Separate state commission for Dhangars, other nomadic tribes

Giving another push to its poll promise of according schedule tribe status to the Dhangar community, the Maharashtra government is now planning to constitute a separate commission to look into the long-pending issues of all vimukta jatis (VJ) and nomadic tribes (NT), commonly referred to as VJ/NT. Dhangars are currently part of the NT category.

The proposed commission will look into VJ/NT communities' long-pending demands of inclusion in the ST category. It will also look into the problems of these communities in getting their rightful share in government educational institutions and jobs as per the reservation policy.

VJ/NT communities, which include several castes such as Dhangars, Vanjaris, Gawlis etc, have been given 8 per cent reservation in Maharashtra in four different categories from 2004 onwards. A few castes like Gawlis are traditionally involved in rearing animals while Vanjaris are always on the move. They mainly hail from Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

"Since the Centre constituted a similar commission early this year, we also plan to constitute a separate commission for VJ/NT. This would help address the long-pending issues of these tribes and help chalk out a plan for their development," said Rajkumar Badole, the minister for social justice and special assistance department.

However, Badole said that including the communities in ST or SC seems to be difficult as they don't meet the criteria. "Moreover, the inclusion issue comes under the ambit of the SC/ST commission. We may seek a report from them about it."

Earlier, a delegation of Gawli leaders headed by Babasaheb Punalji Patil, MLA Dhule (Gramin) met Badole on Monday to discuss issues.

The government feels that since the Gawlis are traditionally associated with animal rearing, they should also be given priority in admission to veterinary colleges. They also agreed to notify land for their graveyard.

"The Gawlis are counted in the NT category in Maharashtra while the Centre counts them as OBC. This leaves the youth struggling to procure two different certificates. The commission would be asked to find a solution to this as well," said Gawli leader Bhatu Appa Nama Gawli. The community also demands a change in admission policy of agriculture courses where preference is given to farmers who possess land. "The admission rule should be amended so that children of landless farmers also get admission in agriculture courses."