Now, Dhangars seek ST status

MUMBAI : After Marathas, the Dhangar (shepherd) community now plans to hold rallies and marches from August 1, to up the pressure on the government to give in to their demand for change in reservation category. The Dhangar community accounts for 10-12% of state population. Currently, Dhangars, who fall under the nomadic tribe category, get 3.5% reservation in government jobs and education. They want to be included in the scheduled tribe category like Dhangads in other states, so they get 7% of the total reservation.

As the then state chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Devendra Fadnavis had in July 2014 promised he would take a decision on the demand of Dhangars in the first cabinet meeting, if he elected to power.

Two years ago, the government appointed Tata Institute Social Sciences (TISS) to study the backwardness of the community. They are expected to submit the report by August-end, based on which the state government will send its recommendations to the Centre.

Miffed with the delay, the community will begin its protest in various districts of Maharashtra and in Delhi. The community will hold a march at Karve Nagar in Pune on August 1.

“Other states have given reservation to the Dhangar and Dhangad communities under ST. During the Congress regime, the state had sent a report to the Centre, stating Dhangads in the state are part of ST. On filing an RTI query, we found there are no Dhangads in the state. We want Dhangars to be treated as Dhangads,” said Gopichand Padalkar, president, of Yashwant Kranti Sena and organiser of the march. “The protest will continue until we are given certificates of reservation under ST. The governments in Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha have sent a resolution for reservation to the Centre. We want Maharashtra government to send a similar resolution to the Central government.”

Another Dhangar leader Navnath Padalkar said they will stage a sit-in protest in Delhi in the first week of August.

The state expects TISS to submit its report by the end of the month.

“It is a report of more than 5,000 households surveyed across the state. In the course of the study, they have compared Dhangads in five states to study the culture, tradition and way of living, to see if they are proximate to the community in other states. The community has also been given public hearing to submit its say. Once submitted, the report will go through the tribal advisory committee to the CM before a decision is taken in the cabinet. Once it is submitted to the Centre, it goes to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes before a decision by Parliament,” said an official from the state tribal development department..

DHANGARS CURRENTLY FALL UNDER NOMADIC TRIBE CATEGORY (3.5% QUOTA). THEY WANT TO BE UNDER ST (7%)