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Source: The post is based on the article “NCST supports proposal to include Pahari community in ST list of Jammu and Kashmir” published in The Hindu on 3rd November 2022.
What is the News?
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes(NCST) has approved the inclusion of the ‘Pahari ethnic group’ in the Scheduled Tribes list of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
NCST has also called for the inclusion of the “Paddari tribe”, “Koli” and “Gadda Brahman” communities to be included in the ST list of J&K.
How is a community added or removed from ST lists?
A State government may choose to recommend certain communities for addition or subtraction from the list of STs based on its discretion. This recommendation may come from studies it commissions.
Following this, the proposal to include or remove any community from the Scheduled List is sent to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs from the concerned State government.
After this, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, through its own deliberations examines the proposal, and sends it to the Registrar General of India(RGI).
Once approved by the RGI, the proposal is sent to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
NCST after approving it sent it back to the Union government which introduces it in the Cabinet for final approval.
After this, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs will be required to bring a Bill to Parliament. Following this, the addition will be finalized once the President of India notifies the revised schedule as empowered by Article 342 of the Constitution of India.
Who has recommended the inclusion of the Pahari ethnic group in the ST list of J&K?
Currently, Jammu and Kashmir have 12 communities that have been notified as STs.
The suggestion for the inclusion of the Pahari ethnic group had come from the commission set up for socially and educationally backward classes in the Union Territory of J&K headed by Justice (Retd.) G.D. Sharma.
