announced the implementation of the Mandal recommendations, he didn’t acknowledge Naik’s note and ignored Naik’s important input. Subsequently, it appears that every government ignores this important recommendation of L.R.Naik in the interest of OBCs.
Balkrishna Renke Commission (2008)
In connection with the Balkrishna Renake Commission-2008 There are 829 De-notified and Nomadic tribes in India, according to Balkrishna Renake's report. De-notified and Nomadic tribes get constitutional facilities in many states. These facilities must get to De- notified and Nomadic tribes in Maharashtra State because all the conclusions which are applied to De-notified and Nomadic tribes in other states, are same in Maharashtra State.
The article 366 (25) from constitution defines scheduled caste. The articles 340, 341 and 342 (2) of constitutions has given constitutional safeguards to these tribes which complete the following conclusions or criteria. Such as
Primitive traits
District cultural identity.
Geographical isolation.
Social level inferiority complex.
Social backwardness.
Classification Of Reservation Of De-Notified And Nomadic Tribes:
From these conclusions De-notified and Nomadic tribes gets constitutional facilities in other states.Regarding Banjara community, there is no similarity in De-notified and Nomadic tribes in the country. E.g. Banjara tribe is included in 'ST' in Andhra Pradesh, 'SC' in Karnataka, 'Open' in Kerala and VJ- A in Maharashtra State. The same constitutional facilities are not given in the all states to these tribes. Those tribes which were considered criminal tribes in the country are given the facilities of 'SC' and 'ST' but these facilities are not given to Banjara and similar tribes in all states though they were regarded as criminal tribes. Such is the confusion in the same states about criminal tribes.Then, it appears that in Maharashtra State, De-notified and Nomadic tribes are classified into VJ (A), NT (B), NT(C) and NT (D) and they are given reservation respectively as 3.5%, 2.5%, 3% and 2%.
Vadhva Committee (1992)
Afterwards, Maharashtra Government appointed Vadhava Committee in 1992 to decide whether Banjara and Vanjari are separate community or one. The Committee submitted its report on 10 August 1993 to Maharashtra Government. In both the tribes, there is difference regarding language, traditions, customs, living, social structure, religious place, education rate, female status, dwelling places and economic institutions. So, in the report, both Banjara and Vanjari tribes were declared separated tribes. And they were given separate Government reservation.
Hence, the Government of Maharashtra gave about 5% reservation to Dhangars and Vanjari from the reservation of Nomadic tribes. Today De-notified and Nomadic tribes do not get the benefit of reserved seat due to the rules of inter-changeability. Some tribes, which are educationally progressive but getting the benefits of reservation. But some tribes which are still wandering and quite away from the facilities of reservation. The Banjara tribe is included in VJ-(A) in Maharashtra State and included in different categories in other states. It is very necessary to remove this diversity and to include Banjara tribe in same category of 'Scheduled tribes.' Maharashtra State, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were created by the linguistic states commission.
Haribhau Rathod’s Work For De-Notified And Nomadic Tribes:
Ex. MP Hon. Haribhau Rathod, who belongs Banjars community, claims that the population of De-notified and Nomadic tribes in India is around15 crores and more. But he firmly explained that, "the population of De-notified and Nomadic tribes may be more than this across the country. No fixed number is available about the population of De-notified and Nomadic tribes in the country because of not having their regular census. Therefore there should be a separate census of these tribes and reservation should be given to these castes and tribes in proportion to the population. The central government should make separate provision like tribal scheme in demanded to establish hostels and patronage schools and also the rehabilitation of these tribes."
Hon.Haribhau Rathod is known as studied leader of the De-notified and Nomadic tribes of India. He has been struggling for the justice, rights and demands of the these tribes and over the past several years, he has been organizing various agitations, movements and mobilizing De-notified and Nomadic tribes across the country. But the current picture is that the Government is ignoring BC's various demands.
