New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Representatives of denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes on Monday announced the formation of a national federation, and demanded a separate column for these communities in the 2027 Census, an official statement said.
Community representatives also said that if the government does not include a separate column for these communities in the 2027 Census, a nationwide democratic movement will be launched.
According to the statement, delegates from 22 states attended the council meeting on March 14-15 here, where organisations working among these communities decided to create a unified national platform named the ‘Denotified and Nomadic Tribes Federation of India’.
Community leaders said the federation would bring together grassroots organisations and networks working among different communities and raise issues related to their identity, rights and socio-economic conditions at the national level, the statement read.
Representatives said a separate enumeration of these communities is essential for effective policy-making.
“We are not asking for charity. Our only demand is that we be counted properly. Unless our identity is recognised in the census, our problems will never become part of policy-making,” S P Singh Labana, one of the representatives present at the briefing, said.
Leaders also demanded a 10 per cent reservation in government employment and political representation, land rights and permanent housing for nomadic families, constitutional protection in cases of atrocities and a dedicated budget for the development of denotified and nomadic communities. PTI MSJ APL
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