Dhangars' Demand for ST Status

Why in news?

Following the Maratha agitation for reservation in Maharashtra, the Dhangar community's demand for ST status has also gained momentum.

Who are the Dhangars?

Dhangars are a shepherd community who live mostly in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada.
They make up about a crore of Maharashtra’s roughly 11.25 crore population (9%).
They do play a key role in election outcomes of the state’s Lok Sabha and Assembly seats.
The four LS seats regions are Baramati, Madha, Solapur, and Satara.

What is their demand?

Dhangars are currently on the list of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) in Maharashtra.
However, they have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the past several decades.
They claim that Dhangars in Maharashtra are the same as those who are called “Dhangad” elsewhere in the country.
Notably “Dhangad” are listed as a Scheduled Tribe.
It is said that a typographical error had led to the community’s name being recorded as “Dhangar”.
Reservation - Maharashtra has 52% reservation in all.
In this, SCs and STs have 13% and 7% respectively, and OBCs have 19%.
The Vimukta Jati/Denotified Tribes, Special Backward Class, and Nomadic Tribes together have 13%.
Dhangars are, notably, a ‘Nomadic Tribe’.

What is the government's stand?

The state had in 2015 got the assistance of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in this regard.
TISS was asked to establish whether Dhangars meet the criteria to be identified as ST.
In effect, this meant establishing whether Dhangars were the same as Dhangads.
This is to prevent any future legal challenge to Dhangars being moved from VJNT to ST.
The TISS study is in an advanced stage and the government too has reiterated it's commitment to the Dhangars.

What is the challenge?

Almost all parties had, in the last two decades, supported the inclusion of Dhangars in the ST category.
However, they face the opposition of the Scheduled Tribes (STs).
STs are unwilling to allow the dilution of their quota by the inclusion of a large community like the Dhangars.
ST MPs and MLAs have said that Dhangars could be included only if the overall ST quota is increased.

Source: Indian Express