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In News
- Recently, the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill to extend ST status to Gond community in four districts of UP.
- It aims to move the Gond community from the Scheduled Castes list to Scheduled Tribes list.
- It was already passed by the Lok Sabha in April 2022.
About
- Background: The demand for inclusion of the Gond community in the ST list was first raised in the 1980s.
- The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Uttar Pradesh) Order, 1967 (ST Order) and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (SC Order) with respect to its application to Uttar Pradesh.
- It will ensure the inclusion of the Gond community in the Scheduled Tribes list in four districts of Uttar Pradesh:
- Sant Kabir Nagar
- Sant Ravidas Nagar
- Kushinagar
- Chandauli.
Who are Gonds?
- The term Gond refers to tribal peoples who live all over India’s Deccan Peninsula.
- Most describe themselves as Gonds (hill people) or as Koi or Koitur.
- They live in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha.
- The majority speak unintelligible dialects of Gondi which is an unwritten language of the Dravidian family.
- Persa Pen is the most distinctive feature of Gond religion: Like many other tribes, Gonds worship a high god known as Baradeo, whose alternate names are Bhagavan, Sri Shambu Mahadeo, and Persa Pen.
Process of Inclusion
- The process to include tribes in the ST list begins with the recommendation from the respective State governments, which are then sent to the Tribal Affairs Ministry, which reviews and sends them to the Registrar General of India for approval.
- This is followed by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ approval before the list is sent to the Cabinet for a final decision.
Way Forward
- The budget allocation under the Scheduled Tribes Component has increased from Rs 24,594 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 85,930 crore in 2021-22.
- PMAAY: Steps have been taken for the education and economic development of Scheduled Tribes in the country.
- Pradhan Mantri Aadi Adarsh Gram Yojana has been implemented in 35,000 villages.
5th Schedule of the Constitution
6th Schedule of the Constitution
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Source: IE
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