Mahatma Phule told that the root of all catastrophes is the illiteracy. Today it is necessary to find out the bad condition of education This is not possible after seeing today's patronage schools, hostels and the economic provision for it. Since some years the spread of education in De-notified and Nomadic tribes is very low. Government started patronage school as a result of it the proportion of wandering is decreasing. They are trying to make imitation of urban society. These tribes are getting aware of their right. The political revolution cannot complete without the problem of bread and equal social prestige is achieved and solved. It is the responsibility of new generation to make them (De-notified and Nomadic tribes) awakened, to give them bright future and to create in them self-respect and esteems because they were denied human rights and humanity totally. It is sure that they will organize when they will awaken.
Review Of Various Commission And Committee In India:
While reviewing of various committees and commission appointed by government after independence for De-notified and notified tribes, it appears that the various committees and commissions were appointed to study the economic, social, educational, political and cultural condition of De- notified and Nomadic tribes. The review of those Committee and Commissions as given below. A) The Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee (1947):- The Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee-1947, was constituted in the united province. In its report, this committee felt that till the Gypsies, wandering community settled down, they would continue with criminal tendencies. It proposed that efforts should be made under section of law (Suitable provision may be made in the Habitual offenders and vagrants Act) to settle them and teach them about the importance of life, human capital and honest calling as against idleness, prostitution and crime to which their conditions of existence make them prone.
Many commissions and committee were established in India for the progress of De-notified and Nomadic tribes after independence. Re-habilitation committee of 1949, Kalelkar commission of 1953,Thate committee of 1959, Lokur committee of 1965, Mandal commission of 1980 and L.R.Naik Note- Venkat Chalaiya commission 2002, Bapat commission of 2004, Renke commission of 2008, Tag commission of 2010, NAAC Report of 2011 and Bhkudada Idate commission 2015 etc.
The recommendations of every commissions told that the economic, social, educational, cultural and political condition of De-notified and Nomadic tribes is very critical. But the government has not properly implemented the recommendations of any commission which was appointed for De-notified and Nomadic tribes. Every political party appoints the commissions and committees for De-notified and Nomadic tribes when it comes in power but the recommendations of commissions fell down in the dust. No government is seen who have properly implemented the recommendations of any commissions. After independence, The Government of India and the Government of any states have appointed various committees and commissions for suggesting the complete progress and detail study of De-notified and Nomadic tribes.
Creamy Layer and De-notified and Nomadic Tribes:-
The Government of Maharashtra sanctioned an ordinance on 22 January 2004 about creamy layer and applied it to De-notified and Nomadic tribes, subjecting them to injustice. Mr. Shushil Kumar Shinde was the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2004. The total percentage of reservation was narrated in article 412 in the above ordinance of Government. Finally, it was made clear that this reservation will be applied to all other categories on the basis of creamy-layer except SC and ST.
Earlier, on November 16, 1992, the Government imposed a creamy layer on OBCs and 27% of the reservation given to OBCs in 1990 has been hampered by this creamy layer. The representation of De-notified and Nomadic tribes in selection committee from article 10 was cancelled and this re-presentation was given to other backward class. Both articles in the present ordinance will exert repercussive effect on D-enotified and Nomadic tribes. As a result of it, De-notified and Nomadic tribes cannot fulfill the educational qualification. Inspired by the ideology and teaching and ideology of Vasantrao Naik and Bharatratna Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the first generation of De-notified and Nomadic tribe took the education and they also thought about their own children and other relatives. Those who took little education, give higher education to their own children. But the problem of creamy-layer is being put obstacles in their way of progress. The students from De-notified and Nomadic tribes were attracted by education in recent period. But due to privatization of education one cannot give lot of fees for education. As a result of it 99 percent students will remain away from education. Because the economic condition of De-notified and Nomadic tribes is so critical that UNO too will feel ashamed and their face will be down.
Initially, parents who have 2.50 lakh annual income (later it extended- In order to qualify as an non-creamy layer candidate, the applicant's parents' annual income should be less than Rs. 8 lakhs)or more annual income will not get reservation for their children in higher education and service sector which is reserve for them in 3%. and 100% students will be deprived from education some of them from rural areas will be deprived from education due to their economic condition and some others will be deprived from education due to their trapping in creamy layer. Thus, the serious question of whether the implementation of Article 340, 341, 342 under the Constitution has become how widespread and useful for the De-notified and Nomadic tribes that it will prove to be a test of time. The development of any community, areas and country is dependent on the proportion of educated people and from that their standard is decided. From that point of view the proportion of De-notified and Nomadic tribes is critical. This is not glorious to our country which finds its unity in diversity.
