Sikkim Govt Sets Up 12-Member High-Level Committee For ST Status to 12 Indigenous Communities

The committee will prepare a comprehensive ethnographic and anthropological report of the 12 left out Sikkimese communities.

The Sikkim government has formed a 12-member high-level committee to push for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for 12 unlisted indigenous communities in the state. This is aimed at addressing a long-standing demand for their inclusion in the ST category under the Indian Constitution.

The Sikkim State High-Level Committee (SSHLC) will examine the socio-cultural, historical, ecological, and legal reasons for the inclusion of these communities in the ST category, the Gazette notification said.

The committee will be led by Prof B.V. Sharma, who is the Director of the Anthropological Survey of India and Director General of the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation, with Prof Mahendra P. Lama, an experienced economist and professor, as Vice Chairman.

The other members of the committee are Prof Virginius Xaxa, former Deputy Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Dr Satyabrata Chakrabarti, Former General Secretary, Asiatic Society & former Deputy Director Anthropological Survey of India, Prof. (Dr) Nupur Tiwari, Director, Centre of Tribal Research and exploration (COTREX), IIPA New Delhi, Prof. Sarit Kumar Chaudhury, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, Rangan Dutta, IAS, Former Senior Official of Office of the Registrar General India (ORGI), New Delhi (Concent yet to be received), Prof. A B Ota, IAS, Senior Advisor, United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF)/Advisor Tribal Museum, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Prof. Sandhya Thapa, Head of Department of Sociology, Sikkim University, Bedu Singh Panth, Advisor, Chairman Eleven+1 Indigenous Ethnic Communities in Sikkim (EIECOS+1), Secretary Social Welfare Department, Government of Sikkim.

The committee will prepare a comprehensive ethnographic and anthropological report of the 12 left out Sikkimese communities – Bhujel, Gurung, Jogi, Kirat Khambu Rai, Kirat Dewan (Yakha), Khas (Chettri-Bahun), Mangar, Newar, Sanyashi, Sunuwar (Mukhia), Thami, and Majhi.

One of the committee’s main objectives is to align their findings with the constitutional criteria required for ST status. The report will include an analysis of the potential benefits of including these communities, emphasizing aspects such as cultural preservation, tribal development, and the strategic importance to border security in the Himalayan region.

The SSHLC has been given a three-month timeline to submit its report. This will serve as the groundwork for the state’s formal proposal to the central government, pushing for the recognition of these indigenous groups.

The state government aims that the committee’s recommendations will lay a clear path for securing Scheduled Tribe status, ensuring greater support and opportunities for these communities and fostering the development and protection of Sikkim’s cultural and social fabric.

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