NEW DELHI (India): The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad has decided to submit a memorandum to the Justice M L Tahiliyani committee about the demand for including the Banjara committee among the Scheduled Tribes.
The decision was made at a meeting of the national executive committee of the Parishad held in New Delhi earlier this week. Somjibhai Damor, All India President of the Parishad, presided over the meeting.
The memorandum is being prepared with all facts and documents, including the report titled “Census of India – 1931” by J. H. Hutton, Census Commissioner of India during the British rule. The memorandum will be submitted to the Tahiliyani committee in April 2026.
The Banjara community in Maharashtra, currently included in the DTNT (Denotified Tribes Nomadic Tribes) category, has been demanding inclusion under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. Tribal communities have been opposing this demand. The Government of Maharashtra has formed a six-member study committee headed by retired High Court judge M. L. Tahiliyani to study the issue.
The meeting expressed concern at the atrocities on members of the Kuki community in Manipur and demanded that the government take steps to prevent such incidents.
The meeting also expressed concern over reports that the DNA data of several tribal communities of Rajasthan like Bhil, Garasiya, Damor, Kathaudi and Saharia had been sent abroad without the consent of the individuals concerned. This was a direct assault on constitutional rights, the meeting said.
Others present at the meeting were Faggan Singh Kulaste, Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SC/ST and Working President of the Parishad, Shanker Lal Bodat and Birsa Tirrkey, Vice Presidents, Geetashree Oraon, former minister and President (Women’s Cell), Luckey Jadhav, President (Youth Cell), Simachalam, Secretary, K. Laxaman Rao, Member, Telangana, Kesharbhai Bhil, Joint Secretary, K. Kesawan, Zonal President (South Zone), Ms Marina Singson, Zonal Vice President (North-East Zone), Varsha A. Atram, Zonal President (Women’s Cell – Central Zone), Tshering Wangchuk Lepcha, President of Sikkim state unit, Ram Chauhan, President of Maharashtra state unit, D. Loganathan, President of Tamil Nadu state unit, Tota Ram Bhil, President of Delhi state unit, Jula Ralte, President of Mizoram state unit, T. Madhiwanan, Member, Tamil Nadu, Ram Singh Gunawat, former secretary, Tamagond Bandeppa Khasempur, former minister of Karnataka, Adagond Raghunath Rao Makapure, former deputy speaker of Karnataka Assembly, Subhadhara Parmar, President (Women’s Cell) Madhya Pradesh, Annapurna Dabhi, President (Women’s Cell) Gujarat, Deepak Rana, Member, Delhi, Sachin Palkar, Secretary (Central Zone), Maharashtra, Jitendra Oraon, President of Bihar state unit and Ashok Kumar, Member, besides all state presidents of youth cell as well as state presidents (Women’s Cell) , special invitees and other signatories.
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