Uttarakhandis demonstrate in Delhi seeking tribal status for State’s mountainous area
PN | DEHRADUN
Uttarakhand natives gathered at Jantar Mantar, Delhi on Monday under the banner of Uttarakhand Ekta Manch (UEM) demanding that the government declare the mountainous region of Uttarakhand as a tribal area as earliere and include it in the 5th Schedule of the Constitution. They said that thousands of villages have been deserted in the region due to large-scale migration caused by factors like limited employment opportunities in the difficult geographical conditions and unprofitable rain-fed farming. UEM’s Nishant Rauthan said that the 5th Schedule was applicable in the mountains before 1972 – the Scheduled District Act 1874 was applicable in the mountains, the non-regulation system was applicable and the hills were declared excluded areas in 1935.
These three tribal laws were applicable in the mountains of Garhwal and Kumaon. After independence, the Government of India gave tribal status to the natives of those areas in the country where these laws were applicable and implemented the 5th or 6th Schedule there. But instead of giving the 5th Schedule status to the mountainous region of Uttarakhand, these rights were taken away in 1972. Historian and academic Ajay Rawat said that Khasas lived here for centuries, which is confirmed by historical facts, government documents and the cultural environment here. Like the tribal communities of the entire Himalaya, the common people of Uttarakhand are also worshipers of nature.
UEM national convener Anoop Bisht said that most of the Pahadis who left their ancestral homes, villages and everything else in search of employment in cities had the initial concept that they will definitely return to the mountains one day but this rarely happens. The implementation of the 5th Schedule in the mountains will bring back the natives from other cities.
Lieutenant general (retd) Gambhir Singh Negi said that Uttarakhand has two international borders. This inaccessible area becoming uninhabited can be very dangerous from the point of view of national security. It is necessary to pay attention to this important issue from the point of view of national security.
Pratapnagar MLA Vikram Negi said that he will raise this issue in the next session of the Uttarakhand Assembly through a private member bill.
