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There should be a set of rules so that our indigenous rights are protected, says a student leader
Less than two months after a Meghalaya tribal council tabled a bill to strip a Khasi woman married to a non-Khasi man of her tribal status, an apex students’ body in Arunachal Pradesh has sought to draw up a list of people with Scheduled Tribe certificates despite not carrying pure tribal blood. The list, to be prepared in two months, would be handed over to the Pema Khandu government for framing a law preventing people who are not technically Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) from enjoying the benefits meant for the State’s indigenous tribes.
On Sunday, leaders of the influential All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) said they had a meeting with 49 community-based organisations to arrive at the decision of identifying and preparing a list of every person born to an APST woman and a non-APST man but possessing an APST certificate to enjoy all the benefits it entails. Representatives of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the regional People’s Party of Arunachal were also present at the meeting. The community-based organisations and district units of the AAPSU would carry out the survey for preparing the list.
“Being a sensitive issue, we sought the opinion of all community-based organisations before arriving at this decision. Everyone has agreed this is a very dangerous issue that can kill the society from within,” AAPSU president Hawa Bagang said. The union’s general secretary Tobom Dai said the move should not be seen as curbing the rights of an APST woman from marrying whoever she likes. “The issue is not about the choice of a woman but about lineage. There should be a set of rules so that our indigenous rights are protected,” he said.
The AAPSU said adopted children would also come under the purview of the drive in the interest of the indigenous peoples. “We will look into the legal aspects and hold more consultations before pursuing the matter with the government,” Mr. Bagang said. The AAPSU had in August launched a controversial operation to drive out illegal migrants who “might have sneaked into” Arunachal Pradesh after the publication of the complete National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft in adjoining Assam.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/aapsu-to-carry-out-survey-for-lineage-bill/article24972617.ece
