Gangtok, Nov 6: The Sikkim government has established the Sikkim State High-Level Committee (SSHLC) to explore pathways for including 12 communities in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list. This initiative comes months after Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram clarified that the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) had not moved forward on this request.

The newly formed 12-member committee comprises experts such as Dr. Satyabrata Chakraborty, former Deputy Director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Rangan Dutta, former senior officer at the ORGI. Headed by Prof. B.V. Sharma, Director of the Anthropological Survey of India (ASI), the committee is overseen by the secretary of Sikkim’s social welfare department, serving as its member-secretary.

Sikkim seeks to secure ST status for communities including Kirat/Khambu/Rai, Gurung, Mangar, Thami, Sanyasi, Jogi, Khas (Bahun-Chhetri), Bhujel, Yakka (Dewan), Sunuwar (Mukhia), Newar, and the Majhi community—this last group being a unique addition compared to the demands from the Darjeeling hills.

The state’s move signals a strong push to address the longstanding demand for tribal recognition. Previously, the ORGI’s response to similar requests from both Sikkim and Bengal was unfavourable. In a recent communication, Union Tribal Minister Oram informed Sikkim’s Rajya Sabha member, Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, that the request had yet to be approved by ORGI.

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