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Issue of inclusion of Dhangar Community

( सर्व संबधित व्यक्ती /संघटना
 आपणास विदित आहे की  धनगरांना आदिवासींमधे समावेश करण्याच्या एकमेव उद्येशाने प्रेरित होउनच महाराष्ट्र शासनाने टाटा इन्स्टिट्यूट सोसिअल सायन्सेस या संस्थेला अभ्यास करण्याचे आदेश दिले  आहेत. सर्वांनी या संस्थेला  निवेदन देऊन  निःपक्ष अहवाल देण्याची विनंती करणे  आवश्यक आहे .सर्व राजकीय पक्ष्याचे नेते धनगर समवेश्याच्या  बाजूने बोलत आहेत.  म्हणून आवाहन आहे की या संस्थेबरोबर  व सर्व पक्षनेतृत्वाबरोबर  पत्रव्यवहार करावा, जेणेकरून पक्ष्यांची भूमिका समजेल. कार्तिकस्वामी आदिवसी  मंडळ खालील निवेदन लवकरच संबंधितांना  देणार आहे .  )
       
To
Director,
Tata   Institute of Social Sciences.
Mumbai
Gentlemen,
                  Sub:Issue of inclusion of   Dhangar
                          Community in Second Schedule,Part IX
                          Of The Scheduled Tribe  list of
                          Maharashtra State
                                      **********
                 We the undersigned  would like to submit  that  according to the Dhangar community  Dhangar and Dhangad is one and the same and Dhangar community is included in the  list of Scheduled Tribe as Oran, Dhangad. The contention of the  Leaders of Dhangar community is that the Dhangar can be spelt as Dhangad and pronounced as  Dhangar.
 In this regard we humbly   submits the following  facts :
1.             Oraon including  Dhanka & Dhangad were first time notified as scheduled tribe in the erstwhile  Bombay state vide  notification No. SRO 24374 dated 29.10.1956. As per Para 7 of this notification Oraon including Dhanka and Dhangad from Melghat tahsil of Amravati district; Gadchiroli and Sironcha tahsil of  the  Chanda district(now Chandrapur) and Kelapur,Wani and Yeotmal tahsils of Yeotmal district were included in the list of ST at S No. 27.

2.      The ST list was amended after some inclusions and exclusions vide "the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Orders(amendment)Act, 1976" wherein Oraon including dhanka and dhangad were  replaced and Oraon ,dhangad were listed in the list  of scheduled tribe of Maharashtra at S No .36  without mentioning any area.
3.       Before passing the Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribes orders bill,2002 ,the standing committee (13th Loksabha) noted the synonyms of dhangad and dhangar. but the Govt. of Maharashtra rejected the claim of dhangars  stating that  both community's are distinct from each other and having no ethnic affinity. This bill was passed in Parliament on 4th June 2002.
4.  The government of Maharashtra has recommended twice( 1966 and 1978) the Govt. Of India  to include Dhangar  in the list of Scheduled tribe but failed to justify their stand  with regard to the fulfillment of  criteria prescribed by GOI for inclusion of  in the list of  ST.
5.         State Govt. has already included   Dhangar caste  in the list of nomadic tribe with 3.5% reservation.
6.           The Govt. Of India  has notified Dhangar as "Other backward Classes"  vide OM dated 8.9.1993 at S.no 28 of the list of OBC of  Maharashtra.        
7.         In this context, we draw attention of the Director  to the 27th Report of Standing Committee on Labour and Welfare with regard to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2002.The issue was regarding Dhangar and Dhangad of Maharashtra.  It is useful to quote paragraphs 2.17 and 2.18 of the aforesaid report, which are as under:-

            "2.17 The ''Dhangad' community has been included in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Orders, 1950 vide entry No.36 in part IX of Maharashtra State. Shri Pradeep Rawat, MP has pointed out that there is spelling mistake in the community. He stated that instead of ''Dhangad' the correct name of this Scheduled Tribe community is ''Dhangar'. He has, therefore, requested that the Committee may take necessary action to correct the printing mistake.

              2.18 The Ministry in their reply has stated that in the State of Maharashtra there are two distinct communities having similar nomenclature, one is Dhangad which is a sub-group of Oraon, a Scheduled Tribe appearing at S.No.36 of the List of Scheduled Tribes. The traditional occupation of this community is cultivation. There is another community known as ''Dhangar' whose traditional occupation is cattle rearing and weaving of woolens. The ''Dhangad' and the ''Dhangar' are two distinct communities having no ethnic affinity at all. The Dhangars who are shepherds have been notified as Nomadic tribe in the State of Maharashtra. Therefore, there is no printing mistake in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Amendment) Act, 1976 through which the Constitution (Scheduled   Tribes)Order,1950 was amended."
8.         It is relevant to note that the Constitution Bench judgment of the Apex Court in the case of State of Maharashtra vs. Milind and others reported in A.I.R. 2001 SC 393 where the Apex Court held that scheduled tribe or scheduled caste must be read as it is in the 1950 Order and it is not even permissible to say that a tribe, subtribe, part of or group of any tribe or tribal community is synonymous to the one mentioned in the Scheduled Tribes Order if they are not so specifically mentioned in it.
9.       The official  Hindi translation of the  1950 order as amended  by the 1976 Amendment Act, has been published  and it is useful  to note that  the official  translation  of  caste  "Oraon, Dhangad" appearing at  entry no 36 in the S T list of Maharashtra  is " ओरांव, धनगड "
10.    The Apex Court in the case of A.S. Nagendra vs. State of Karnatak reported in 2005(10) SCC 301, has held that appropriate authority to decide the issue i.e. interpretation of Presidential Order, 1950, would be the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes established under Article 338 of the Constitution of India. In another case on similar issue  the  Apex Court directed the National Commission to look into the matter and submit report.
11.       ALLAHABAD high court in w.p. no. 40462 of 2009 opined  that the appropriate authority to decide this issue, namely, the interpretation of the Presidential Order of 1950, would be the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes established under Article 338 of the Constitution.
12.  We bring to your kind notice that the Constitution od India and the law do not expressly provide any principle or policy  for drawing  up the  list of Scheduled Tribes.However  Lokur committee  (1965) has considered  5 characteristics for becoming Scheduled Tribe and these  characteristics were accepted by GOI,which are as under:
1. primitiveness
2. extreme backwardness
3. shyayness
4. distinct culture
5. geographical isolution .
            kindly note that primitiveness and backwardness are the tests taken respectively from 1931  census and India Act,1935.  Other characterstics were recommonded by Lokur committee  (1965) and considered  by GOI. These characterstics were drawn at a particular given time and holds good tilldate. The Communities posseses these criteria  (at a given time ) even today ,  can only be considered for recommonadation for inclusion in the list of tribes .
         Our sincer request is that the TISS should  consider the official translation of  lists of STs drawn and notified while deciding  the issue .They should not import any maeaning other than the officilal tranlation with respect to Dhangad. We also request that the characterstics for considering any community as ST which are accepted by GOI should be applied  in letter of spirit   whlile repoting to the  state government on issue in question.  

                               ThanKing You
  Yours Faithfully,

( Eknath K.Bhoye )

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