Reservation in Promotion:
The Government of Maharashtra passed the reservation in Promotion Act on 22 January 2004. The benefit of reservation in promotion was getting only to class first to third. By this act the benefit was given to class first up to class forth. Maharashtra is the first state to pass such act in the country. By this act SC had 13% , ST- 7%, VI- (A)3%, NT- (B)-2.5%, NT- (C)-3.5%, NT- (D) 2% and Special Backward Class (SBC) had 2% reservation in promotion in all posts. But on 22 February 2005 this act was given challenges in Bombay high court by five petitions. The stay was given to the implementation of this act in August 2006 the high court loosed this stay.
The government advocate told the court that there is problem in running the administration due to trapping cases of promotion. The high court stickled to the final result of petition and gave permission to fill the post according to the policy of reservation in promotion. But clearly mentioned that nobody will have right on it. On 6 November 2006 Vijay Dhongare, Bapusaheb Pawar and their team got stay from Supreme Court and once again the policy of reservation in promotion was stopped in Maharashtra State.
Moreover, in Maharashtra Act No. 8 of 2004 there is the provision for De-notified and Nomadic tribes for public service and reservation for vacant seat and in Maharashtra Act No. 6 of 2006 there is the provision for De-notified and Nomadic tribes for admission and reservation and other minor things in private vocational educational institution. But it is also important to find out to what extent the above act benefit the De-notified and Nomadic tribes.
Bogus Caste Validity Corruption:
Today, higher caste people have robbed the jobs of De-notified and Nomadic tribes; especially of Banjara by getting bogus caste validity certificate. The higher caste people make tricks to get this certificate by exchange money or any other means. Here Rajput is the higher caste. It is not included in De-notified and Nomadic tribes. But Rajput Bhamata is included in De-notified and Nomadic tribes. There is similarity in Rajput and Rajput Bhamata name. As a result of it, many Rajput have acquired bogus caste validity by trickery and robbed the jobs of original De-notified and Nomadic tribes. In this regard, the Banjara tribe is facing a great injustice. Today, the question of non- creamy layer is the biggest problem in the education of Banjara community. A child of servicemen from De-notified and Nomadic tribe is better than other students, but it is the plot to avoid them under the name of non-creamy layer. It is very easy to get caste validity certificate by producing trivial proofs. This is as if it were highways road. It is necessary to ask for more proofs for the validity to attain caste validity. Due to this, the proportion of bogus caste validity will be less. The second site of this is that caste certificates are kept for many months at validity committee. As a result of it, there is bad effect on one's educational and job recruitment. More validity cases are kept at caste validity committee for many months.
Their cases were admitted in different divisions of validity committee, such as Nashik, Aurangabad, Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai and Amravati. These cases are about educational governmental, semi-governmental, public service commission and court matter. The high caste people are trying to enter the reservation of De-notified and Nomadic tribes. Therefore, the process of caste validity has become very complicated. Therefore, it takes too much time. Verify the caste validity by any system but it should be transparent based on fact with feelings of justice because these committees are the true defenders of Denotified and Nomadic tribe's rights.
Bhikudada Idate Commission (2018)
Recently, In May 2018, the National Commission for De-notified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, chaired by Bhiku Ramji Idate has submitted its report. The commission was constituted in January 2015 for a three-year temporary term, following which it had to submit its report identifying these communities state-wise, assessing their development status, and recommending ways to uplift them. The Idate commission has studied the earlier report of Renke commission. The report has noted that De-notified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes are the poorest of the poor, most marginalised and most downtrodden communities who are subject to social stigma, atrocity and exclusion. The Idate Commission has recommended a Constitutional amendment so that Scheduled NT/ DNT/ SNT can be added as a third category/ schedule after Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes in the Act. The report states the Government should provide strong legal protections and constitutional safeguards, including the extension of the Protection of Act to the NT/ DNT/ SNT communities by creating a separate third schedule as Scheduled De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes.
