SHILLONG, NOV 3: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Thursday said a special committee has been set up to study the demands of the Gorkhas and six Assam communities for inclusions in the scheduled tribes list.
“We are waiting for the report. It is in a premature stage but one thing for sure is that the union government is studying the demand,” Oram told reporters on Thursday.
The union minister arrived in the city to attend an international seminar on ‘understanding the tribes of Asia’ organized by the Synod College, Shillong in collaboration with PA Sangma Foundation at the college auditorium.
He said that the Union Home Ministry constituted the special committee headed by a joint secretary to look into the matter.
There has been growing demand for inclusion of Gorkhas in the scheduled tribes list.
When inquired, Oram said, “We have given three months’ time to the committee to complete its report on the matter which is expected to be submitted next month.”
He informed that during his first tenure as Tribal Affairs Minister, he had modified 270 tribal communities in the country. He said, “Ten communities were removed and 260 were ratified, their names were given corrected spellings and phonetical defect were also corrected.”
Earlier while addressing the international seminar, Oram underlined the importance for the different tribes to develop their own scripts.
“There are around 700 schedule tribes and 500 of them have separate dialect. There is a need for them to develop and work on their own scripts,” he said.
Stating that over 27 languages in the country are on the verge of becoming extinct, the union minister said, “The centre government has viewed this as a serious concern.”
He hoped the seminar will bring closeness amongst the countries, exchange of ideas, traditions and customary practices by many tribes of Asian countries.-By Our Reporter
+ There are no comments
Add yours