The Indian Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to include the Gond community in the Scheduled Tribes category in parts of Uttar Pradesh.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, by a voice vote which was introduced by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in April this year.

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 amends the Scheduled Castes order to exclude the Gond community as a Scheduled Caste in four districts of Uttar Pradesh- Chandauli, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Sant Ravidas Nagar. It amends the ST order to recognise the Gond community as a Scheduled Tribe in these four districts.

Replying to the discussion on the bill, Munda said the issue has been pending since the 1980s and blamed the then government led by Congress for ignoring the plight of the community and denying them of their constitutional rights through the Schedule Tribes category.

On April 22, 1981 the Uttar Pradesh government had written a letter related to the Gond community stating that on the basis of their lifestyle, culture and from every aspect, they exhibited characters of the scheduled tribe, he said, adding in those days the Gond community was included under STs in other states.

The minister rued that the issue has remained unresolved till now with the people of the community unable to raise their voices at the Centre.

He also lamented that the then government did not implement the recommendations of the Lokur Committee for the uplift of tribals, keeping in mind their culture, lifestyle, closeness to nature and backwardness, and give them their constitutional rights.

As a result, he said the country is facing the issue of tribals being left behind in the growth and development witnessed by India.

The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working for the betterment of tribals in the last eight years and would continue to do so, Munda said.

Image source: PTI