New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Members of the ‘Banjara’ (nomadic) community from Uttar Pradesh on Monday urged the central government to include it in the Scheduled Tribes list.
At an event, representatives of the community submitted a request to Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, who immediately forwarded it to the ministry’s secretary for further action.
Om Prakash Nayak, a member of the Uttar Pradesh Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, said the community is classified as a Scheduled Caste in some states and a Scheduled Tribe in others.
“But in Uttar Pradesh, our demand has been pending for a long time. Several proposals were submitted to the Centre but the Registrar General of India (RGI) did not support them, citing the absence of our community in the 1931 census,” Nayak said.
He claimed that the community was excluded from the census because the British had labelled them under the Criminal Tribes Act and forced them out of villages, fearing their courage and loyalty to the country.
Minister Oram expressed support for their demand and assured them of all possible help from his ministry. PTI GVS GVS MNK MNK
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