Sawar, Sawara and Saunra: one and the same tribe now

Sawar, Sawara and Saunra: one and the same tribe now

Subject : Social Issue

Context : Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the inclusion of spelling variations for 11 tribes on the list of Scheduled Tribes of Chhattisgarh and ‘Sawar’ or ‘Sawara’ was one of those.

Concept:

• Article 342(1) and (2) provides, as in the case of STs, that there will be a Presidential list issued first in consultation with the governor of the state and any subsequent change in the list can be made only by parliamentary law.

Procedure –

• If this bill goes through, inclusion or exclusion of any caste subsequent to the initial press notification can be done only by an act of Parliament as in the case of SC and ST. In the case of SCs the criteria is untouchability.
• In the case of STs, the community must be shown to be a tribe which is isolated, and lives in vulnerable conditions. Primitiveness, geographical isolation, shyness and social, educational & economic backwardness are the traits that distinguish Scheduled Tribe communities from other communities. This has to be proved anthropologically.
• However, the Constitution is silent about the criteria for specification of a community as a scheduled tribe.
• This is ensured by the long established process of referring every proposal for inclusion in the SC and ST list to the Registered General of India (RGI) that has an expert anthropological wing.
• Following this, the government moves a bill in the Parliament.