The Consultation Committee led by Joint Secretary to Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Meera Ranjan Tshering, visited two villages in East Sikkim district – Kadamtham and Khamdong on Wednesday to know about different communities in connection with tribal status.
The team had Director of MoTA, Gopal Sadhwani, Member Secretary and Vice Chancellor of Utkal University, Prof. Soumendra Patnaik, Member of the Committee, along with officials of the Social Justice Department, Government of Sikkim.
The Consultation Committee endeavours to visit different communities of the State to access first-hand information to recommend the further modalities of the process.
During their visit, the Committee gathered first-hand understanding of their customs, culture and traditions. This study is being made to ascertain if the eleven left out communities of Sikkim are historically, socially, ethically and constitutionally eligible to demand tribal status rights.
It may be recalled that the Eleven Indigenous Ethnic Communities of Sikkim (ECOS) in collaboration with Social Justice, Empowerment and Welfare Department, Government of Sikkim organized Sikkim Summit for Tribal Status in Gangtok where Governor and Chief Minister of Sikkim, constitutional experts, retired bureaucrats, anthropologists, top thinkers, and policy makers had presented their views and ideas.
Subsequently, a comprehensive post-summit document was released by Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.