In its report, the Commission has noted that entire communities were branded as criminals under the colonial rule through enforcement of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871. Despite repeal of the Act after Independence, subsequent legislations have forcibly alienated them from their traditional occupations and habitations. In addition, several recommendations regarding the welfare and protection of the tribes are included in this Commission. Though the report of the Commission is under the consideration of the Government but has not yet implemented the recommendation suggested by this Commission.
Diversity In Reservation For Banjara Tribe:
While knowing historical track of the Banjara community, in1871, under the Criminal Tribes Act, the tribal people including Banjara tribe were arrested. Because of the fear of arresting, the tribes were habilitating in the deep forests in many groups. When their trades stopped, they started to cultivate the fields. When the forests were disappearing, the Banjaras started to cultivate. It has been researched that the number of Banjaras migrated from Rajasthan, to the various parts of the country. They are known by different names in different states. Their culture, language and way of life are the same. Therefore, the Banjara primitive community is far from many facilities and constitutional safeguard and it is considered a kind of injustice on them.
Although Banjara tribe meet the criteria of primitive tribe but they have been placed in different categories into different states. According to the researchers the Banjaras migrated in 24 states of the country. In Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu they are included in 'VJ'-Vimukta-Jati -D-enotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNTS). And In Rajasthan they are included in 'SBC' (Special Backward Class). In Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh, they are considered as 'Open'. In Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Jharkhand, Orissa, they are included in 'Scheduled Tribes'. In Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, they are included in 'Scheduled Castes'. In Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tripura, Goa, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, they are included in 'OBC'
After Independence, Banjara people were included in the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in some states. In a real sense, Banjara community belongs to the tribal community and leading the tribal life. But it has no uniformity in getting the same reservation facilities. Hence, Banjara community should be considered in 'ST' category in all States. The All India Banjara Seva Sangh and many other Banjara community organizations have stepped forward and repeatedly over the years, have been demanding from the Government. However, the Government is ignoring this demand of Banjara community across the country.
But as the government neglected this community, there is no so much progress reached. At present the reservation for Vimukta castes is only 3% in Maharashtra State. The benefit of OBC reservation is provided to Banjara at the center level. In the present scenario, reservation for the Vimukta Jati (Banjara) in the state of Maharashtra State is under threat. In Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh, there is no reservation for Vimukta Jati (Banjara) tribe, which is too much backward in financial, social and political status and experiences the acute poverty and illiteracy. It is very essential to form new plans by central and state government and bring them in the main stream. If they are given only 2% - 3% of the reservation facilities, their development will not be possible.
Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities are considered to be the most deprived sections of Indian society. These communities are hard to reach and less visible. The De-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities move from place to place in search of livelihood. As a result, they are frequently left out. Hence to address the issues, related to these communities there is a need for special attention. In many ways, today's the reservation of the Banjara community has been threatened and a conspiracy is being set up to abolish it. Banjara community need to be vigilant in this regard.
Conclusion:
In India, for the development of the Dalits, backward classes, seamless, forlorn, deprived and ignored communities , the Government should provide authentic reservation facilities. They should avail all these facilities and must get their own status like human being and reach to the goal is very necessary for the overall development of humanity.
In the entire political tenure, Vasantrao Naik implemented many schemes and plannings to uplift De-notified, Banjaras and Nomadic tribes because as it was very necessary to make planning to increase the proportion of their education and to bring these tribes into main stream. He started many patronage schools, vocational institutes and colleges and university level solutions for their education but today there are many problems to implement these solutions.
An ideology of Mahatma Phule, Shahu Maharaj and Bhartratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar played a substantial role in creating a progressive and egalitarian Maharashtra State. Similarly, Vasantrao Naik continued to use his authority for the welfare of the general public and De-notified and Nomadic tribes during his political career. His vision was to work towards ending discrimination on the basis of caste. In order to bring the deprived, neglected and denied tribes into the mainstream of society and he continuously worked to make a constitutional provision of reservation in Maharashtra State. This was a revolutionary work during his political tenure.
Courtesy- This unit is taken from the Chapter-5 of the
Research And Analytic Book-
VASANTRAO NAIK:
[ A Pioneer In Politics ]
Revolutionary Social Reformer And Architect Of Maharashtra State
Author/Editor
Prof. Dr.Dinesh Sewa Rathod
Thanks !!!
