Gorkha Communities in Darjeeling Seek Scheduled Tribe Status, Delegation Meets Union Minister in Delhi

A delegation from the Darjeeling hills has traveled to Delhi to advocate for the Scheduled Tribe status for 11 hill communities, a promise made by the BJP in 2019 in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Gorkha Bharatiya Janjati Mahasangh, representing the 11 Gorkha communities, met with Union tribal minister Arjun Munda last week, with BJP MP Raju Bista leading the delegation.

The communities seeking the Scheduled Tribe status include Bhujel, Gurung, Mangar, Newar, Jogi, Khas, Rai, Sunuwar, Thami, Yakka (Dewan), and Dhimal.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) also met the Darjeeling delegation in Delhi, expressing support for tribal status for these communities.

Mahasangh president M.S. Rai stated, "Sikkim Chief Minister P.S. Golay said we should together press for the demand. Following our meeting with the Union tribal minister, we are hopeful that our demand will be fulfilled."

A letter from the office of the registrar general of India (ORGI) had raised concerns about an increase in Nepalese immigrants if these communities were granted ST status. It also noted that specifying these Gorkha communities as STs might disadvantage the already designated Lepcha and Bhutia communities.

The delegation addressed these concerns during the meeting with Munda, emphasizing that there are already over 9% of Hindu tribals in the existing Scheduled Tribe List of India and that adhering to Hinduism does not preclude practices common to all tribals, such as animal sacrifice.

They also countered the Nepal influx argument, presenting evidence that despite Tamang and Limbu of the Gorkha community being granted tribal status in 2003, there was no influx of these communities according to decadal census figures.

Sources revealed that Darjeeling BJP MLA Neeraj Zimba also met with the Union tribal minister, indicating the keen interest of hill BJP leaders in this issue.

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs formed a committee in 2016 to review and recommend tribal status to the 11 communities. However, the final report, compiled in 2019, passed the responsibility to the Office of Registrar General of India, leading to a bureaucratic impasse.